P2V - HP 8000 Elite PC - Win7 to vSphere

[kbstall]

Greetings,

     I am sort of new to virtualization, haven't used it in more than a decade.  I need to to create V2P using "VMware-converter-en-6.2.0-8466193" client.  There is a one off machine that is vulnerable that we need to have a good backup of.  I know a VM can be made very easily.  The question that has been posed to me is to make a VM of system to our vSphere and convert to a Windows Server 2016.  Is this possible?  Back in the day dissimilar hardware was a factor in doing this and would result in a tenuous VM at best.

     Physical system is an HP 8000 Elite CMT PC with Win7 64 bit

Apologies for the newb question, I am trying to read and catch on the technology.

Thanks for your time.

Regards,

Kevin S.

[continuum]

You want to convert a physical Windows 7 into a virtual Win 7 and then update it to Win 2016 ?

That is possible but I would not recommend it. P2Ved VMs use to be slower than newly created VMs and so it would be smarter to directly create a new VM and just import the user data.

[kbstall]

Continuum,

     Correct, "convert a physical Windows 7 into a virtual Win 7 and then update it to Win 2016".  The applications installed on physical are no longer supported by vendor (10 years+) and we are moving to a new VM with newest version, already built and in production.  Unfortunately no one knows how to operate the new application as of yet , training is needed.  The V2P will not necessary be a production box just a safety net.  Hope that helps the details a little.

Thanks for your time.

[continuum]

Ok - the fact that you can not reinstall your apps os a game changer.

Then you really need to do a P2V.

If you really need to update the Win7 VM to Win2016 do this on a full copy - dont let the update mess up your VM !!!

[kbstall]

Can you elaborate, "do this on a full copy - don't let the update mess up your VM"?

[continuum]

The first step is to use Converter against the physical machine. This will create a new VM.

Next you want to update this new VM to Win 2016 - and that is the step you should not perform without having a copy of the Win 7 VM.

I also recommend to uninstall any third party mouse and keyboard drivers drivers before you do the P2V.

[kbstall]

Understood.  Thank you very much