# Is it safe to delete .qcow2, .vmdk or .vdi disk files?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/files-vm-disks
- Item: Virtual machine and emulator disks
- Location: `*.qcow2, *.vmdk, *.vdi, *.vhd, *.vhdx`
- Verdict: Keep — your data — Your data. Shrink it from its app; don’t delete the folder.
- Comes back on its own: no
- Typical size: 1–200 GB per file
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

This covers virtual disk files of 1 GB or more (`.qcow2`, `.vmdk`, `.vdi`, `.vhd`, `.vhdx`) found in your home folder outside the usual virtual machine apps. Each one is the hard disk of a virtual machine or emulator: a whole operating system with its apps and files.

## What happens if you delete it?

No. A deleted disk cannot be rebuilt; the system and files inside it are lost unless backed up.

## How to remove it properly

Find out which app uses the disk first. If it belongs to a VM you no longer need, delete the VM from that app. To keep it, shut the VM down and move the disk to an external drive.

## Before you delete it

A disk may still be attached to a VM in another app; moving or deleting it breaks that VM.