Virtual Disk Conversion: VHDX, VHD, VMDK, VDI, & Physical

A unique feature in BackupChain is its ability to convert virtual machines live from one format to another without interrupting or otherwise affecting the original VM.

For example you could convert Hyper-V VMs to VMDKs and power them up using VMware Workstation in case of a disaster. Alternatively you could convert VMs live in order to migrate them from one platform to another, such as from VMware Workstation to Hyper-V.

Similar to the instructions of the preceding section, create a new task of “V2V” type. The example below converts a Hyper-V VHD to a VMDK to be used in VMware Workstation:

Then in the next screen we select the source VHD and the target VMDK file we want:

Note the option “Perform Live VM Conversion” has to be checked if you want to back up or convert this VM while it’s running. In the case of Hyper-V, this conversion will be made application consistent and you will notice in the Hyper-V Manager the VM switching to a live backup state (no interruptions will occur unless Hyper-V pulls the VM into a Saved State at its own discretion. Contact our tech support for details).

The file Z:\Converted VMs\Ubuntu.vmdk will be produced from the Hyper-V VM while the VM is running. The VMDK can be directly attached to a new VMware Workstation or ESX VM and booted in most cases. An intermediary step may be necessary for some VMs, see sections below. The intermediate step can be included in the screen above by selecting ‘apply universal boot settings’, which alters the VM’s boot settings to be more compatible with VMware in this case.