I have a hard-drive from a dead server, and I would like to convert it to a virtual machine. Is this possible?
The tool you're looking for is called VMware vCenter Converter - VMware vCenter Converter: P2V Virtual Machine Converter .
There are a number of ways you can use the tool, but the simple way is to install an agent and press a button . It will convert your Windows or Linux-based physical machine to a VM.
Enjoy,
Joe
It depends what's "dead" - probably the best and simple way is to attach disk to computer and convert it to VMDK, then create a VM and attach the VMDK, then reconfigure only the VM with Converter. If you can boot the computer from this disk - then install and run Converter.
HTH