Convert a Physical Disk to a Virtual Machine (P2V)

Take a physical Windows disk (from a broken or unbootable system) and convert it into a bootable VMware virtual machine.

Requirements

• Disk2vhd – to create a .vhd file from a physical disk
• StarWind V2V Converter – to convert .vhd to .vmdk
• VMware Workstation – to run the resulting virtual machine
• External SSD / HDD that holds the physical disk

Step 1: Create VHD with Disk2vhd

1. Download Disk2vhd. This is the official tool from Microsoft
2. Run the application on another working Windows machine
3. Select the target physical disk (your broken or backup disk)
4. Be sure to include all critical partitions:
   • EFI System Partition (~100 MB)
   • Primary OS Partition (Windows installation)
   • Recovery Partition (usually ~710 MB)

5. Choose a destination on another drive (external recommended) 6. Click “Create” to generate your .vhd file

Step 2: Convert VHD to VMDK

1. Download and install StarWind V2V Converter
2. Launch the program and select:
   • Local file → Select your .vhd
3. Choose output format:
   • VMware growable image (VMDK)
4. Pick a destination folder and start the conversion

This will generate a .vmdk file you can use directly in VMware Workstation.

Step 3: Create a Virtual Machine in VMware

1. Open VMware Workstation - If you don’t have it, please see Free VMware Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro
2. Click Create New Virtual Machine
3. Select: “I will install the operating system later”
4. Set the OS version: Windows 10 or Windows 11
5. When prompted for the disk:
   • Choose “Use an existing virtual disk”
   • Browse and select your newly created .vmdk file

Complete the VM setup and save it.

Optional Settings

• Enable UEFI Boot:
  • VM Settings → Options → Advanced → Set Firmware to UEFI
• Increase Performance:
  • Set at least 2 CPU cores and 4–8 GB RAM
• Enable 3D Acceleration (Optional) for smoother GUI performance

Result

You now have a fully functional virtual version of your original Windows machine.
First boot may go through “Automatic Repair”. Give it time. It will usually boot normally afterward.

Tips

• You can mount .vhd or .vhdx files directly in Windows Disk Management
• The .vmdk can also be used with VirtualBox (with minor tweaks)
• Useful for backup, recovery, or cloud migration