Import VirtualBox virtual machines in VMware Workstation 16 or 15 - VMware - Tutorials

Want to go from VirtualBox (open-source) to VMware Workstation professional virtualization solution without having to reinstall all your virtual machines ? So, here's how to easily transfer your VirtualBox virtual machines to VMware Workstation.
Unsurprisingly, we will be using the OVF format that was proposed as a standard in 2007 and is now used by most virtualization solutions, including VirtualBox and VMware Workstation.
However, be aware that VMware Workstation (version 15) only supports version 1.0 of the OVF (and OVA) format for the moment.

1. Export your VirtualBox virtual machines in OVF format

To begin, you will need to export your VirtualBox virtual machines in OVF format.
For this, in VirtualBox, click : File -> Export Appliance.

Select the virtual machine to export and click Next.

Select the "Open Virtualization Format 1.0" format and check the "Write Manifest File" box to check the integrity of the exported file.

Important : although VirtualBox supports OVF version 1.0 and 2.0, this is not the case with VMware Workstation. So, be sure to use version 1.0 and NOT 2.0.

Specify information for exporting in OVF format if you wish.
This step is entirely optional.

Click Export.

Wait while exporting the virtual machine and its virtual hard disk.

2. Import the virtual machine into VMware Workstation

Once the virtual machine is exported from VirtualBox, open VMware Workstation and click : File -> Open.

Select the ova (or ovf) file created by VirtualBox and click Open.

An "Import Virtual Machine" window appears (since this is another format than the one used by VMware by default).
Specify a name for the virtual machine to import and select the location where you want to store the virtual machine that will be converted to VMware format (with a vmx configuration file).

As with any virtual machine in OVF format, VMware Workstation will display this error message :

Plain Text

The import failed because C:\xxxxx\[VM name].ova did not pass OVF specification conformance or virtual hardware compliance checks.

Click Retry to relax OVF specification and virtual hardware compliance checks and try the import again, or click Cancel to cancel the import. If you retry the import, you might not be able to use the virtual machine in VMware Workstation.

Check the "Do not show this message again" box and click Retry to start importing the virtual machine.

Wait while importing and converting your virtual machine in VMware Workstation.

Once the virtual machine is imported, it will appear in VMware Workstation.