Extract text from Virtual disk files (HDD)
To convert HDD Virtual disks to another format, you need Parallels Desktop or other Disk Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "Virtual Hard Disk File" file type, you need software like Parallels Desktop or a similar tool.
A .HDD file generally represents a virtual hard drive used by Parallels Desktop for Mac to store the operating system, applications, and user files of a virtual machine. Alternatively, it serves as a zlib-compressed data backup for ALI Corp satellite receivers.
The Parallels .HDD format is proprietary and complex. On macOS, it is actually a package directory containing multiple internal virtual disks, memory states, and snapshot files rather than a single flat file. These files routinely exceed 50GB. This massive size and proprietary directory structure make them nearly impossible to process with standard online converters. If you possess an ALI Corp satellite backup, it requires specific, often obsolete, set-top box hardware to natively restore.
If you are migrating virtual machines away from Parallels, the best target formats are VMDK for VMware or VHD / VHDX for Microsoft Hyper-V.
Because these files are difficult to open or convert, standard tools often fail. Often only the original software can properly read or export the data. However, just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the file, and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format - such as a raw disk image or zlib archive - viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your HDD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PVM, FDD, JPG, SSD, GPT, NAS, VHD, USB and MBR files.
If you want to convert HDD file to SSD, GPT, NAS, VHD, USB, MBR, ISO, IMG, DMG, VMDK, VDI or QCOW, you can use Parallels Desktop or similar software from the "Virtual Machine Disk Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert VFD, DMG, OVA, IMA, VBOX, ADF, PVS, VHD, OVF, ISO, DSK or IMG files to HDD, try Parallels Desktop or another comparable tool in the "Virtual Machine Disk Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our HDD converter.