Cloning Hyper-V VM the “Street Way”

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Like one of my colleagues said, the post name is unlike me. Why have I decided to go the “Street Way” in solving a problem? Microsoft Hyper-V has been around for a while but it will surprise you that only few actually understand the product in detail.

I am going to share with you the way I consider the “Street Way” of cloning Hyper-V Virtual Machines. It is recommended to use the import and export method that Microsoft provide but what if you are having issue with that method – maybe you should take it the “Street Way”.

The concept of cloning is all about having to setup a new system from an existing system without having to reinstall the entire OS + drivers. Microsoft provided a recommend way of doing this but from experience, the “Street Way” method seems to be successful on many occasions without any repercussion.

Lets get started with the step-by-step method here. Before you start, get yourself a cup of tea – oop! Remember do not drink beside the computer!

·      Stop the VM that you want to clone from the Hyper-V Manager

·      Go to the folder where the VM is saved – most time or by default the file is store in the (Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual hard disks\) folder. You will see the name of the VM vHD. (vHD = Virtual Hard Disk)

·      Copy the vHD of the existing (working) host that you want to clone.

·      Paste the copied vHD into a new location of your choice and rename it. I say RENAME it.

·      Go back into the Hyper-V Manager and create a new VM and go through the wizard until you reach to the Connect Virtual Hard Disk. Select the “Use an existing virtual hard disk” and make sure that the copied vHD and location is selected.

·      Click next and then finish. I will assume that you selected the appropriate option for your environment like the memory, processor, etc.

·      After this – relax and refill you cup of tea and come back for additional “Street Way” configuration.

·      Thanks for coming back! Make sure the VM you copied the vHD from is still off.

·      Start the new VM – it should be identical to the copied VM. Don’t worry; that is why it is the “Street Way” config.

·      On the clone VM – you need to run the Sysprep to make the new VM an unique VM.

·      To run the Sysprep, do this(C:\Windows\System32\sysprep\sysprep.exe). Make sure the “Enter System Out-of_Box Experience (OOBE) is selected and client OK. The system will run some command and it will eventually reboot. After it has been rebooted – you should see a familiar interface.

.    After the setup, you can now start the VM you clone from

·      I hope you can continue from the familiar interface, if not, please leave a comment.

I hope this post was able to help you solve some of the cloning issue with Hyper-V. Sometime I wonder why Microsoft can’t make cloning easy without using System Center.

Enjoy and please share it with others.

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