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August 21, 2026

Unlocking or Locking Virtual Machines Using the ‑V Option

You can use the vdmadmin command with the -V option to unlock or lock virtual machines in the data center.

Syntax


vdmadmin -V [-b authentication_arguments] -e -d desktop -m machine [-m machine] ...

vdmadmin -V [-b authentication_arguments] -e -vcdn vCenter_dn -vmpath inventory_path

vdmadmin -V [-b authentication_arguments] -p -d desktop -m machine [-m machine] ...

vdmadmin -V [-b authentication_arguments] -p -vcdn vCenter_dn -vmpath inventory_path

Usage Notes

You should only use the vdmadmin command to unlock or lock a virtual machine if you encounter a problem that has left a remote desktop in an incorrect state. Do not use the command to administer remote desktops that are operating normally.

If a remote desktop is locked and the entry for its virtual machine no longer exists in ADAM, use the -vmpath and -vcdn options to specify the inventory path of the virtual machine and the vCenter Server. You can use vCenter Client to find out the inventory path of a virtual machine for a remote desktop under Home/Inventory/VMs and Templates. You can use ADAM ADSI Edit to find out the distinguished name of the vCenter Server under the OU=Properties heading.

Options

The following table shows the options that you can specify to unlock or lock virtual machines.

Options for Unlocking or Locking Virtual Machines

OptionDescription
-d desktopSpecifies the desktop pool.
-eUnlocks a virtual machine.
-m machineSpecifies the name of the virtual machine.
-pLocks a virtual machine.
-vcdn vCenter_dnSpecifies the distinguished name of the vCenter Server.
-vmpath inventory_pathSpecifies the inventory path of the virtual machine.

Examples

Unlock the virtual machines machine 1 and machine2 in desktop pool dtpool3.
vdmadmin -V -e -d dtpool3 -m machine1 -m machine2

Lock the virtual machine machine3 in desktop pool dtpool3.

vdmadmin -V -p -d dtpool3 -m machine3

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