virtualbox.org

Yes, I know... frequently asked, it's all over the place. Unfortunately, everyone gives a different answer, and all are problematic for me being on a Mac.

I cannot create a new machine and then use the disk from the VMware image... the disk is Windows and is set up for whatever hardware is in that VM, and so quickly blue-screened when I tried that. VMware Converter is only for Windows. I saw some references to an 'ovftool', but that's a VMware tool, and there is no VMware Player for Mac. I tried to "Import Appliance", but none of the files in the image I have were recognized, all are sort of faded out and cannot be clicked on. I have a feeling VBoxManage will do what I want, but the list of options goes on for pages and pages and I think all of the examples I've seen seem to be about converting disks, not machines.

I have no way to interact with the VM in question via Player, as I'm on a Mac, so I have to use tools that come with VirtualBox or are freely available downloads for the Mac. I'm also not going to be able to get the source of the images to make any changes, and probably not even respond to questions. That's just the way it is. I have to work with what I've got.

It sounds like what you need is a retail copy of Windows to install.

You can download a trial of VMWare Fusion 7 and see what you can do with the image.

The answer is always different because every v2v conversion is different. There are too many variables to generalise. If it was easy, there would not be heaps of third party software aimed at achieving it (with varying degrees of success).

The first problem is getting rid of the additions to the OS (VMTools, Guest Additions etc). If this is not done on the original system before you start it can be hard to impossible to do later. The next problem is device drivers, which can usually be fixed with a system repair (if you have the installation media).

Unless there is something on the original that you really must have, it is not worth the effort, in my opinion. A fresh install of the OS then reloading the programs and files is more reliable and often quicker in the long run.