Hyper-V VM Import Error

Overview

Sometimes when copying and importing a VM you get an error that looks something like this:

• Virtual Machine failed to start
• General access denied error’ (0x80070005)

This is typically a permissions issue. The Virtual Machine account doesn't have permissions to access the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD/VHDX) or Snapshot (.AVHD)

Solution

• Obtain the Virtual Machine ID. This can be found by copying the filename of the .vmcx file (and omitting the file extension)
• Run the following command:

icacls "E:\VMs\VMName\Disk0.vhd" /grant "NT VIRTUAL MACHINE\5FC5C385-BD98-451F-B3F3-1E50E06EE663":(F)

NOTE: Substitute the file path and the Virtual ID

Reference

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2249906/hyper-v-virtual-machine-may-not-start,-and-you-receive-a-general-access-denied-error-0x80070005-error-message