How do I expand the hard drive of a Windows Virtual Machine using Hyper-V?

The following article explains how to expand the hard drive of a Windows virtual machine using Hyper-V. When a virtual machine is created, a hard drive capacity is set. If the virtual machine runs out of drive space, additional space can be allocated to the machine. This is done through the Hyper-V manager located on the hardware node (the dedicated server).

To expand the hard drive, please follow these steps:

1. Log into your server using Remote Desktop Connection.
2. Open the Hyper-V Manager, typically located in Administrative Tools.
3. Connect to the virtual machine and shut it down properly.
4. Delete any snapshots that are present.
5. Right click the virtual machine in the Hyper-V Manager and select Settings.
6. Under IDE Controller 0, click Hard Drive.
7. Under Media, click Edit.
8. Choose Expand and click Next.
9. Enter the new size for the drive and click Finish.
10. Click Inspect and verify the new Maximum size is correct.
11. Click Close and then click OK.
12. Start the virtual machine and connect to it.
13. On the virtual machine, open Computer Management, typically located in Administrative Tools.
14. Expand Storage, click Disk Management.
15. Right click the partition you just expanded and select Extend Volume.
16. Verify the added space is correct and click Next.
17. Click Finish.