TechNote: Converting a Virtual Hard Disk -- OVA to VHD

TechNote: Convert a Virtual Hard Disk -- OVA to VHD Technology Operating System(s): Windows Technology(ies): Hyper-V Use Case(s): Virtualization Summary Overview

An Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) file is a archive of an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) package. These files can be converted for use with Hyper-V by following these steps:

1. Extract: Using 7-Zip extract the convents of the OVA file
   
   You should get an OVF file, and a VMDK file as a result of the extract.
   
2. Convert: Using the VBoxManage.exe utility that comes with VitualBox type the following command:
   
   C:> VBoxManage clonehd --format vhd disk1.vmdk disk1.vhd
   
   This will create a VHD file from the VMDK file.
3. Copy: Place the VHD file in an appropriate location.
   
4. Create: Using Hyper-V Manager you can Create a "New" > "Virtual Machine..." using the VHD file as an "existing virtual hard disk".

This process should result in you having a virtual image that is equvilent to the OVA you started with.