Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks

Former default location of Hyper-V virtual hard disks (.vhd, .vhdx); Hyper-V also runs on Windows 10 and 11, not only on Windows Server.

Updated on 12 November 2026 By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

Hyper-V virtual hard disks (.vhd, .vhdx) were created here by default on the first releases of the role, under the Public documents folder. Recent versions default to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Virtual Hard Disks, so you mostly meet this folder on older, migrated or hand-configured hosts. Hyper-V is available on client editions (Pro, Enterprise, Education) as well as on Windows Server, so the folder is not server-specific.

What it contains

The .vhd and .vhdx files of the virtual machines, including the differencing disks (.avhdx) created by checkpoints.
A disk is referenced by its full path in the VM configuration: moving it by hand breaks the link.
Configuration files (.vmcx, .vmrs) are not stored here; they live in the VM configuration folder, see Get-VMHost.

Risks and best practices

The folder sits under Public and is readable by every local user: a copy of a virtual disk exposes the whole VM (password hashes, secrets). Move VM storage to a dedicated volume with restricted permissions.
To relocate a disk, shut the VM down and use Move-VMStorage or Move-VHD instead of Explorer, so the configuration is updated and the VM-specific ACLs are kept.
Change the host default with Set-VMHost so new VMs no longer land here.

Useful commands

# Default locations configured on the host
Get-VMHost | Select-Object VirtualHardDiskPath, VirtualMachinePath

# Disks used by each VM
Get-VM | Get-VMHardDiskDrive | Select-Object VMName, Path

# Disk details (maximum size, actual size, parent if any)
Get-VHD -Path 'C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\vm01.vhdx'

# New default location (as administrator)
Set-VMHost -VirtualHardDiskPath 'D:\Hyper-V\Disks' -VirtualMachinePath 'D:\Hyper-V\VM'

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