diff --git a/src/components/vm/snapshots/vmSnapshotsCreateModal.jsx b/src/components/vm/snapshots/vmSnapshotsCreateModal.jsx
index 6e91c8a7b..8214c3aac 100644
--- a/src/components/vm/snapshots/vmSnapshotsCreateModal.jsx
+++ b/src/components/vm/snapshots/vmSnapshotsCreateModal.jsx
@@ -147,22 +147,18 @@ export class CreateSnapshotModal extends React.Component {
 
     onCreate() {
         const Dialogs = this.context;
-        const { vm, isExternal, storagePools } = this.props;
+        const { vm, isExternal } = this.props;
         const { name, description, memoryPath } = this.state;
-        const disks = Object.values(vm.disks);
         const validationError = this.onValidate();
 
         if (!Object.keys(validationError).length) {
             this.setState({ inProgress: true });
             snapshotCreate({
-                connectionName: vm.connectionName,
-                vmId: vm.id,
+                vm,
                 name,
                 description,
-                memoryPath: vm.state === "running" && memoryPath,
-                disks,
                 isExternal,
-                storagePools
+                memoryPath: isExternal && vm.state === "running" && memoryPath,
             })
                     .then(() => {
                         // VM Snapshots do not trigger any events so we have to refresh them manually
diff --git a/src/libvirt-xml-create.js b/src/libvirt-xml-create.js
index 417c7d3cc..5d59093e3 100644
--- a/src/libvirt-xml-create.js
+++ b/src/libvirt-xml-create.js
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ export function getPoolXML({ name, type, source, target }) {
 }
 
 // see https://libvirt.org/formatsnapshot.html
-export function getSnapshotXML(name, description, disks, memoryPath, isExternal, storagePools, connectionName) {
+export function getSnapshotXML(name, description, memoryPath) {
     const doc = document.implementation.createDocument('', '', null);
 
     const snapElem = doc.createElement('domainsnapshot');
@@ -253,36 +253,11 @@ export function getSnapshotXML(name, description, disks, memoryPath, isExternal,
         snapElem.appendChild(descriptionElem);
     }
 
-    if (isExternal) {
-        if (memoryPath) {
-            const memoryElem = doc.createElement('memory');
-            memoryElem.setAttribute('snapshot', 'external');
-            memoryElem.setAttribute('file', memoryPath);
-            snapElem.appendChild(memoryElem);
-        }
-
-        const disksElem = doc.createElement('disks');
-        disks.forEach(disk => {
-            // Disk can have attribute "snapshot" set to "no", which
-            // means no snapshot should be created of the said disk
-            // This cannot be configured through cockpit, but we
-            // should uphold it nevertheless.
-            //
-            // See "snapshot" attribute of <disk> element at
-            // https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html#hard-drives-floppy-disks-cdroms
-            if (disk.snapshot == "no")
-                return;
-
-            // Skip disks without source, such as empty media drives.
-            if (isExternal && disk.type == "file" && !disk.source.file)
-                return;
-
-            const diskElem = doc.createElement('disk');
-            diskElem.setAttribute('name', disk.target);
-            diskElem.setAttribute('snapshot', 'external');
-            disksElem.appendChild(diskElem);
-        });
-        snapElem.appendChild(disksElem);
+    if (memoryPath) {
+        const memoryElem = doc.createElement('memory');
+        memoryElem.setAttribute('snapshot', 'external');
+        memoryElem.setAttribute('file', memoryPath);
+        snapElem.appendChild(memoryElem);
     }
 
     doc.appendChild(snapElem);
diff --git a/src/libvirtApi/snapshot.js b/src/libvirtApi/snapshot.js
index 671ec607d..e19222b13 100644
--- a/src/libvirtApi/snapshot.js
+++ b/src/libvirtApi/snapshot.js
@@ -29,11 +29,37 @@ import { parseDomainSnapshotDumpxml } from '../libvirt-xml-parse.js';
 import { call, Enum, timeout } from './helpers.js';
 import { logDebug } from '../helpers.js';
 
-export function snapshotCreate({ connectionName, vmId, name, description, memoryPath, disks, isExternal, storagePools }) {
-    // that flag ought to be implicit for non-running VMs, see https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RHEL-22797
+export async function snapshotCreate({ vm, name, description, isExternal, memoryPath }) {
+    // The "disk only" flag ought to be implicit for non-running VMs, see https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RHEL-22797
+
+    // However, "disk only" can be used to request external snapshots
+    // for a stopped machine. The alternative is to list all disks
+    // with a snapshot type of "external" in the XML, but then we need
+    // to worry about which disks to include and which to skip.
+
+    // The behavior is as follows:
+    //
+    // VM state  |  disk only  |  memory path   =>  resulting snapshot type
+    // --------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // shutoff   |  false      |  null          =>  internal
+    // shutoff   |  true       |  null          =>  external
+    // running   |  false      |  null          =>  internal full system
+    // running   |  false      |  non-null      =>  external full system
+    // running   |  true       |  null          =>  external disk only
+    //
+    // Other cases are errors.
+
     const flags = (!isExternal || memoryPath) ? 0 : Enum.VIR_DOMAIN_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_DISK_ONLY;
-    const xmlDesc = getSnapshotXML(name, description, disks, memoryPath, isExternal, storagePools, connectionName);
-    return call(connectionName, vmId, 'org.libvirt.Domain', 'SnapshotCreateXML', [xmlDesc, flags], { timeout, type: 'su' });
+    const xmlDesc = getSnapshotXML(name, description, memoryPath);
+
+    // We really don't want to make disk only snapshots of running
+    // machines by accident.
+
+    if (vm.state === "running" && (flags & Enum.VIR_DOMAIN_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_DISK_ONLY))
+        throw new Error("Cowardly refusing to make a disk-only snapshot of a running machine");
+
+    return await call(vm.connectionName, vm.id, 'org.libvirt.Domain', 'SnapshotCreateXML', [xmlDesc, flags],
+                      { timeout, type: 'su' });
 }
 
 export function snapshotCurrent({ connectionName, objPath }) {