Windows/Merging HyperV Snapshots With Powershell

Table of content

Directions for how to merge multiple HyperV snapshot differencing files.

Merging the snapshot

Identify your child avhdx file

Get-VM | Get-VMHardDiskDrive | Select VMName,Path

VMName            Path
------            ----
Domain Controller D:\VMs\Domain Controller_1023082130.avhdx

Installing the Hyper-V Powershell CMDLETS

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-Management-PowerShell

Merge the AVHDX

Make sure your VM is turned off. The Merge-VHD operation requires the avhdx file be offline.

The destination path will be the snapshot or VHDX file that you want to merge into. This will automatically merge any of the parent snapshots in between the one you're using and the one you're merging into.

So if you're merging from the fifth snapshot into the first snapshot, it'll merge the fifth into the fourth, the fourth into the third, the third into the second, and the second into the first. 

Merge-VHD -Path "D:\VMs\Domain Controller_1023082130.avhdx" -DestinationPath "D:\VMs\Domain Controller.vhdx"y

Set VM Drive

Merging the snapshot deletes the snapshot after. Update the drive path of your VM to the snapshot you merged into 

Set-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "Domain Controller" -Path "D:\VMs\Domain Controller.vhdx" -ControllerType SCSI
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