Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your VMDK file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert VMDK to another file type
To convert VMDK disk images to another format, you need VMware Workstation or other Disk Image software.
Convert a file to VMDK
To convert other file formats to the "Virtual Machine Disk" file type, you need software like VMware Workstation or a similar tool.
About VMDK files
A .VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) file acts as an independent hard drive for a virtual machine (VM). Developed by VMware, it stores the guest operating system, applications, and user data. You can open and manage these files using VMware Workstation, VMware ESXi, or VirtualBox. The main disadvantage of the .VMDK format is vendor lock-in. While it is an open specification, migrating a VMware virtual machine to Microsoft Hyper-V or Linux KVM hypervisors requires strict format conversion. Furthermore, .VMDK files can be massive - often ranging from 20GB to multiple terabytes - making them notoriously difficult to transfer, share, or back up over standard networks. They are also prone to file-locking errors if the VM is not gracefully shut down before copying. To migrate workloads to Hyper-V, convert your file to VHDX. For Proxmox or Linux KVM setups, convert to QCOW2. For native use in VirtualBox without VMware overhead, convert to VDI. Be aware that converting the disk format does not inject the necessary boot drivers, so the guest OS may require reconfiguration to boot on a new hypervisor.
Convert.Guru analyzes your VMDK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert VMDK file to QCOW2, VHDX, VHD, OVA, ISO, VDI, VMX, OVF, IMG, DMG, HDD or QCOW, you can use VMware Workstation or similar software from the "Virtual Hard Drive 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 VMDK, try VMware Workstation or another comparable tool in the "Virtual Hard Drive Storage" category.
The VMDK Converter Story
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 VMDK converter.