Issue:
You receive the following error when attempting to perform a physical to virtual machine conversion using the VMWare Converter Agent.
Unable to determine Guest Operating System
However, the computer you are converting is a supported Operating System (Windows 2000/2003/XP etc).
Cause:
The cause is of this error can be any number of items. Examples may be: old hardware and drivers, possible hard drive corruption or bad sectors, USB drive connected to the computer, etc.
Another common cause of this issue is that the VMWare Converter Agent does not do as extensive a verification as the full Converter application does. Because of this some hardware configurations will require the full Converter application.
Solution:
Update all drivers, fix any hard drive errors (check the whole drive using a dedicated / self booting utility), disconnect and remove all unneeded hardware devices.
Then try the conversion process again.
Workaround:
Use the vCenter Converter Standalone application to perform the conversion. The software is the full conversion product and not just an agent. It is better able to deal with difficult conversions.
1) Download vCenter Converter Standalone from the VMWare Web Site.
a. This is now free to download and use.
b. http://www.vmware.com/download/converter/
c. You will need to register with a valid email account to download the file.
d. Windows and Linux versions are available for download.
2) Run the downloaded executable on the server to be converted.
a. Wait as the files are extracted
b. Welcome Screen
i. Click Next
c. Accept License Terms
i. Click Next
d. Change the Destination Folder as needed
i. Click Next
e. Setup Type
i. Local Installation – Use this to convert this single machine
ii. Click Next
f. Ready to Install
i. Click Install
g. Installation Complete
i. Uncheck Run Converter Standalone Client now.
ii. Click Finish
3) Reboot the computer
a. If this is not done now the Converter Client it will prompt you to reboot it when runs.
4) Using the Converter Standalone Client
a. Launch the client
b. To convert the local machine do the following
c. Click the Convert Machine button at the top
d. The Conversion Wizard opens
i. Step 1: Machine Type
1. Select Source Type: Powered-on machine
2. Specify the powered on machine
a. Select This local machine
3. Click Next
ii. Step 2: Destination
1. Select destination type
a. Since we want to place the virtual machine into VirtualCenter select VMWare Infrastructure virtual machine
b. VMWare Infrastructure server details
i. Server: type the DNS name or IP address of the VirtualCetner server
ii. User name: type the appropriate user name
iii. Password: type the appropriate password
c. Click Next
2. Destination Host/Resource
a. In the Inventory field select the appropriate Cluster and Host
b. Type in the appropriate Virtual machine name
c. Select the appropriate Datastore from the drop down.
d. Click Next
3. Step 3 View/Edit options
a. Edit Data to copy (Hard Drive Selection)
i. Remove existing drives and partitions as needed
ii. Expand / Shrink destination drive / partition sizes as needed
b. Edit Devices
i. Change number of CPU, disk controllers, and amount of RAM as needed.
c. Edit Networks
i. Select the appropriate Network and enable/disable connect at power on
d. Edit Advance Options
i. Check Install VMWare Tools on the imported virtual machine
e. Click Next
4. Step 4: Ready to Complete
a. Review information
b. Click Finish
5) Monitor the Conversion process
a. Once the conversion starts you a taken to the Recent Tasks screen where you can monitor the progress
6) Close the application when the conversion is completed.
7) Turn off the original server
8) Turn on the new virtual machine.
a. VMWare tools will install (if selected) and the computer will reboot.