A Vbox question

[sciontim]

Ok, a good friend of mine told me about this program because I hate VMware, but there is one thing I do like about VMware. They have this great software that allows you to create a VM off of a working machine. Of course I'm talking about the VMware Converter.

So, my question is this. Can VBox run a VM machine made with VMware Converter??

Thanks
Tim

PS, I spent 3 hours looking for this answer on the forum already.

[stefan.becker]

Forget it. Its better to use the time for a clean new Install from CD.

[Aaron_Mason]

Unfortunately, no... VMware converter creates files for VMware. If a program exists to convert VMware data to VBox data, then it would be possible.

There is, however, hope. If the system is based on Linux, you can make a pretty seamless transfer with the instructions on this oage.

If you use a different operating system, there is hope still. This method is long and windy, but if you want to transfer from VMware to VirtualBox without losing too much and without a reinstall, it's probably worth it. What you'll need to do is have VMware and VirtualBox running on the same machine (not recommended! the two tend to elbow each other - personal experience!)

Create the VM using VMware converter, first off. Then get a copy of Ubuntu. If you have a copy of it in a physical form (i.e. a CD/DVD), you will need to make an image of it. There are a few utilities for this, I recommend CD DVD to ISO by Dirk Paehl. Now, in both the VMware and VirtualBox VMs, use the Ubuntu CD image you have or created as the CD/DVD drive. Set up internet access to each machine, as well as connectivity between them. Then create the hard drive to the exact same size, and boot both machines off the CD-ROM - you may need to bring up the boot menu for this.

Now, the fun part. In each machine, install openssh by opening a Terminal console and typing

Code: Select all

apt-get install openssh

- this will give you an SSH server and the client as well as scp - the critical component. In the VirtualBox machine, open a terminal and type

Code: Select all

sudo gedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config

. In this file, look for a line that says "PermitRootLogin no" and change it to "yes". Save and exit, then type

Code: Select all

sudo /etc/init.d/openssh restart

. Now, to make the copy, we're going to transfer the hard drive image across from one hard drive to the other. This preserves the boot loader and does the entire system in one fell swoop. To do this, type the following command in the VMware machine:

Code: Select all

scp /dev/hda root@otherbox:/dev/hda

If the hard drive on the other side is marked as sda, use that instead. Also, replace "otherbox" with the IP address of the VirtualBox machine. Get yourself a coffee while the transfer occurs. If the copy is made successfully, restart the VirtualBox machine and try to boot off the hard drive. If all went well, your VMware machine has been successfully transplanted into VirtualBox.

I should warn you, this method has not been tested, and is based on another method which only applies to Linux. Use it at your own risk.

[stefan.becker]

With Qemu-img you can convert vmdk to raw, with BBoxManage raw to vdi.

But the Problem is: the Result for XP doesnt work.

Searching Errors costs more time than a new clean install.

[Ingo]

Hi Aaron_Mason,
your online solution to transfer the installations is very interesting. Thanks for your advice.
Do you see a possibility to do it offline, e.g. with a tar ball or something else?

[Aaron_Mason]

With Qemu-img you can convert vmdk to raw, with BBoxManage raw to vdi.

But the Problem is: the Result for XP doesnt work.

Searching Errors costs more time than a new clean install.

I thought of that just today... but if it doesn't work under XP - or are you referring to XP guests? In which case of course it will bork.