The following examples illustrate the most common ways you can use a snapshot.

If you do not take a snapshot, your virtual machine runs the same way a physical computer does. All changes you make while you are working with a virtual machine are saved and you cannot return to an earlier state.

If you do not need to use the snapshot feature, it is best to run your virtual machine with no snapshot. This provides the best performance. To be sure a virtual machine has no snapshot, choose Snapshot > Remove Snapshot.

To configure the virtual machine not to use snapshots, choose VM > Settings > Options > Snapshot, then check Disable snapshots.

Another way to make sure the virtual machine doesn't use snapshots is to configure the virtual disk in independent mode. For more information, see Independent Disks.

If you plan to make risky changes in a virtual machine (for example, testing new software or examining a virus), take a snapshot before you begin to make those risky changes. If you encounter a problem, click Revert on the console toolbar to return the virtual machine to its state at the time you took the snapshot.

If the first action you take causes no problems and you want to protect the virtual machine in its new state, you can take a new snapshot. You can have only one snapshot at a given time. When you take the new snapshot, you replace your previous snapshot and the contents of the previous snapshot are written to the virtual disk. You do not lose any data.

You can configure the virtual machine to revert to the snapshot any time it is powered off. To do so, choose VM > Settings > Options > Snapshot. Under When powering off, select Revert to the snapshot. If you want the virtual machine to be suspended when you launch it, suspend the virtual machine before saving the snapshot. Similarly, if you want the virtual machine to be powered on or powered off when you launch it, be sure it is powered on or powered off when you take the snapshot.