How to delete a VHDX completely in windows 11?

Question

How to delete a VHDX completely in windows 11?

Alvaro J Vanegas 10

A few days ago I tried to create a VHDX on my own, my intention was to test how is this functionality but now that I want to remove it from the system since I will not make use of the VHDX I can not do it, I have unmounted the VHDX from the configuration panel and also try to delete the VHDX file that is created but this does not allow me to delete it since it says to be in use, I tried to investigate how to delete that . vhdx file and I found tutorials where the removal of a VHD is done directly by deleting it from the disk manager, trying this worsened the situation because I can no longer make use of that VHDX How can I get rid of this?

Eva Elfie 0 Reputation points

2024-08-02T21:00:34.76+00:00
Use Task Manager to see if any processes are accessing the VHDX file. Look for any suspicious or unknown processes.

If you find any, try to end the process carefully. However, be cautious as ending the wrong process might cause system instability.

Sometimes, running into issues like this can be resolved by booting into Safe Mode. This starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and services, which can help in resolving file-related issues.

Once in Safe Mode, try deleting the VHDX file again.

Additionally, you ca also follow the Microsoft guide at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/manage-virtual-hard-disks visa

Be very careful when deleting files, especially system-related ones. Incorrect deletion can lead to system instability.

Hope so you'll be able to sort out your problem.

2 answers

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Eva Elfie 0 Reputation points

2024-08-02T21:00:34.76+00:00

Use Task Manager to see if any processes are accessing the VHDX file. Look for any suspicious or unknown processes.

If you find any, try to end the process carefully. However, be cautious as ending the wrong process might cause system instability.

Sometimes, running into issues like this can be resolved by booting into Safe Mode. This starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and services, which can help in resolving file-related issues.

Once in Safe Mode, try deleting the VHDX file again.

Additionally, you ca also follow the Microsoft guide at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/manage-virtual-hard-disks visa

Be very careful when deleting files, especially system-related ones. Incorrect deletion can lead to system instability.

Hope so you'll be able to sort out your problem.

Answer 1

Anonymous

Hi Alvaro J Vanegas,

Please open cmd as administrator and run diskpart.

Run list vdisk to displays the attached virtual disks.
If the vhdx is listed, run select vdisk file="<vhdx file path>" to select the specified virtual disk.
Run detach vdisk to detach the selected virtual disk.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/diskpart

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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Isaac 0 Reputation points

2024-08-02T20:11:56.71+00:00

Docker data .vhdx has been left on the system.

But when I tried to view the list of vdisks in diskpart on the cmd administrator, it did not show up. What should I do instead, to remove the .vhdx properly?

Answer 2

Claudia Dos Santos Haz (CONCENTRIX CORPORATION) 1,120 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @Alvaro J Vanegas,

Thank you for asking this question on the Microsoft Q&A Platform.

I hope that the following articles will be of help to you.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/manage-virtual-hard-disks

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/storage/remove-virtualdisk?view=windowsserver2022-ps&viewFallbackFrom=win10-ps

Best regards,

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How to delete a VHDX completely in windows 11?

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