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Transfer VM from one Environment to the other - what will happen to Power Automate Desktop flows

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Posted on by vix7

As the subject indicates, I need to transfer my VM from one environment to another.

I’m concerned about how this move might affect Power Automate Desktop flows, especially since the user on that VM is the owner of all the desktop flows.

Will everything continue to work normally after the transfer?
If I create a new user and delete the current one, will the flows become “orphaned”? If so, can I still use or manage those orphaned flows as a co-owner?
Are there any best practices, tips, or precautions I should follow before transferring the VM to avoid any disruption?

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Michael E. Gernaey 52,972 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Transfer VM from one Environment to the other - what will happen to Power Automate Desktop flows

Hi @vix7

So this gets a tiny bit odd because it can depend a bit on if they are unattended (which I am assuming) or attended (possibly).

VM's (for the PAD) are tied to groups, which are tied to environments.

Personally, I would recommend that you export all the flows, then re-import them so as not to take a chance or orphaning them and register the machine again since its moved.

For some reason I think @Tomac and @developerAJ may have dealt with this in other posts so I am asking if they can chime in please.

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Tomac 3,924 Moderator on at

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Transfer VM from one Environment to the other - what will happen to Power Automate Desktop flows

While I don't work with Power Automate Desktop, I can give some advice on the VM side of things.

First, before moving the VM power it off and take a snapshot of it in the original location. This way you have an original state backup you can revert to if things go sideways.

Transferring the VM itself shouldn't cause any issues, because it's the same idea as taking a laptop from one location to another.

Things get tricky when you change domains and users. Are you migrating the machine and the user to a new domain when you say move to a new environment? If you're setting up a brand new user account you'll want to follow Microsoft's instructions on how to migrate Desktop Flows.

Honestly, take the snapshot and try it. Worst case scenario you wipe away the moved VM and fire it back up from the snapshot.

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