Let’s gain some better insights about Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter. So, to eliminate the third-party software cost, Microsoft provides a free virtual machine converter to convert VMDK to VHD using PowerShell commands. There are many third-party solutions that allow you to convert VMDK to VHD, but every software has a cost. So, there are many queries submitted on Microsoft forums related to how to convert VMDK files to VHD without any corruption or data loss. Also, Microsoft Hyper-V comes as an in-built feature with Windows Server, so you’ll not have to pay any extra cost like VMware machine.Īnd some users want to convert VMDK files to VHD to save their data from any data loss or keep it as a backup. People find it easier to manage everything on Windows Server, as they don’t need any additional training for it. Also, if you’re using Azure cloud service, then to move VMware workload to cloud, you’ll have to convert VMDK to VHD. For example, if you want to migrate from VMware environment to Microsoft Hyper-V, then you’ll have to convert VMDK files to VHD. There can be many reasons that often require VMDK to VHD conversion. Also, the size of a VHD is flexible and can be managed and controlled by a virtualization manager. A VHD can operate as a traditional physical disk to install OS, create files and folders, launch applications, etc. And later in 2005, VHD format was made available to third-parties under Microsoft Open Specification Promise. It was first released by Connectix for virtualization, but in 2003, it was acquired by Microsoft. What is VHD?Ī VHD file is known as Virtual Hard Disk. There are many VMware products that use VMDK file format, such as:Īlso, there are some third-party tools that use the same file format. However, with VMware vSphere, you can store up to 62 GB of data. With a VMDK file, you can store up to 2TB data. vmdk file can store the whole data of a hard drive and can be used as a regular hard drive or backup device for crucial information. A virtual machine can easily emulate a computer system and offer features of a physical computer. VMDK is known as virtual machine disk, which is created by VMware machines. But, before that let’s see what VMDK and VHD file is. In this article, we will discuss VMDK and VHD files, and how you can convert VMDK files to VHD format. So, many times there comes a situation when you might need to convert VMDK to VHD file format. VMware software uses VMDK file format to store virtual disks, whereas Microsoft Hyper-V uses VHD format. Though various virtualization tools are available in the market, two of the most popular tools are VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V.īoth the applications have their own specifications and specialties, and they are not compatible with each other. Virtualization has become a well-liked solution for organizations all around the world because it allows businesses to expand the utilization of their hardware.

Create vmdk from physical disk