How to delete a virtual machine on VMware

In case you’re wondering how to delete a virtual machine on VMware, you have found the perfect guide.

Using VMware virtual machines can be extremely useful if done properly.

There will be moments in which you will need to clean up your VM set and remove any old or un-used virtual machines from your system.

Doing this allows you to make your PC run more efficiently, and in turn, to make use of your virtual machines at full speed, and without any clutter bothering you.

VMware has made it easy for you to edit your VMs, but there are a few differences depending on what version of the software you’re using currently.

In this how-to guide, we will discuss those differences and will give you an exact list of steps to follow in order to manage to delete a virtual machine on VMware.

Please make sure to read the guide carefully, and to follow the steps in the order that they were written in.

This will allow you to make sure that none of your useful virtual machines will disappear, or become corrupted in any way.

Read on to find out more.

Follow these steps to ensure that you properly delete a VM in VMware

Note: Deleting a virtual machine means that all the data stored on it will be completely erased.

If you have any doubts about what VM to delete, or you are deleting it to re-create it, please make sure to backup your data and store in on a secure device.

Delete a virtual  machine on VMware Workstation 7.x and above:

1. Open VMware and navigate to the list of virtual machines stored on your hard drive.
2. Click the name of the machine you want to remove.
3. Select the Manage in option found in the Workstation menu bar.
4. Choose the option Delete from disk.
5. Confirm the deletion process by clicking Yes in the pop-up that appears.
6. This will remove the VM and place it into your Recycle Bin.
7. To free up space on your Workstation, you will need to right-click the Recycle Bin -> select Empty Recycle Bin.

Wondering how to boot from USB drive in VMware? Try this

Delete a virtual  machine on VMware Workstation Player 12.x:

1. Open VMware on your machine -> navigate to the list of installed virtual machines.
2. Right-click the virtual machine you want to remove -> select Delete from disk.
3. Confirm that you want to delete it by pressing the Yes button inside the prompt.
4. To also free up disk space, you will need to empty the Recycle Bin as well.

Conclusion

In today’s how-to guide we explored the most efficient ways of deleting a virtual machine on VMware, and also how to clear up space on your hard-drive.

Please feel free to let us know if this article was helpful by using the comment section found below this article.

Before you leave, you might be interested in the best settings for running Windows 10 in VMware, and we have an entire article dedicated to this subject.