How to copy a machine image in Hyper-V

hyper-v-server-2008-r2

I've got a Hyper-V machine that I want to copy so that I can keep a template around for other servers.

I tried using the export/import feature but regardless of which folder I use, it always errors with the following:

Import failed. Unable to find virtual machine import files under location

How do you copy machines?

Best Answer

We use SCVMM to store template VHDs... this is probably the easist way. If you don't want to buy VMM, you can probably get away with doing a sysprep of the machine before you copy the VHD. This ensures that the image is properly prepared for duplication.

We've never had much luck with the export/import feature, either. If you end up just copying the VHD, you'll need to make note of the VM configuration as this will need to be regreated manually.