Why convert VHD to VMDK?
VHD is Microsoft's virtual hard-disk format, introduced with Connectix Virtual PC and used by Hyper-V and VirtualBox. VMDK is VMware's equivalent container used by VMware Workstation, Fusion, and ESXi. Converting is required when moving a VM to VMware, which does not read VHD natively in most workflows.
How to convert VHD to VMDK
VirtualBox FREE
Run VBoxManage clonemedium disk in.vhd out.vmdk --format VMDK from a terminal with VirtualBox installed; VBoxManage ships with VirtualBox.
StarWind V2V Converter FREE
Launch StarWind V2V Converter, select Local file as source, browse to the .vhd, choose VMware VMDK as the destination format, and start conversion.
VirtualBox for Mac FREE
Run VBoxManage clonemedium disk in.vhd out.vmdk --format VMDK in Terminal with VirtualBox installed on macOS.
VirtualBox for Linux FREE
Run VBoxManage clonemedium disk in.vhd out.vmdk --format VMDK in a terminal with VirtualBox installed on Linux.
Programs that convert VHD
About these formats
.VHD
Virtual Hard Disk
A VHD file is a complete hard disk stored as a single file - partition table, filesystem, and often a full operating system. On Windows you can mount it in Disk Management to read files, or…
Open .VHD details →
.VMDK
VMware Virtual Machine Disk
A VMDK file is a VMware virtual hard disk - it stores a complete operating system and all its files as one or more host files. You attach it to a virtual machine rather than opening it like…
Open .VMDK details →Quality & what to watch
- All guest data is preserved - the conversion rewrites only the container format; the OS, filesystem, and files inside the guest disk are unchanged.
- Differencing VHDs (snapshot chains with
.avhdfiles) must be merged into a single VHD before converting, otherwise the output disk will be incomplete. - For VMware ESXi, a streamOptimized VMDK subformat may be required; the default VBoxManage output works with VMware Workstation and Fusion.
