How To convert a VMware Workstation virtual machine (VM) to a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) format

To convert a VMware Workstation virtual machine (VM) to a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) format, which can be used with Microsoft Hyper-V or other platforms supporting the VHD format, you can follow these steps:

Method 1: Using Disk2vhd Tool (Microsoft)

Requirements:

• Disk2vhd (A free tool from Microsoft Sysinternals)
• VMware Workstation with the VM you want to convert

1. Download Disk2vhd:
   • Go to the Microsoft Sysinternals page for Disk2vhd and download the tool.
2. Install Disk2vhd:
   • It’s a portable tool, so just unzip and run it on the guest operating system inside your VMware VM.
3. Run Disk2vhd inside the VM:
   • Run Disk2vhd inside the guest VM.
   • Select the disks you want to convert (e.g., C: drive).
   • Choose a destination path for the VHD file (e.g., an external drive or a shared folder).
   • Make sure to check the box for Use Vhdx if you want the more modern VHDX format (larger capacity and more features) instead of the older VHD format.
   • Click Create to start the conversion process. This will create a VHD or VHDX file of the running system.
4. Copy the VHD File:
   • Once the VHD is created, copy it to the destination host where you want to use it, such as a Hyper-V server.
5. Attach the VHD in Hyper-V:
   • Open Hyper-V Manager and create a new virtual machine.
   • During the VM creation, select the option to use an existing virtual hard disk and browse to the VHD file created by Disk2vhd.
   • Configure the remaining VM settings and start the VM.

Method 2: Using VMware Converter and Hyper-V Manager

Requirements:

• VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
• VMware Workstation
• Hyper-V Manager (on the target system)

1. Use VMware vCenter Converter:
   • Download and install VMware vCenter Converter Standalone.
   • Launch VMware Converter and select Convert Machine.
   • Select the source type as VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine and locate your VM.
   • For the destination, you can select Standalone virtual machine and save it in a location of your choice.
   • Choose the format as Microsoft Hyper-V if available, or just proceed to convert the VM to a format that you can use for further conversion.
2. Convert to VHD using a Third-Party Tool:
   • If the VMware Converter output is in a different format (like VMDK), you can use a third-party tool like StarWind V2V Converter.
   • Download StarWind V2V Converter and install it on your system.
   • Open the converter, select the source VMDK file (from the converted output of VMware Converter), and choose VHD as the target format.
   • Save the converted VHD file.
3. Copy the VHD file to Hyper-V Host:
   • Copy the resulting VHD file to the system where you will use it with Hyper-V.
   • Open Hyper-V Manager and create a new virtual machine, selecting the existing VHD file.

Method 3: Using StarWind V2V Converter Directly

Requirements:

• StarWind V2V Converter (Free tool)
• VMware Workstation

1. Download and Install StarWind V2V Converter:
   • Get StarWind V2V Converter from the StarWind website.
2. Convert VMDK to VHD:
   • Open the StarWind V2V Converter.
   • Select the source file as the VMware Workstation VMDK file.
   • Choose the destination format as Microsoft VHD or VHDX.
   • Specify the location where you want to save the VHD file.
   • Complete the conversion process.
3. Transfer the VHD file to the Hyper-V Host:
   • Copy the converted VHD file to your Hyper-V host.
   • Open Hyper-V Manager and create a new VM using the converted VHD file.

Summary of Methods:

• Disk2vhd is straightforward if you want to create a VHD from a live system, but it requires the VM to be running.
• VMware Converter + StarWind V2V Converter is useful for migrating directly between virtualization platforms.
• StarWind V2V Converter is a direct approach if you already have a VMDK and want to quickly convert it to VHD.

Choose the method that best fits your environment and requirements.

 

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