Migrating Virtual Machines from VMware to VirtualBox and Vice Versa

VMware and VirtualBox are popular virtual machines (VMs) in the world. You can use them in many ways, from running old applications to testing new software and operating systems.

Maintaining a virtual machine, however, is not an easy task. You need to put in huge efforts to create and run the software.

At times, choosing between the two virtual machines becomes a problem. Both, VMware and Virtual Box, have their pros and cons.

Fortunately, you don’t have to settle for just one of these amazing virtual machines. You can convert VMware to VirtualBox and vice versa. First, let’s see how you can migrate from VMware to VirtualBox.

How to Migrate from VMware to VirtualBox

Before you migrate from VMware to VirtualBox, export the VMware in an .ovf file.

To export the VMware in an .ovf file,

  • Open a File Explorer window and go to the C: drive on My Computer
  • Open the Program Files folder
  • Locate the OVFTool folder
  • Press the Shift key and right-click on the folder icon
  • Click on “ Open Command Prompt here ” option from the dropdown menu
  • In the Command Prompt window, type this –
ovftool "c:\path\to\original_vm.vmx" "c:\path\to\export.ovf"
  • Press the Enter key to execute this command

Once the transfer is completed, open the VirtualBox software. Go to the File tab , click on it and select Import Appliance from the dropdown menu.

You can also use the shortcut by pressing keys Ctrl and I .

In the Import Alliance window, search the .ovf file you exported earlier. Select the .ovf file and click on the “ Next ” button.

When you see all the VM settings, do change them. Click on the Import button and continue the importing process. After the process is a 100% complete , go to the VM VirtualBox Manager window and select the VirtualBox VM. Click on the ‘ Start ’ button.

You’ve successfully migrated from VMware to VirtualBox.

Now, let’s consider you are already using VirtualBox and you want to migrate from VirtualBox to VMware. Here’s how you do it.

How to Convert VirtualBox to VMware

How to Convert VirtualBox to VMware

To migrate from VirtualBox to VMware,

  • Open the VirtualBox application
  • Click on the File tab
  • Click “ Export Appliance ” from the menu
  • You can also use a shortcut by pressing the Ctrl and E
  • Select the VMware you want, and click on ‘ Next ’
  • Save the VM file by selecting a destination on your E: drive
  • Don’t change the VM settings, keep them as it is
  • Tick the checkbox for all the appliance settings
  • Click on the ‘ Export ’ button

Once the export process is a 100% complete, you need to open up the WMware Workstation window. Click on the File tab and select the ‘ Open’ option in the dropdown menu.

Select the exported .ova file from the destination you saved it earlier. Click on the “ Import ” button. If you see any prompts, click on “ Retry ”.

Wait for the importing process to complete. Your VM is migrated from VirtualBox to VMware successfully.

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