Back Up a Virtual Machine

Most people don't seriously consider regular backups as a necessity until they have experienced a significant data loss. You should create your own backup strategy to protect yourself from data loss. Virtual machines are as vulnerable to crashes as physical computers.

You can back up your virtual machine using one or several of the following methods:

• Configure the regular backup settings in the Backup pane of the Virtual Machine Configuration dialog.
• Clone the virtual machine with the help of Clone Virtual Machine Assistant . Give a descriptive name to the clone and save it in a location specially designated for backups.
• Copy the virtual machine files manually.

Configure Regular Backups

In the Backup pane of the Virtual Machine Configuration dialog, you can choose how to back up your virtual machine regularly. You can configure how the virtual machine snapshots will be created.

Clone the Virtual Machine

You can create a complete clone of the virtual machine using Clone Virtual Machine Assistant. For details, see Clone a Virtual Machine .

Copying the Virtual Machine Files

You can locate your virtual machine on the host computer and create a backup copy of the virtual machine file (PVM).

1. In the sidebar , right-click the virtual machine name and select Open location from the context menu. Go to the folder where your virtual machine is stored.
2. Locate the required virtual machine PVM file.

   Note: PVM file is a bundle that contains the virtual machine configuration file (PVS), virtual hard disk file (HDD), and other files.

3. Copy the virtual machine's PVM file to a safe location.