Convert vhd to vmdk
Author: s | 2025-04-24
How to convert vmdk to vhd. Available vmdk to vhd converters. Find tools and software solutions for converting vmdk files to vhd format easily. Convert VMDK to VHD and VHD to VMDK for free StarWind Converter is a downloadable V2V conversion tool for virtual machines. You can use it to convert VMDK to VHD files and VHD to
StarWind V2V Converter: Convert VMDK to VHD and VHD to VMDK
Several OS in one HDD without additional partitions.Pros:Easily create pre-built configurations.Create multiple users for one OS, and the changes made in one OS won’t affect others.Easily undo and redo the changes to the VHD/VHDX file.Can recover corrupted, unreadable, deleted, or damaged data.Multi-user isolation ensures when one instance crashes, the others wouldn’t.Cons:Corrupted VHD/VHDX files can crash Windows.Possible malware vectors against the VM.The storage limit of a VHD file is 2TB.Blocked VHD cannot resize the memory.What is VMDK?VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) is a virtual disk drive format formerly exclusive to VMware applications and later becomes an open format widely employed across virtualizations, like VirtualBox and Hyper-V.Features:Supports snapshotting, and sparse allocation that allows file expansion on demand.Protects RAID within SAN.Easily clone the physical HDD.Allows physical hard disk cloning and offsite backup.62 TB storage since vSphere 5.5.Pros:Efficient use of space with advanced features like 64K sub-blocks.Less overhead due to sub-block representation.High data security with snapshots and Continuous Data Protection.Can be easily migrated or moved to servers with live migration.Allows incremental backup and thus faster backup speed.Recreates and restarts VMs with VMDK files.Transform a physical pc into a virtual disk.Cons:Hard to restore the lost VMDK disk data.How to Convert VDI to VHD and Vice Versa?1. Convert VDI to VHDa. Power off the VM before. Click File in VirtualBox to start Virtual Media Manager.b. Select the disk attached to the VM to migrate and click Copy.c. Choose VHD file format in the disk copy option.d. Choose disk dynamic for less disk usage and testing or fixed size for production and high disk utilization usage.e. Select the VHD file path and start copying.2. Convert VHD to VDILaunch VBoxManage.exe (under C:Program FilesOracleVirtualBox) and run the following command:sudo vboxmanage clonehd inputFileName.vhd outputFileName.vdi --format vdiHow to Convert VDI to VMDK and Vice Versa?1. Convert VDI to VMDKa. Power off the VM. Click File in VirtualBox to start Virtual Media Manager.b. Click the VDI file to convert and then click Copy.c. Select VMDK from the pop-up window and then click Next.d. Enter the new file name and click Copy.e. The conversion from VDI to VMDK begins.2. Convert VMDK to VDIYou can Attach the VMDK file to the VirtualBox Media Manager, then boot the VM OS from the file without converting it. If you need to convert the files, follow this guide:Use VBoxManage.exe to convert.“C:Program filesOracleVirtualboxvboxmanage” clonehd inputFileName.vmdk outputFileName.vdi –format VDIHow to Convert VHD toHow to Convert VHD to VMDK and Vice Versa?1. Convert VHD to VMDKUse VBoxManage.exe and convert.“C:Program filesOracleVirtualboxvboxmanage” clonehd inputFileName.vhd outputFileName.vmdk –format vmdkOr refer to more methods to convert Hyper-V (VHD) to VMware (VMDK).2. Convert VMDK to VHDa. Export VMware VMs to OVF template.b. Launch PowerShell and input the following command to add the converter module.Import-Module “MVMCfilepathMicrosoft Virtual Machine ConverterMvmcCmdlet.psd1”c. Convert VMDK to VHD(X).ConvertTo-MvmcVirtualHardDisk -SourceLiteralPath “VMDKfilepath.vmdk” -VhdType Fixedsize/DynamicHardDisk -VhdFormat vhd/vhdx -DestinationLiteralPath “newfilepathewfilename.vhd/vhdx”Find more conversion ways to migrate VMware (VMDK) to Hyper-V (VHD/X).How to easily convert virtual machine?For enterprises, you should choose professional solution for V2V to protect data and seamlessly switch to new environment. Vinchin Backup & Recovery is an agentless solution for 10+ virtualizations like VMware and Hyper-V (Virtualbox is not included), 6 databases, Linux & Windows Servers, NAS, and centrally manages the backups in a web-based console. With the backup VMs, you can directly restore them to another virtualization platforms for V2V migration.This robust solution can let you experience various easy backup strategies and fast disaster recovery options within the software, such as backup schedules, GFS retention, Email alerts, etc.● Save storage and cost: deduplicating and compressing 50% of data to save more space for newly written data.● Anti-ransomware data protection: safeguard all backups saved in the software and backup server with backup storage protection, double data encryption, and data archiving to public clouds.● Offsite backup copy: save another backup copy to a distant location for an emergency.● File-level recovery: target specific folders/files to save resources.For example, after you create the backup of VMware, you can migrate the VM to Hyper-Vin 4 steps.1. Select the backup of VMware VM2. Select the Hyper-V host as destination3. Select strategies4. Submit the jobWant to use it immediately? Download the 60-day full-featured free trial and protect your critical data now.FAQs for VDI, VHD and VMDK Selection1. Which format of virtual diskConvert VMDK to VHD or VHD to VMDK Using StarWind Image Converter
Table of contents:What is VDI?What is VHD?What is VMDK?How to Convert VDI to VHD and Vice Versa?How to Convert VDI to VMDK and Vice Versa?How to Convert VHD to VMDK and Vice Versa?How to easily convert virtual machine?In computing, a disk image is a computer file that contains the contents and structure of a disk or the whole storage device. Similarly, there also are various disk images or virtual disks in virtualization that play the part of traditional hard disks. They come in different formats hinging on virtualization creators.Virtual Disk Image (VDI), Virtual Hard Disk (VHD), and Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) are the most widely used, which may come from all sorts of platforms, they can be used interchangeably. But which is better for you and how to convert them if you prefer the other one?What is VDI?VDI (Virtual Disk Image) is the default virtual disk format of Oracle VirtualBox running on macOS, Windows, Linux, and Solaris hosts. VirtualBox also supports Microsoft VHD/VHDX and VMware VMDK file formats, which can be copied and created by the Virtual Media Manager of VirtualBox but they have to be converted to VDI first if you want to maintain them.Features:It is portable and can be used in other virtualizations like VMware and Microsoft.Allows fixed-size and dynamically allocated storage.Supports remote access, snapshotting, and sparse allocation.Pros:High-level redundancy.Lessen the data loss impact on the VMs.Smaller size than VHD/VHDX with better performance.High-level data security.High availability of accessing VDI from the cloud, desktop, mobile, etc.Cons:Doesn’t support incremental backups.Slower than VMDK.VDI format conversion to other formats is now always possible.You cannot roll out an image to the desktop clients unless they are VirtualBox.What is VHD?VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) is the now-defunct disk format of Microsoft Hyper-V and Virtual Server, originally developed by Connectix. Despite its popularity among virtualization products, Microsoft replaced it with VHDX (Virtual Hard Disk v2) as the default format with a larger storage capacity of 64 TB.Features:Reside as files on the host operating systems.Supports fixed and dynamic disk sizing, differencing, and snapshots.Microsoft PowerShell scripts can convert VHD to VHDX.Modify the VM configurations directly from the host server.Use. How to convert vmdk to vhd. Available vmdk to vhd converters. Find tools and software solutions for converting vmdk files to vhd format easily. Convert VMDK to VHD and VHD to VMDK for free StarWind Converter is a downloadable V2V conversion tool for virtual machines. You can use it to convert VMDK to VHD files and VHD toConvert VHD to VMDK - DiskInternals
2.0Here is a detalied summary of how to do it.The default install location is:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Machine ConverterUsing powershell as a local admin you can then load the cmdlet:Import-Module .\MvmcCmdlet.psd1After the cmdlet is loaded you can call the following:ConvertTo-MvmcVirtualHardDiskThis will ask for the .vmdk file path:Supply values for the following parameters:SourceLiteralPath: D:\some.vmdkIt will then start the conversion and place the .vhdk in the following path after its converted:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Machine ConverterI hope this helps someone else. spuder10.1k5 gold badges44 silver badges57 bronze badges answered Jul 22, 2014 at 19:44 ElvisLivesElvisLives1491 silver badge3 bronze badges 4 I have used the tool suggest by rkosegi and it did converted by VMDK to VHD and I could use locally. With regard to your "Invalid vmdk file" error, this could be specific to the VMDK you have as not everyone using this tool report same error. Based on my experience on using converted VMDK on Windows azure, what I found is that not all VHDs which are converted from VMDK will work on Windows Azure. There were few problems reported after VHD was installed with Windows Azure Integrated components and deployed to Windows Azure. So to get best experience, it would be best if you generate your OS VHD native and then deployed to Windows Azure. And if you start creating your native VHD directly, you will be sure that it will run on Windows Azure as expected. Ian Kemp1,08611 silver badges18 bronze badges answered Oct 3, 2012 at 18:03 2 The answers by @ElvisLives and @AvkashChauhan are good, but for those that are not scared of using the powershell this is a great solution.First you will need to download and install Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 3.0 from Microsoft’s website.Next, open an elevated PowerShell prompt and run these commands (changing the paths to match your source VMDK file and destination path of your new VHD file):-Import-Module ‘C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter\MvmcCmdlet.psd1’-ConvertTo-MvmcVirtualHardDisk -SourceLiteralPath “C:\Ubuntu-disk1.vmdk” -DestinationLiteralPath “C:\Ubuntu-disk1.vhd” -VhdType FixedHardDisk -VhdFormat VhdWhen doing it like this no need for RDP answered Oct 28, 2016 at 14:44 davejaldavejal5533 gold badges10 silver badges31 bronze badges An updated version of VirtualBox is using vbox-img.exe. You can install virtualbox without all its features just to get this tools in your environment.Sintax:.\vbox-img.exe convert --srcfilename --srcformat VMDK--dstfilename --dstformat VHD --variant Example:.\vbox-img.exe convert --srcfilename "F:\Disk\DC02-0.vmdk" --srcformatVMDK --dstfilename "F:\Disk\DC02.vhd" --dstformat VHD --variantStandard answered Jul 27, 2021 at 13:41 f4d0f4d02331 gold badge2 silver badges8 bronze badges You must log in to answer this question. Start asking to get answers Find the answer to your question by asking. Ask question Explore related questions See similar questions with these tags. Is best for performance?As you can see, vdi, vhd, and vmdk are used in different virtualization platforms and have their own advantages and disadvantages so it is meaningless to compare their performance. If you are testing a virtualization solution, try evaluating it in every aspect.2. Which type of virtual disk is best for VMware?For VMware virtual machine, only VMDK is supported so if you want to migrate VM to VMware, you need to convert the virtual disk or use Vinchin Backup & Recovery to migrate it directly.ConclusionVDI, VHD, and VMDK are 3 different virtual disk formats from Oracle, Microsoft, and VMware, and each of them has different features and functions. You can use these formats according to your needs and virtualized infrastructures. Sometimes, you may need to convert the file format into another for data migration.If you need professional data protection and V2V migration solution, you can use Vinchin Backup & Recovery. Don't miss the free trial.VMDK to VHD Converter - FileFormat.Info
I am looking at transforming a VMDK hard drive into a VHD (Virtual Hard Drive). The VMDK comes from an export of our VMware machines and I want to try importing it into Azure.Any idea how this would be achieved ? I tried a variety of small tools out there to try to move between the 2 formats, to no avail so far. Most tools declare the VMDK invalid in some way. asked Oct 3, 2012 at 15:47 0 The Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC) includes the Microsoft Virtual Disk Converter tool (MVDC.exe) that converts a VMDK file to a VHD file. SrcDisk DstDisk [/?] [/Dyn]SrcDisk Specifies the source VMDK disk path to be converted.DstDisk Specifies the path for the converted disk.[/?] Show Help[/Dyn] Indicates the destination disk should be dynamic rather than fixed.For example:C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Solution Accelerator>mvdc "D:\VM\Windows Server 2008 R2 x64\Windows Server 2008 R2 x64.vmdk" "D:\VM\Windows Server 2008 R2 x64\Windows Server 2008 R2 x64.vhd"Step 1 of 3: Loading Source Disk...Step 1 of 3: Loading Source Disk Completed.Source file found of size 40.0 GB.DiskGeometry: Cylinders: 5221 Tracks/Cylinder: 255 Sectors/Track: 63 Bytes/Sector: 512 MediaType: FixedMediaStep 2 of 3: Creating Destination Disk...Step 2 of 3: Creating Destination Disk Completed.Destination file created of size 40.0 GB.DiskGeometry: Cylinders: 5221 Tracks/Cylinder: 255 Sectors/Track: 63 Bytes/Sector: 512 MediaType: FixedMediaStep 3 of 3: Copying raw data...Step 3 of 3: Copying raw data completed.Conversion Complete! The converted file is located at: D:\VM\Windows Server 2008 R2 x64\Windows Server 2008 R2 x64.vhdBy default it creates a fixed sized VHD, which is also what is required for Azure VMs.After converting it to VHD, it is a good idea to boot it up locally in Hyper-V, make sure it is configured for a dynamic IP and that RDP is enabled and you are able to successfully RDP into it. Then if you want to use it as a base image, you'll also need to generalize it with sysprep. If you want to use it for a single Azure VM, don't run sysprep, but upload it as a disk instead of as an image (Csupload Add-Disk instead of Add-PersistentVMImage).See also: Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007114k20 gold badges206 silver badges271 bronze badges answered Dec 6, 2012 at 23:25 CraigCraig3843 silver badges6 bronze badges 1 I use VirtualBox (actually the CLI vboxmanage, installed with VirtualBox) for this, I had no issues installing VirtualBox alongside Hyper-V, but you can't run them at the same time, thats another thread!Anyway at an elevated (Admin mode) prompt usecd %programfiles%\Oracle\VirtualBoxvboxmanage clonehd "C:\tmp\file.vmdk" "C:\tmp\file.vhd" -format VHDNote, You can extract a VMDK from an OVA with 7zip! answered Oct 1, 2015 at 6:03 There has been an update to the tool to convert a .vmdk to a .vhdk. Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 2.0 was released around April of 2014. Here is the link to the tool: Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 2.0The new tool changes the way to convert from using MVDC.exe to using a powershell cmdlet.I followed this excellent blog to figure this out. What's new on Microsoft Virtual Machine ConverterConvert VHD to VMDK - FileNP
RAID within SAN storage.Advantages of VMDK fileSimplicity and convenience of use make VMDK outstanding.It can be easily migrated or moved to the server using live migration features.VMDK is protected with snapshots and CDP (continuous data protection technology).You can get effective results and speed by maintaining VM files on a high-performance SAN storageYou can recreate, and restart affected VMs with the help of VMDK files.Limitations of VMDK fileWhen data is lost from VMDK disk, it requires a lot of extra efforts and it is almost next to impossible to recover parts of VM like deleted documents of Word or Excel sheets, etcThe maximum storage size of VMDK is generally 2 TB, but it got enhanced by VMware vSphere 5.5 to 62 TB VMDK in September 2013.Recommended solutions to recover VHD and VMDK file formats:Although, both VHD and VMDK file formats are for virtual environments and possess their own level of limitations and advantages for a user.It becomes a tedious task for a user to recover Lost or Deleted VHD & VHDX Files and VMDK files. Therefore, we recommend using third-party tools offered by Kernel Data Recovery, that can make the process of recovery easy and time-saving. You must try these two tools for VHD Recovery and VMDK recovery named as Kernel for VHD Recovery and Kernel VMDK Recovery Software.Feel free to mention your queries and doubts in the comments section below.. How to convert vmdk to vhd. Available vmdk to vhd converters. Find tools and software solutions for converting vmdk files to vhd format easily.Convert a VMDK to VHD(X) disk
Support BitLocker features. Access LVM2 in Windows Open volume groups and logical volumes managed by Linux LVM2 (single or multiple disks), write files to LVM volumes, recover lost data, resize partition on a single physical volume (PV), etc. Hexadecimal Editor The built-in hex editor is useful for low-level data editing and recovery, helping you manually recover data from RAW drives, restore deleted or lost partitions, and repair corrupted drives. Write Data to Virtual Disks Support to create and open .vhd, .vmdk, .vdi or .hdd virtual disk files, as well as write data to these virtual disks without the need to run a virtual machine. Write to Hidden Partitions Easily read or store files and information on hidden partitions that are not readily visible through Windows File Explorer or Disk Management. Convert Virtual Disk Format Convert virtual disk formats among .vmdk, .vdi, .vhd, and .hdd without running the virtual machine or causing any data loss during the conversion process. Set Disk Geometry Temporarily set disk geometry such as sector size, headers, sectors per track, cylinders, and total sectors, to assist in the analysis of disk partition data structure.Comments
Several OS in one HDD without additional partitions.Pros:Easily create pre-built configurations.Create multiple users for one OS, and the changes made in one OS won’t affect others.Easily undo and redo the changes to the VHD/VHDX file.Can recover corrupted, unreadable, deleted, or damaged data.Multi-user isolation ensures when one instance crashes, the others wouldn’t.Cons:Corrupted VHD/VHDX files can crash Windows.Possible malware vectors against the VM.The storage limit of a VHD file is 2TB.Blocked VHD cannot resize the memory.What is VMDK?VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) is a virtual disk drive format formerly exclusive to VMware applications and later becomes an open format widely employed across virtualizations, like VirtualBox and Hyper-V.Features:Supports snapshotting, and sparse allocation that allows file expansion on demand.Protects RAID within SAN.Easily clone the physical HDD.Allows physical hard disk cloning and offsite backup.62 TB storage since vSphere 5.5.Pros:Efficient use of space with advanced features like 64K sub-blocks.Less overhead due to sub-block representation.High data security with snapshots and Continuous Data Protection.Can be easily migrated or moved to servers with live migration.Allows incremental backup and thus faster backup speed.Recreates and restarts VMs with VMDK files.Transform a physical pc into a virtual disk.Cons:Hard to restore the lost VMDK disk data.How to Convert VDI to VHD and Vice Versa?1. Convert VDI to VHDa. Power off the VM before. Click File in VirtualBox to start Virtual Media Manager.b. Select the disk attached to the VM to migrate and click Copy.c. Choose VHD file format in the disk copy option.d. Choose disk dynamic for less disk usage and testing or fixed size for production and high disk utilization usage.e. Select the VHD file path and start copying.2. Convert VHD to VDILaunch VBoxManage.exe (under C:Program FilesOracleVirtualBox) and run the following command:sudo vboxmanage clonehd inputFileName.vhd outputFileName.vdi --format vdiHow to Convert VDI to VMDK and Vice Versa?1. Convert VDI to VMDKa. Power off the VM. Click File in VirtualBox to start Virtual Media Manager.b. Click the VDI file to convert and then click Copy.c. Select VMDK from the pop-up window and then click Next.d. Enter the new file name and click Copy.e. The conversion from VDI to VMDK begins.2. Convert VMDK to VDIYou can
2025-04-18Attach the VMDK file to the VirtualBox Media Manager, then boot the VM OS from the file without converting it. If you need to convert the files, follow this guide:Use VBoxManage.exe to convert.“C:Program filesOracleVirtualboxvboxmanage” clonehd inputFileName.vmdk outputFileName.vdi –format VDIHow to Convert VHD toHow to Convert VHD to VMDK and Vice Versa?1. Convert VHD to VMDKUse VBoxManage.exe and convert.“C:Program filesOracleVirtualboxvboxmanage” clonehd inputFileName.vhd outputFileName.vmdk –format vmdkOr refer to more methods to convert Hyper-V (VHD) to VMware (VMDK).2. Convert VMDK to VHDa. Export VMware VMs to OVF template.b. Launch PowerShell and input the following command to add the converter module.Import-Module “MVMCfilepathMicrosoft Virtual Machine ConverterMvmcCmdlet.psd1”c. Convert VMDK to VHD(X).ConvertTo-MvmcVirtualHardDisk -SourceLiteralPath “VMDKfilepath.vmdk” -VhdType Fixedsize/DynamicHardDisk -VhdFormat vhd/vhdx -DestinationLiteralPath “newfilepathewfilename.vhd/vhdx”Find more conversion ways to migrate VMware (VMDK) to Hyper-V (VHD/X).How to easily convert virtual machine?For enterprises, you should choose professional solution for V2V to protect data and seamlessly switch to new environment. Vinchin Backup & Recovery is an agentless solution for 10+ virtualizations like VMware and Hyper-V (Virtualbox is not included), 6 databases, Linux & Windows Servers, NAS, and centrally manages the backups in a web-based console. With the backup VMs, you can directly restore them to another virtualization platforms for V2V migration.This robust solution can let you experience various easy backup strategies and fast disaster recovery options within the software, such as backup schedules, GFS retention, Email alerts, etc.● Save storage and cost: deduplicating and compressing 50% of data to save more space for newly written data.● Anti-ransomware data protection: safeguard all backups saved in the software and backup server with backup storage protection, double data encryption, and data archiving to public clouds.● Offsite backup copy: save another backup copy to a distant location for an emergency.● File-level recovery: target specific folders/files to save resources.For example, after you create the backup of VMware, you can migrate the VM to Hyper-Vin 4 steps.1. Select the backup of VMware VM2. Select the Hyper-V host as destination3. Select strategies4. Submit the jobWant to use it immediately? Download the 60-day full-featured free trial and protect your critical data now.FAQs for VDI, VHD and VMDK Selection1. Which format of virtual disk
2025-04-15Table of contents:What is VDI?What is VHD?What is VMDK?How to Convert VDI to VHD and Vice Versa?How to Convert VDI to VMDK and Vice Versa?How to Convert VHD to VMDK and Vice Versa?How to easily convert virtual machine?In computing, a disk image is a computer file that contains the contents and structure of a disk or the whole storage device. Similarly, there also are various disk images or virtual disks in virtualization that play the part of traditional hard disks. They come in different formats hinging on virtualization creators.Virtual Disk Image (VDI), Virtual Hard Disk (VHD), and Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) are the most widely used, which may come from all sorts of platforms, they can be used interchangeably. But which is better for you and how to convert them if you prefer the other one?What is VDI?VDI (Virtual Disk Image) is the default virtual disk format of Oracle VirtualBox running on macOS, Windows, Linux, and Solaris hosts. VirtualBox also supports Microsoft VHD/VHDX and VMware VMDK file formats, which can be copied and created by the Virtual Media Manager of VirtualBox but they have to be converted to VDI first if you want to maintain them.Features:It is portable and can be used in other virtualizations like VMware and Microsoft.Allows fixed-size and dynamically allocated storage.Supports remote access, snapshotting, and sparse allocation.Pros:High-level redundancy.Lessen the data loss impact on the VMs.Smaller size than VHD/VHDX with better performance.High-level data security.High availability of accessing VDI from the cloud, desktop, mobile, etc.Cons:Doesn’t support incremental backups.Slower than VMDK.VDI format conversion to other formats is now always possible.You cannot roll out an image to the desktop clients unless they are VirtualBox.What is VHD?VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) is the now-defunct disk format of Microsoft Hyper-V and Virtual Server, originally developed by Connectix. Despite its popularity among virtualization products, Microsoft replaced it with VHDX (Virtual Hard Disk v2) as the default format with a larger storage capacity of 64 TB.Features:Reside as files on the host operating systems.Supports fixed and dynamic disk sizing, differencing, and snapshots.Microsoft PowerShell scripts can convert VHD to VHDX.Modify the VM configurations directly from the host server.Use
2025-04-24