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Can a Virtual Machine be made from an disk image? RRS feed

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    Hello Community

        On WS2012 I have created a disk image of a hard drive so that if
    anything happens to the hard drive I can just put it back the way
    it was when there were no problems with the drive.

        The question is can that same disk image be used  by Hyper-V
    to create a VM?

        Thank you
        Shabeaut


    • Edited by Shabeaut Wednesday, May 6, 2015 2:25 AM
    Wednesday, May 6, 2015 2:25 AM

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    There are caveats depending on how it's been created and what you're trying to use it for, but in general assuming you mean you've created a .vhd disk image then yes you should be able to use it for a new VM. Essentially when you create the new VM in Hyper-V and are prompted to create a disk for it, tell it to use an existing disk and then point it to the .vhd file you have saved.

    While this article http://blogs.technet.com/b/blainbar/archive/2014/09/09/modernizing-your-infrastructure-with-hybrid-cloud-migrating-physical-servers-to-virtual-machines-part-21-blain-barton.aspx goes into details of how to convert from physical to virtual it includes screenshots relevant to what you want.

    In an ideal world it's recommended that you sysprep /generalize the machine you've virtualising so it's ready to run on a different system, but where that's not possible / practical you may still be OK it will just depend on how well the machine copes with any changes in hardware / drivers etc. In my experience the server generally copes fine, but it's something to be aware of in case you initially see issues when it starts.

    • Marked as answer by Shabeaut Wednesday, May 6, 2015 1:36 PM
    Wednesday, May 6, 2015 6:15 AM

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    There are caveats depending on how it's been created and what you're trying to use it for, but in general assuming you mean you've created a .vhd disk image then yes you should be able to use it for a new VM. Essentially when you create the new VM in Hyper-V and are prompted to create a disk for it, tell it to use an existing disk and then point it to the .vhd file you have saved.

    While this article http://blogs.technet.com/b/blainbar/archive/2014/09/09/modernizing-your-infrastructure-with-hybrid-cloud-migrating-physical-servers-to-virtual-machines-part-21-blain-barton.aspx goes into details of how to convert from physical to virtual it includes screenshots relevant to what you want.

    In an ideal world it's recommended that you sysprep /generalize the machine you've virtualising so it's ready to run on a different system, but where that's not possible / practical you may still be OK it will just depend on how well the machine copes with any changes in hardware / drivers etc. In my experience the server generally copes fine, but it's something to be aware of in case you initially see issues when it starts.

    • Marked as answer by Shabeaut Wednesday, May 6, 2015 1:36 PM
    Wednesday, May 6, 2015 6:15 AM
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    If you have an imageX / DISM image of a machine, you can absolutely create a virtual disk, apply the image, then create a VM with the virtual disk and boot it (assuming it was a bootable volume).

    I do this all of the time.

    It is one way to convert without using a conversion utility.

    The success depends on the OS in the VM - the newer the OS the grater change for success.

    Brian Ehlert
    http://ITProctology.blogspot.com
    Learn. Apply. Repeat.

    Wednesday, May 6, 2015 2:54 PM
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    Hello Keith

        The image that I have is an image made using the software name "Acronis".
       
        The image will be made from a hard drive that has the O/S Windows 2012 Server.

        What do you think about that?

    Wednesday, May 6, 2015 11:21 PM
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    Acronis backups can be restored to virtual machines.

    Acronis already supports that (has for years).  Check out their guidance.

    Brian Ehlert
    http://ITProctology.blogspot.com
    Learn. Apply. Repeat.

    Wednesday, May 6, 2015 11:45 PM
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    Just to clarify the sysprep point - that is only necessary if you are using that disk as a 'template' from winch to derive multiple virtual machines.

    If this is a one shot conversion (machine to machine), do not sysprep.

    Brian Ehlert
    http://ITProctology.blogspot.com
    Learn. Apply. Repeat.

    Wednesday, May 6, 2015 11:46 PM