You can move a virtual machine that was created in Workstation Pro to a different host system or to a different location on the same host system. You can also move a virtual machine to a host system that has a different operating system.
Moving a virtual machine typically involves moving all of the files that make up the virtual machine. All files in the virtual machine's original directory when the virtual machine was created must be moved. The path names for all files associated with a Workstation Pro virtual machine are relative to the virtual machine directory. If you stored any files in directories other than the virtual machine directory, be sure to move them into a directory of the same name and same position relative to the location of the virtual machine.
When you move a virtual machine to a different host system or to a different location on the same host system, Workstation Pro generates a new MAC address for the virtual network adapter. Workstation Pro also generates a new MAC address when you rename a directory in the path to the virtual machine configuration file.
Prerequisites
- Familiarize yourself with how Workstation Pro generates UUIDs for moved virtual machines. See Using the Virtual Machine UUID.
- If you are moving the virtual machine to a different host system, familiarize yourself with the limitations of moving a virtual machine to a new host. see Limitations of Moving a Virtual Machine to a Different Host.
- If you are moving a linked clone or a parent virtual machine, verify that the clone can access the parent virtual machine. See Moving Linked Clones for more information.
- Make backup copies of the files in the virtual machine directory for the virtual machine that you are moving.
