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moboking
Contributor
Contributor

Convert a MS vmc to VMWare

Microsoft offers a 30-day trial of Vista in the form of its virtual machine.

http://tinyurl.com/yo25hh

After I downloaded the three files and extracted them, I cannot convert the vmc file and its corresponding vhd file to VMWare's counterpart files so that I can use this trial Vista with VMware Workstation 6. I use WS6 to do the conversion using its Import feature.

Can this conversion can even be done in my specific case? Did MS do something to this Vista trial vmc file so that it is not possible to convert to a VMWare file? Has anyone actually sucessfully convert any vmc and vhd to their VMWare counterparts?

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7 Replies
KevinG
Immortal
Immortal

At this time, the VMware Workstation Converter/import does not support importing physical Vista machines or images of Vista. You can import for example a Windows XP .vmc, just not Vista.

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moboking
Contributor
Contributor

I am curious. How does the converter tool know that that MS VM file is a Vista disk? I thought what VMWare does is just provides a virtual hardware layer so that the OS can run on. Therefore, the conversion process should at least proceed to a certain point before it gives me the error where the error message comes from the OS and not VMWare itself? It's like trying to install WinXP on a really old piece of x86 hardware. The hardware itself will post just fine but when the BIOS turns control to the OS (XP), it is XP that will tell the user that XP cannot install on this piece of hardware. Therefore it seems to me in this case with VMWare Converter, it is the "hardware" that tells me that it cannot run Vista when should it be Vista that tells me that it cannot run on VMWare's virtualized hardware? I hope I am clear on this question.

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RDPetruska
Leadership
Leadership

I believe that Vista uses a newer version of NTFS than earlier Windows OS's use. When Converter tries to read the disk, it does not recognize the filesystem, and therefore, does not know what to do with it.

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moboking
Contributor
Contributor

I don't think that is the case because I can install Vista as a guest OS in WS6. That means WS6 can understand whatever native file system Vista uses. Given how MS's attitude towards their competitors, I suspect there is a kill switch of sort that prevents VMWare Converter from converting the Vista trial VM to VMWare format

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RDPetruska
Leadership
Leadership

I did NOT say that Workstation did not understand the newer filesystem format. But, in that regard, it does not. Try mounting a Vista-formatted vmdk file to your host, and you will just receive an error (something about reading past the end of file, or similar)! Remember that Workstation is merely a container, holding empty computer parts... YOU format the (virtual) hard drive and install the OS inside that container.

Converter, on the other hand, MUST understand and recognize the filesystem of the guest it is trying to convert. Otherwise, it wouldn't work.

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moboking
Contributor
Contributor

Can VMWare WS (or Server, Player) co-exit on the same Windows host system as MS Virtual PC or Server? Do they conflict with each other? I know that I cannot install VMWare Server and WS at the same time.

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RDPetruska
Leadership
Leadership

As far as I understand, yes. I don't know if you can have both products RUNNING at the same time. I do have the newest VirtualPC 2007 installed on my laptop, along with Workstation 6.

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