Convert VMDK to VHD(X) and run it on Hyper-V

You have probably had a case where you needed to migrate your VM from one to another hypervisor.

Migrating VM between the same hypervisor vendors is not a big deal, but when it comes to migrating between different hypervisors there is a different procedure in place. You need to convert the virtual disks from one to another format.

There are different third-party tools you can use for this purpose such as StarWind V2V Converter / P2V Migrator, WinImage, VMware Converter Standalone, and others.

If you’d like to see StarWind V2V Converter / P2V Migrator in action, you can check it here Migrate VMs from Citrix XenServer to Hyper-V Server.

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In this article, I’ll show you how to migrate VM from VMware to Hyper-V by converting VMDK to VHD(X) file using Vmdk2Vhd.

Step 1: Uninstall VMware tools

To provide you with the best VM and user experience, VMware and Microsoft use different tools. VMware uses VMware tools and Microsoft uses Hyper-V Integration Services.

Hence, you need to uninstall VMware tools from your machine. Why? Because you don’t need to use VMware integration services on Hyper-V VM.

Once you are done, shut down your machine.

Step 2: Export the VMDK file

In the second step, you need to export or copy the VMDK file from your VMware datastore to Windows Server.

You can access your VMware datastore from your Hyper-V server using VMware web UI. As you want to run VHD(X) file on Hyper-V, it makes sense to do everything from there.

Step 3: Download Vmdk2Vhd

This is a third-party tool, and you need to download it and run it on your Windows machine. It is only 48 KB big.

You can download it on this LINK (EU) or this LINK (US).

Step 4: Convert VMDK to VHD(X)

Once you extracted Vmdk2Vhd from the zip file, you need to convert exported VMDK file to a VHD(X) file. Please follow the instructions:

1. Open Vmdk2Vhd.exe. It’ll open a window to select your VMDK file.
2. Select source VMDK and destination VHD.

3. Click Convert. Wait until the file is ready.

Step 5: Import VHD(X) file to your Hyper-V

In the last step, you need to create a virtual machine in your Hyper-V and attach VHD(X) virtual disk you created in the previous step.

1. Open Hyper-V Manager.
2. Click on the New virtual machine in the right side device tree.
3. Under Before you begin click Next.
4. Specify the name and location of the virtual machine and then click Next.

5. Specify generation and click Next. You can choose between Generation 1 and Generation
6. Assign memory and click Next.
7. Configure Networking and click Next.
8. Select Use an existing virtual hard disk, browse for it and click Next. You need to select VHD(X) file you created in the previous step.

9. Under Summary click Finish.
10. Power on your VM.

Thank you for reading this article. If you found it useful, feel free to share it with your network.