How to Solve Hyper-V Cannot Delete Checkpoint | 3 Solutions

Do you know how to properly operate Hyper-V clean up snapshots? What to do if your Hyper-V snapshot no delete option? This article will introduce several ways to solve this problem.

Crystal

By Crystal / Updated on March 8, 2023

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Case: Hyper-V snapshot no delete option

 

My Hyper-V host is Server 2012 R2. I have a virtual machine (Server 2012 R2) with a checkpoint. When I right click on the checkpoint, there is no "Delete checkpoint... " option. I need to delete this checkpoint so that it is merged with the parent VHDX. What is the best method for doing this?

- Question from social.technet.microsoft.com

Have you ever encountered the situation where your Hyper-V cannot delete checkpoint because of "Delete" option missing? Right-clicking on the Hyper-V checkpoint, there are only “Settings”, “Export”, “Rename” and “Help” options left, why would this happen?

Hyper-V snapshot no delete option

There are many reasons may cause Hyper-V snapshot delete option not available, such as connection error with the host, or a backup tool failure. The most likely scenario is that the checkpoint created by a third-party tool was not deleted properly by the same tool.

More specifically, the checkpoints and associated .AVHDX files should be merged and deleted at the end of a backup - only the newer .AVHDX files should be kept. However, sometimes the checkpoints may be corrupted because the VM is in a locked or backed up state, or some other reason is preventing the deletion and merging. In this case, you may find the delete option missing, and Hyper-V cannot delete this checkpoint.

How to fix this? I will provide you 3 proven solutions, you can try them one by one. *They also work for cleaning up after a failed Hyper-V checkpoint.

How to solve Hyper-V cannot delete checkpoint (3 solutions)

When you are unable to delete checkpoint in Hyper-V, you can first try some regular troubleshooting means. If they cannot solve this issue, don't worry, there are still some alternatives can help you delete Hyper-V checkpoint properly. I will cover all of them below.

Solution 1. Troubleshooting steps that you should try first

Before taking other measures, you can try some simple ways in Hyper-V Manager to see if you can make snapshot removal work. That is:

  • Right-click on the host name in Hyper-V Manager and select Refresh.

Refresh Hyper-V host

  • Close and restart the Hyper-V Manager.
  • Highlight the target checkpoint and use the [Delete] key on the keyboard. It should pop up a window confirming whether to delete the checkpoint or not.

If none of these ways can help, then you may need to try delete checkpoint Hyper-V with PowerShell.

Solution 2. Properly delete Hyper-V checkpoint with PowerShell

Hyper-V PowerShell module is a bundle of cmdlets for creating, configuring and managing Microsoft Hyper-V hosts and virtual machines. It can be more a time efficient method than using GUI. You can use it remove any Hyper-V checkpoint that has no delete option.

Launch Windows PowerShell as administrator on the Hyper-V host, input and execute the following command to delete the checkpoint:

Get-VMSnapshot -VMName <VMName> | Remove-VMSnapshot

Delete Hyper-V checkpoint via PowerShell

Note:

1. You need to replace <VMName> with your target virtual machine name.

2. If you need to specify a host, you can add a parameter of -ComputerName. The command looks like:

Get-VMSnapshot -ComputerName <ComputerName> -VMName <VMName> | Remove-VMSnapshot

3. If you want to delete a specified checkpoint, you can first run the command to get the checkpoint name:

Get-VMSnapshot -ComputerName <ComputerName> -VMName <VMName>

Then use the name to delete the specified checkpoint, the command will be like:

Get-VMSnapshot -VMName <VMName> -Name <CheckpointName> | Remove-VMSnapshot

Once the command succeeded, you can see the merge progress for the particular VM. It may take some time depending on the snapshot size. After that, you should be able to modify the virtual machine configuration again.

If this method still cannot delete your Hyper-V checkpoint, turn to the next one.

Solution 3. Export and import Hyper-V VM to resolve checkpoint cannot delete

You can try Hyper-V export VM and import as suggested by some other users, which are also said can be used to solve the problem.

1. Launch Hyper-V Manager. Right-click on the name of the target checkpoint, and select Export…

Export Hyper-V checkpoint

2. In the pop-up window, click Browse to specify a network share as the storage destination to the exported files. And then click Export.

export  checkpoint

3. Right-click on the host name and select Import Virtual Machine… Click Next on the pop-up wizard.

Import Virtual Machine

4. On Locate Folder page, click Browse… to specify the folder containing the exported VM files. Click Next to continue.

Locate Folder

5. On Select Virtual Machine page, select the virtual machine to import, then click Next.

Select Virtual Machine

4. On Choose Import Type page, choose the type of import to perform:

  • Register the virtual machine in-place (use the existing unique ID): use the exported files in-place, and when the import has completed, the export files become the running state files and can't be removed. The ID will be the same as the exported one.
  • Restore the virtual machine (use the existing unique ID): restore the VM to the specified or default location, with the same ID as the exported one. When the import has completed, the exported files remain intact and can be removed or imported again.
  • Copy the virtual machine (create a new unique ID): restore the VM to the specified or default location, and create a new unique ID. Which means the exported files remain intact and can be removed or imported again, and you can import the VM to the same host multiple times.

Click Next to continue.

Choose Import Type

5. Choose the second or the third option, the wizard will add 2 more pages for selecting storage.

On Choose Destination page, you can check Store the virtual machine in a different location option, and click Browse… to specify Virtual machine configuration folder, Checkpoint store, and Smart paging folder. Leave the option unchecked the wizard will import the files to default Hyper-V folders. Then click Next.

Choose Destination

6. On Choose Storage Folders page, you can click Browse… to specify where you want to store the imported virtual hard disks for this VM, or leave the default location unchanged. Then click Next.

Choose Storage Folders

7. On Summary page, review the settings and click Finish to start restore.

Summary

Furthere reading: FAQ about Hyper-V delete checkpoint

The above describes how to solve the problem that the delete option disappears and the hyper-v checkpoint cannot be deleted. Besides, many users may have some other confusion about checkpoints. I have compiled some common questions and their answers here.

Q: Where are checkpoints stored on a Hyper-V host?

In general, the default location for storing checkpoint configuration files is:

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

And the default locations for storing AVHDX files (checkpoint storages) are:

Windows Server 2012R2 / Windows 8.1: C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual Hard Disks

Windows Server 2012 / Windows 8: C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsHyper-VNew Virtual MachineVirtual Hard Disks

Q: Can you directly delete checkpoint files (.avhdx)?

Whenever a checkpoint is deleted, Hyper-V merges the .vhdx and .avhdx files automatically, and the .avhdx files should be removed from the disk after the Hyper-V checkpoint merging process is complete. So a proper checkpoint deletion does not result in data loss.

It's not a good idea to delete the .avhdx file in VM folder directly, because it may cause the checkpoint tree to fail.

The normal steps to delete a checkpoint is:

Open the Hyper-V Manager -> Select the virtual machine for which you need to remove checkpoints -> Locate the Checkpoints tab -> Right-click on the desired checkpoint -> click "Delete Checkpoint". If asked to confirm the action, make sure the checkpoint is correct and click "Delete" again.

Note if you need to delete all subsequent checkpoints, right-click the earliest checkpoint and click "Delete Checkpoint Subtree".

If you find some orphaned Hyper-V AVHDX files in the VM folder, but no snapshots on that VM, this may be because incomplete deletion or merging, you can refer to: delete Hyper-V AVHDX file without checkpoints.

Q: Hyper-V checkpoint delete vs merge

A checkpoint is any new change or save between the old state and the present, it stops writing to the actual disk and writes to the change disk.

Once you are satisfied and delete the checkpoint, the changes are written back/merged to the actual disk and are write enabled again. Therefore, deleting a checkpoint and merging a checkpoint are actually the same thing.

If you don't want the changes, you just need to revert them and any changes since the checkpoint will be deleted.

Q: Can Hyper-V checkpoints be used as regular backup means?

The answer is NO. VM snapshot and backup are different from each other. Microsoft's Hyper-V checkpoint is not a replacement of backup.

When you create a backup, you are creating a copy of your virtual machine. It stores complete data of VM. Backups in Hyper-V can be used to restore a whole VM and do not affect the performance.

When you create a checkpoint, you are creating a differencing disk based on the original virtual machine hard disk. If the original disk is damaged, the child disk is easy to be lost or damaged as well. All changes made after the checkpoint are re-directed to the child disk and leaves the original virtual machine disk read-only.

Meanwhile, checkpoints are running out of the memory of disk with a rapid speed, which will gradually  to the poor performance of your virtual machines.

Hyper-V Restore Checkpoint

In short, Hyper-V checkpoint is just a secure "undo" button. If you want to test something quickly and restore the VM to a stable state, checkpoint in Hyper-V is convenient and fast to execute the process. But, if you want long-term and independent protection for VMs, you still need to find effective Hyper-V backup solution.

Better option for long-term protection: Image-based VM backup

As mentioned above, if you are looking for long-term data protection and the ability to quickly restore VMs to a usable state in the event of a disaster, then you are more suited to an image-based VM backup solution.

Here I'd like to introduce you AOMEI Cyber Backup, this free Hyper-V backup solution is designed to protect virtual machines from any data threats, whether you are using Hyper-V in Microsoft Windows Server 2022 / 2019 / 2016 / 2012 R2, Microsoft Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 8.1 or Hyper-V Server 2019 / 2016 / 2012 R2.

You can use the software to simplify Hyper-V backup and management. If offers you the following benefits:

Easy-to-use: User-friendly interface to complete backup and restore process based on several clicks.
Perpetual Free: No time limit for AOMEI Cyber Backup Free Edition.
Auto Backup Schedule: Schedule backups for multiple VMs at once and auto run it without powering off VMs.
Centralized Management: Create and manage Hyper-V VM backups from the central console without installing Agent on each VM.
Flexible Backup Strategy: Flexibly tracking data and store backups to different storages.
Role Assignment: allows one administrator to create sub-accounts with limited privileges.

Please hit the button below to download and use AOMEI Cyber Backup for free:

Download FreewareVMware ESXi & Hyper-V
Secure Download

*You can choose to install this VM backup software on either Windows or Linux system.

3 easy steps to perform free VM backup:

1. Open AOMEI Cyber Backup web client, and access to Source Device >> Hyper-V >> Add Hyper-V to bind your Hyper-V host, then enter the required information and click Confirm.

Add Hyper-V Host

2. Access to Backup Task >> Create New Task to configure your Hyper-V backup task. In the opened wizard, you can select Hyper-V virtual machines to back up, the storages to save the backups.

Backup Target

Also, you can configure Schedule to select backup method as full / incremental backup, and specify the backup frequency on basis of daily / weekly / monthly to automatically run the Hyper-V backup task.

Schedule Hyper-V VM Backup

3. Start Backup: click Start Backup and select Add the schedule and start backup now, or Add the schedule only.

When completing the Hyper-V backup solution, you can monitor the backing up process on the main interface, and you can also check the Backup Log to see if there are any errors that result in your backup failure.

When you want to Restore a VM from the backup, you can select any backup version from the history, and Restore to original location easily.

Restore Hyper-V VM

✍While the Free Edition covers most of the VM backup needs, you can also upgrade to enjoy:

  • Batch VM backup: batch backup large numbers of VMs managed by vCenter Server or on standalone ESXi hosts.
  • Backup Cleanup: Specify retention policy to delete old VM backups automatically, thus saving storage space.
  • Restore to new location: Make a clone of a virtual machine in the same or another datastore/host, without reinstalling or configuring a new VM.

Summary

If you find your Hyper-V snapshot no delete option, I summarized several ways to solve the problem Hyper-V cannot delete checkpoint in this article. Hope it could be helpful to you.

Besides this, you may encounter some other issues, such as Hyper-V VM running slow, stuck at restoring or saved state, Hyper-V VM no internet, failed to change state, etc. To prevent your virtual machines from getting all kinds of errors and eventual crashes, it's always recommended to back up your VMs that are loaded with important data.

Crystal
Crystal · Editor
Crystal is an editor from AOMEI Technology. She mainly writes articles about virtual machine. She is a positive young lady likes to share articles with peolpe. Off work she loves travelling and cooking which is wonderful for life.