Browse Tools Top 100
VDI RAW
File conversion

Convert VDI to RAW

Verified by Adam B.· reviewed by FE Editorial ·updated Jul 11, 2026
QUICK ANSWER
Is it possible to convert VDI to RAW?
Yes - VDI converts to RAW.

Run VBoxManage clonemedium disk input.vdi output.img --format RAW to produce a byte-for-byte sector image. The output file size equals the full virtual disk capacity, not the compressed size of the source .vdi.

3 programs
Also to RAW: FFF · VHDX · VHD

On this page

Tested on macOS, Windows & Linux
Last verified Sep 2026

More free converters

HEIC, PNG, WEBP, MP3 and more - every tool here is free.

Open the toolbox

Why convert VDI to RAW?

A .vdi is a binary virtual hard-disk container (VirtualBox 1.0, 2007) with VirtualBox-specific headers and a block allocation map. A raw image is a flat sector dump with no container overhead, making it the universal input for forensic tools, QEMU/KVM, and loop-mounting on Linux - all of which can work with the disk without any VDI-specific driver.

How to convert VDI to RAW

VirtualBox FREE

Run VBoxManage clonemedium disk "input.vdi" "output.img" --format RAW; VBoxManage is bundled with VirtualBox and available from Command Prompt or PowerShell.

VirtualBox for Mac FREE

Run VBoxManage clonemedium disk input.vdi output.img --format RAW in Terminal; VBoxManage is located inside the VirtualBox application bundle.

qemu-img OPEN-SOURCE

Run qemu-img convert -O raw input.vdi output.img; install via sudo apt install qemu-utils on Debian/Ubuntu or sudo dnf install qemu-img on Fedora.

Programs that convert VDI

VirtualBox
VirtualBox for Mac
VirtualBox for Linux

About these formats

.VDI Virtual Disk Image (Oracle VirtualBox)

A VDI file is the native virtual hard disk format of Oracle VirtualBox. It holds a complete guest operating system, not a document or optical disc image. To use it, attach it to a VM in…

Open .VDI details →
.RAW Raw Camera Image

A .raw file is most often an unprocessed photo straight from a digital camera sensor - a "digital negative" used by Panasonic, Leica, Contax, Casio, and others. Open and develop it free…

Open .RAW details →

Quality & what to watch

  • Output size equals the full virtual disk capacity, not actual data size - a 100 GB VDI with 8 GB of data produces a 100 GB raw image; ensure you have enough free disk space before converting.
  • The raw output includes the full partition table and all partitions, exactly as they exist on the virtual disk.
  • On Linux, qemu-img convert -O raw input.vdi output.img is a fully equivalent alternative if VirtualBox is not installed.

Frequently asked questions

Is the conversion lossless?
Yes - VBoxManage writes every sector verbatim; no data is altered during the conversion.
Why is the output file much larger than the .vdi?
A raw image contains every sector including unallocated space; dynamic VDI files only store written blocks, so the raw output is always larger.
Can I use the raw image in QEMU?
Yes - raw is QEMU's native format; pass the .img file directly as a disk device without any further conversion.
Can I loop-mount the raw image on Linux?
Yes - use sudo mount -o loop,offset=<partition_offset> output.img /mnt to access individual partitions.