Convert PC to VM on Hyper-V
This article will show you how to easily convert a working physical computer into a Hyper-V virtual machine (VM). Let’s get started!
Download the Disk2VHD Utility
The easiest and most convenient way, in my opinion, to make a VM from a physical computer for Hyper-V is to use Microsoft’s Disk2vhd utility via their Sysinternals toolset. Another benefit of using Disk2VHD is that it doesn’t require installation. Simply extract and execute!
Download the Disk2vhd utility from the Microsoft Sysinternals page, unpack and run Disk2vhd on the physical computer you are wanting to convert to a VM.
Converting Disks to VHDX
Within the Disk2vhd utility be sure to check the box for “Use Vhdx” to create a VHDX disk. You will also want to check the “Use Volume Shadow Copy” option.
Next, set the destination and filename for the VHDX file and be sure to save the image to a secondary storage disk. Be sure to include any disk/volume you want to virtualize. If you want it to be a bootable disk, then include a system disk plus boot area
Click the Create button to start the cloning process.
NOTE: VHDX is a new disk format that was introduced in Windows Server 2012. Compared to traditional VHD, VHDX has several improvements, including a special internal log to reduce the chances of data corruption, a bigger capacity (up to 64 TB) and other great features. I recommend using VHDX whenever possible.
While the process is running, you’ll see the estimated time of its completion. After completion you’ll get a VHDX file/disk, which you can now copy to your Hyper-V server and place in the folder where you have the VM disks.
Creating a VM on Hyper-V
With the VHDX file/disk now copied to your Hyper-V server we can create a new virtual machine which will utilize the VHDX file/disk as its hard drive.
Within Hyper-V Manager click on Action > New > Virtual Machine
Configure this new VM according to your needs and when at the “Connect Virtual Hard Disk” step be sure to check “Use an existing virtual hard disk” and select the newly created VHDX file/disk. Then just complete the remaining steps in the New Virtual Machine Wizard.
It will take some time for the VM to boot up since the hardware configuration will be different. However, in a few minutes you’ll see the welcome screen and be ready to access your once physical PC but converted over to a new virtual environment. Well done!
Conclusion
I hope my article on converting a physical computer to a virtual machine using Microsoft Hyper-V has helped you. I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions regarding this article.
You may support my work and future improvements by sending me a tip using your Brave browser or by sending me a one time donation using your credit card.
Let me know if you found any errors within my article or if I may further assist you by answering any additional questions you may have.
