Microsoft Hyper-VOracle VirtualBoxVMware Workstation

Each of these hypervisors creates their own Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) using a different file format. Below is a summary of the supported file types for a virtual hard disk for the hypervisors:

Hyper V: VHD & VHDXVirtualBox: VDI, VHD, VMDKVMWare Workstation: VMDK

This guide gives a brief introduction to each of the file types used by these hypervisors, and we then move on to discussing how you can convert VDI to VMDK.

Types of Virtual Hard Disks

There are several types of virtual hard drives, each with its unique characteristics. However, one type of hard disk created using one hypervisor may not be compatible with another. For example, a virtualBox VDI hard drive cannot run on VMware Workstation. However, a WMware Workstation VMDK hard disk can run on VirtualBox.

Types of Virtual Hard Disks Why Convert Virtual Hard Disk Type How to Convert VirtualBox VDI to VMware VMDK Convert VDI to VMDK using Virtual Media Manager in VirtualBox Convert VDI to VMDK using VBoxManage.exe Convert VDI to VMDK using VMWare VCenter Converter Download and Install VMware VCenter Converter Convert VDI to VMDK Convert VDI to VMDK using QEMU Download and Install QEMU on Windows Convert VDI to VMDK How to Create VM in VMware Workstation using VMDK file Take Away

Here is a list of types of virtual hard disks:

Virtual Disk Image (VDI)Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK)Virtual Hard Disk (VHD)Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX)QEMU Copy on Write (QCOW)

Today, we are going to be discussing how you can convert a VDI hard disk into a VMDK hard disk so you can run a virtual machine that was created through VirtualBox on VMware infrastructure.

Why Convert Virtual Hard Disk Type

There may be several reasons for migrating from Oracle VirtualBox to VMware Workstation. You may want to check whether an environment is compatible with VMware’s Hypervisor, or simply because you like the interface and functionality of Workstation, and use it without having to create a new virtual machine from scratch. We are now going to show you how you can convert a VDI disk into VMDK and then run it successfully using VMware Workstation.

How to Convert VirtualBox VDI to VMware VMDK

Convert VDI to VMDK using Virtual Media Manager in VirtualBox

If you have VirtualBox already installed on your PC, then there is no simpler way of converting a pre-existing VDI hard disk to VMDK. During the creation of a newly created VM in VirtualBox, you may have noticed that it supports both VMDK and VDI hard drives. Using the Virtual Media Manager within VirtualBox, you can convert it from one type to another.  Follow the steps below to convert VDI to VMDK: Ensure that the virtual machine is powered off before proceeding with the steps below. You may now proceed to use the VMDK hard disk and run it in VMware Workstation using the guide given at the end of this post.

Convert VDI to VMDK using VBoxManage.exe

There is another way to convert VDI disks to VMDK, but this method is also only applicable if you already have VirtualBox installed. VBoxManage.exe is a command-line tool that comes with VirtualBox which can be used to convert VDI hard disks to VMDK format. Ensure that the virtual machine is powered off before proceeding with the steps below. Once the cloning process is completed, you will find that a VMDK file has been created at the designated location. You can now use this file in VMware Workstation using the guide given at the end of this post.

Convert VDI to VMDK using VMWare VCenter Converter

VMware provides a tool for you to use to convert your VDI files to VMDK. The catch with this method is that the software needs to be installed on the running virtual machine that you wish to convert to VMDK. Therefore, you either need to have an active internet connection on the VM, or place the VMware VCenter Converter installer on the VM and install it. We have divided this section into “Downloading and installing VMware VCenter Converter Standalone” and “Converting VDI to VMDK using VCenter Converter.”

Download and Install VMware VCenter Converter

Follow the steps below to download and install a standalone converter: Once installed, move onto the next phase of converting the VDI hard disk of the VM to VMDK.

Convert VDI to VMDK

The tool will now begin creating the VMDK file. You can view the progress of the process in the VMware VCenter Converter Standalone. Once it is successfully created, you can find the converted VMDK hard disk at the designated location and then use it in VMware Workstation through the guide provided at the end of this post.

Convert VDI to VMDK using QEMU

QEMU is an emulator that is used to run an operating system designed for one platform on another platform. The tool can be downloaded, installed, and then used to convert a VDI hard disk to VMDK format. This process has also been separated into 2 segments: “Download and Install QEMU on Windows” and “Convert VDI to VMDK using QEMU.”

Download and Install QEMU on Windows

Ensure that the virtual machine is powered off before proceeding with the steps below. Once installed, you can proceed to the next step to convert the VDI file to VMDK format.

Convert VDI to VMDK

The last step in the process above can take a few minutes to execute, as it is creating a converted VMDK file. Once it is successfully created, you can find the VMDK hard disk at the designated location. Let us now proceed to learn how you can use a converted VMDK file in VMware Workstation to create the same VM.

How to Create VM in VMware Workstation using VMDK file

The converted VMDK files are good enough for you to now create your new virtual machine in VMware Workstation. Here is how: You have now successfully converted the VDI hard disk to VMDK and then run it through VMware Workstation.

Take Away

It is easier to convert a virtual hard drive type to use it on another hypervisor than having to create a new one from scratch. We have discussed 4 methods to convert a VDI file to VMDK in this post, but we think that using the Virtual Media Manager in VirtualBox is the most convenient way to accomplish the task. This process does not involve downloading or installing any additional tools (other than VirtualBox itself) and also does not involve the use of the command line.