How to Create and Manage Checkpoints in Microsoft Hyper-V (GUI & PowerShell)

Hyper-V checkpoints can save you hours of rework when updates or tests go sideways. Our new step-by-step guide shows how to create, restore, export, and automate checkpoints using both the GUI and PowerShell.

Hyper-V makes it extremely easy to save and restore a virtual machine’s state without complex procedures. Whether you’re testing software, applying updates, or experimenting with configurations, checkpoints let you roll back whenever needed.

This guide walks you through how to create and manage checkpoints directly from the Hyper-V graphical interface, along with PowerShell equivalents and best practices.

What Are Checkpoints in Hyper-V?

Checkpoints capture the condition of a virtual machine (VM) at a specific moment, including configuration data and disk changes. After a checkpoint is created, Hyper-V stores all new VM changes in differencing disks. If something breaks, you can simply revert to that saved state.

Hyper-V supports both types:

• Standard checkpoints: capture the full running state, including RAM.
• Production checkpoints: application-consistent snapshots without saving memory.

Managing Checkpoints from Hyper-V Manager Using GUI

The Hyper-V graphical interface makes checkpoint management simple and intuitive. All common actions, such as creating, restoring, renaming, deleting, and exporting, can be performed in just a few clicks.

How to Create a Checkpoint in Hyper-V Manager?

To create a checkpoint in Hyper-V Manager, perform the following steps:

1. Open Hyper-V Manager.

2. Select the virtual machine you want to capture.

3. Right-click the VM and choose Checkpoint.

 

4. After a short moment, the checkpoint will appear under the VM in the Checkpoints pane.

 

You now have a safe restore point to return to if needed.

How to Restore a Checkpoint

1. Open Hyper-V Manager and select your VM.

2. Expand the list of available checkpoints.

3. Right-click the checkpoint you want and choose Apply.

 

4. Hyper-V will ask whether you want to create a checkpoint of the current state before restoring – optional but recommended.

Import note:

• Restoring a standard checkpoint returns the VM exactly to its previous running state, including open applications.
• Restoring a production checkpoint starts the VM as if it had been powered off and on, with no saved RAM.

How to Delete a Checkpoint

1. Select the checkpoint under your VM.

2. Right-click and choose Delete Checkpoint.

 

3. Hyper-V will merge the differencing disk back into the parent VHDX file.

Important note:
Never manually delete .avhdx files from the file system. Always remove checkpoints using Hyper-V Manager to avoid corruption.

How to Rename a Checkpoint

1. Right-click the checkpoint.
2. Select Rename.
3. Enter a descriptive label – for example, Before Patch Installation.

This helps keep your checkpoint list organized, especially in environments with multiple administrators.

How to Export a Checkpoint

Checkpoint exports allow you to save a machine’s state and migrate it elsewhere.

1. Right-click the checkpoint.

2. Select Export.

 

3. Choose a destination folder.

Hyper-V packages everything required to import the checkpoint onto another host, perfect for migrations, lab testing, or disaster recovery.

How to Change the Checkpoint File Storage Location

1. Open Hyper-V Manager, right-click the virtual machine, and choose Settings.

2. Go to Checkpoints or Checkpoint File Location.

 

3. Enter a new path for checkpoint storage.

By default, checkpoints are stored at:

%systemroot%\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Snapshots

Changing the path helps distribute disk usage across multiple drives for better performance.

Managing Checkpoints with PowerShell

For administrators working with large environments or automation scripts, PowerShell offers complete control over checkpoint operations.

Change the Checkpoint Type via PowerShell

Set-VM -Name "VMName" -CheckpointType Standard

Set-VM -Name "VMName" -CheckpointType Production

Set-VM -Name "VMName" -CheckpointType ProductionOnly

 

This allows you to choose the type that best suits your workloads.

Create a Checkpoint

Checkpoint-VM -Name "VMName"

Optional type specification:

Checkpoint-VM -Name "VMName" -CheckpointType Standard

Checkpoint-VM -Name "VMName" -CheckpointType Production

Checkpoint-VM -Name "VMName" -CheckpointType ProductionOnly

List all checkpoints:

Get-VMCheckpoint -VMName "VMName"

Rename a Checkpoint via PowerShell

Use the following command to rename a checkpoint:

Rename-VMCheckpoint -VMName "VMName" -Name "OldName" -NewName "NewName"

Restore a Checkpoint

To restore a checkpoint, use this command:

Restore-VMCheckpoint -VMName "VMName" -Name "CheckpointName" -Confirm:$false

Using -Confirm:$false helps automate the process in scripts.

Export a Checkpoint

Export-VMCheckpoint -VMName "VMName" -Name "CheckpointName" -Path "C:\ExportFolder"

Delete a Checkpoint

To delete a checkpoint, run the following command:

Remove-VMCheckpoint -VMName "VMName" -Name "CheckpointName"

 

You can verify the removal of the checkpoint:

Get-VMCheckpoint -VMName "VMName"

Best Practices for Checkpoint Management

To avoid performance issues or corrupted VMs, follow these recommendations:

• Use checkpoints temporarily; delete them when no longer needed.
• Use production checkpoints for critical workloads.
• Always give checkpoints meaningful names.
• Monitor disk space – each checkpoint adds .avhdx files.
• Keep your storage infrastructure optimized to handle merges.

You should always avoid the following:

• Using checkpoints as a substitute for full backups.
• Creating checkpoints on heavily loaded production VMs such as SQL, Exchange, or Active Directory.
• Manually deleting .avhdx or .vhdx files.
• Keeping long chains of checkpoints.

Backup solutions like VSS-integrated tools or third-party applications (e.g., NAKIVO, Veeam, etc.) should still be used for long-term protection.

How to Enable or Disable Checkpoints for a VM

1. Open Hyper-V Manager.
2. Right-click the VM and select Settings.
3. Go to Management and select Checkpoints.
4. Enable or disable the Enable Checkpoints option.

This is useful if certain workloads do not support or should not allow checkpoints.

Understanding Checkpoint Storage

Every checkpoint creates one or more .avhdx differencing disks that store all VM changes after the snapshot. These files grow over time and can impact performance.

When you delete a checkpoint, Hyper-V merges these differencing disks back into the parent VHDX. Always allow Hyper-V to handle the process automatically.

Automatic Checkpoints in Hyper-V

Hyper-V can create temporary checkpoints each time a VM starts and automatically remove them when it stops. It is helpful in development environments or training labs.

Enable or disable automatic checkpoints using PowerShell:

Set-VM -Name "VMName" -AutomaticCheckpointsEnabled $true

Conclusion

Checkpoints are one of Hyper-V’s most valuable tools, offering fast, flexible rollback during testing, maintenance, or troubleshooting. In this guide, we demonstrated how to create and manage checkpoints in Hyper-V. By properly managing checkpoints – whether through Hyper-V Manager or PowerShell – you ensure stable performance, efficient storage use, and safer VM operations.

from StarWind Blog https://ift.tt/Vf59EkU
via IFTTT