Get VM Process Id

The task

Imagine a standard operation - I need to expand vhdx size. It isn’t hard, right? Just:

• go to Hyper-V manager,
• right click the VM,
• Select settings,
• Select vhdx you want to expand,
• Click edit
• Then next
• Then select expand, click next
• Select new size,
• Then next
• Then finish.

Or I can use PowerShell:

1. Get VM hard disk location
2. Resize VHD file

Trouble round the corner

But then the nasty gnome comes in. The task doesn’t complete. Within 30 minutes. This is a dynamicly expanding disk. Shouldn’t take longer than a few seconds.

I try to stop the VM from within the guest OS. No go.

I try to turn it off from Hyper-V host level. No go again.

VM stays in 'Stopped-Critical' state. I try to kill the process vmwp.exe that is responsible for this VM. To get that, I first need VM GUID.

GUI way is to go to VM folder and check for xml name:

Now, using ProcessExplorer I can add UserName column (View-> Select Columns) and check for given GUID:

Or I can use PowerShell:

Not so happy ending

Now, killing vmwp process USSUALY works.

It didn’t work this time and caused the vmms (Virtual Machine Management Service) to stuck.

Which in the end caused the whole node to go crazy.

But that’s another story.