Conversion Limitations for Virtual Machines

Certain limitations exist when you convert a virtual machine.

You must power off source virtual machines before you convert them. You can convert running virtual machines if you follow the procedure for converting powered on machines.

For volume-based conversions of virtual machine sources that run Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012, Converter Standalone does not preserve storage pools on the destination.

For volume-based conversions of UEFI sources, Converter Standalone does not preserve the UEFI settings. The UEFI settings are preserved during disk-based conversions.

When you convert a virtual machine with snapshots, the snapshots are not transferred to the destination virtual machine.

For volume-based conversions of powered-off virtual machine sources at file level, the Converter Standalone server host operating system must support the file system of the source volume. For example, when the Converter Standalone is running on Windows Server 2008, you cannot convert source volumes with ReFS.

Certain limitations are applicable when you convert Linux virtual machine sources.

• Only disk-based cloning is supported for Linux guest operating systems.
• Configuration or customization is not supported for Linux guest operating systems.
• Installing VMware Tools is not supported on Linux guest operating systems.