Migrating virtual machines (VMs) from VMware ESXi/vSphere to Microsoft Hyper-V is a common modernization strategy for businesses looking to lower licensing costs, tighten integration with Microsoft ecosystems, and leverage cloud-ready infrastructure. With Windows Admin Center’s VM Conversion extension (Preview), IT administrators can now perform structured migrations with minimal downtime, bulk operations, and robust prechecks.

Whether you’re planning your first migration or refining your processes, this comprehensive guide walks you through every step — from planning and prerequisites to troubleshooting and post-migration tasks.

Why Migrate from VMware to Hyper-V?

Before we dive into the technical steps, it’s important to understand why many organizations choose Hyper-V over VMware vSphere:

1. Cost Savings

Hyper-V is included with Windows Server licenses, helping organizations reduce virtualization licensing costs compared to VMware’s separate and often costly licensing model. (diskinternals.com)

2. Seamless Integration

Because Hyper-V is a Microsoft-native hypervisor, it integrates tightly with Windows Server, Active Directory, System Center, Azure services, and Azure Site Recovery — streamlining management and hybrid cloud workflows. (diskinternals.com)

3. Familiar Management Tools

Admins experienced with Windows environments benefit from familiar tools like Windows Admin Center, Hyper-V Manager, and PowerShell. (vinchin.com)

4. Cloud & Hybrid Ready

Moving to Hyper-V makes it easier to extend workloads into Azure and other Microsoft cloud services. (diskinternals.com)

Migration Prerequisites: What You Need to Get Started

Before you begin migrating VMs from VMware ESXi/vCenter to Hyper-V, ensure the following prerequisites are in place. (learn.microsoft.com)

1. VMware PowerCLI Installed on the Gateway

• Run this PowerShell command to install PowerCLI:

Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI

2. Required Redistributables & VDDK

• Install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables and place the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) v8.0.3 in the Windows Admin Center directory.

3. Hyper-V Role Enabled

• Ensure the target Windows Server hosts have the Hyper-V role enabled.

4. Supported Guest OS

• Both Windows and popular Linux distributions are supported — though Linux VMs must have Hyper-V drivers installed before migration.

Step-by-Step Migration Workflow

Here’s how the VMware to Hyper-V migration process works using Windows Admin Center:

Step 1: Install the VM Conversion (Preview)

1. Open Windows Admin Center.
2. Select Settings in the upper-right corner of the interface. From the left navigation pane, select Extensions.
3. On the Available Extensions, search for VM Conversion (Preview), then select Install.
4. After the installation completes, verify that the VM Conversion (Preview) extension appears in Windows Admin Center under: Extensions > VM Conversion (Preview).

Step 2: Connect to vCenter

1. Open Windows Admin Center.
2. Navigate to the VM Conversion extension.
3. Enter your VMware vCenter FQDN, username, and password to connect.

Step 3: Synchronize Your VMs

Synchronization Prechecks

Before a VMware virtual machine can be synchronized to Hyper-V, Windows Admin Center performs the following validation checks. Make sure all requirements are met before proceeding:

1. The source VMware VM must not have any active snapshots.

2. VMware PowerCLI must be installed on the Windows Admin Center Gateway machine.

3. Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages (2013 and the latest supported version) must be installed on the Windows Admin Center Gateway machine.

4. The VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) must be present at the following location on the Gateway machine:

C:\Program Files\WindowsAdminCenter\Service\VDDK

5. The destination path used to store synchronized data must exist and be accessible by the Hyper-V host.

6. The target Hyper-V must have adequate disk space and memory to store the synchronized virtual disks.

7. Change Block Tracking (CBT) must be supported and enabled on the VM.

Synchronize Virtual Machines

After prechecks pass, follow these steps to synchronize VMware virtual machines:

1. In Windows Admin Center, connect to the Hyper-V server where the VM will be migrated.
2. Navigate to Extensions > VM Conversion (Preview).
3. From the VM list, select up to 10 virtual machines to synchronize in a single batch.
4. In the Synchronize VM window, enter the destination path where the VM data will be stored, then select Synchronize.
5. Notifications appear showing progress for: Running prechecks, preparing the environment, creating a snapshot, and finalizing synchronization. Once complete, verify that the Hyper-V VHDX file has been created in the specified folder.
6. Wait for the sync to complete.

Step 4: Migrate the Virtual Machines

Migration Prechecks

Before the actual migration begins, Windows Admin Center runs a second set of prechecks to ensure the destination environment is ready:

1. The destination Hyper-V host must have enough available vCPUs to support the migrated VM.
2. There must be no existing virtual machine with the same name on the target Hyper-V host.
3. The Hyper-V role must be enabled on the destination Hyper-V host.
4. The synchronized .vhdx file must be present.
5. The source VMware VM must still have no active snapshots at the time of migration.

Migrate Virtual Machines

Once migration prechecks pass, complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Migrate tab, select the VM you want to migrate, and click Migrate.
2. In the Migrate VM window, select Proceed to begin.
   During migration, the following steps are performed: migration prechecks, disk space validation, delta replication, power-off of the source VMware VM, final delta synchronization, import of the VM into Hyper-V.
3. Once complete, the migrated virtual machine can be managed using Hyper-V Manager or Windows Admin Center.

FAQs & Best Practices

Static IP Support

Static IP configurations can be retained using scripts and persisted after migration, reducing post-migration networking work.

Secure Boot & UEFI Support

The tool handles secure boot and UEFI settings automatically based on the guest OS type.

VMware Tools Cleanup

VMware Tools must be uninstalled for Linux VMs and Windows VMs.

Convert Disk Type After Migration

Migrated disks default to dynamic in Hyper-V. For performance and consistency, convert to fixed-size VHDX using:

Convert-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\MyDisk.vhdx" -DestinationPath "C:\VMs\MyDisk_Fixed.vhdx" -VHDType Fixed

Licensing & GUID Considerations

If your applications depend on consistent BIOS GUIDs, you may need to update this post-migration using PowerShell.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Sync/Migration Stuck
  Delete migrationStatus.json and syncStatus.json on the Windows Admin Center gateway to reset stuck tasks.
• Precheck Failures
  Ensure destination server reachability and double-check prerequisites like PowerCLI and disk availability.

Final Thoughts: Planning for Success

Migrating from VMware to Hyper-V doesn’t have to be disruptive — Windows Admin Center’s VM Conversion extension provides a guided, repeatable workflow to make the transition smoother and more predictable. By planning prerequisites, validating your environment, and following best practices like prechecks and backups, you can ensure a reliable migration with minimal downtime.