Running a one-time conversion of a physical recovery point to a virtual disk
You can use Veritas System Recovery to convert recovery points of a physical computer to VMware virtual disk. You can create a schedule to convert recovery points to a VMware virtual disk (.vmdk format) or a Microsoft virtual disk (.vhd format).
Note: If the disk sector size is 4K, the Microsoft virtual disk can only be converted to a .vhdx format.
You can also convert recovery points directly to VMware ESXi Server. Virtual disks are excellent for testing and evaluation purposes.
Note: You cannot convert a 4K disk to a .vmdk format.
You can find a list of platforms that support the virtual disks that are created from recovery points in the software compatibility list. The software compatibility list is available at the following URL:
You can also create scheduled recovery point conversions to virtual disks.
To run a one-time recovery point conversion to virtual disk
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On the Tasks menu, click One Time Virtual Conversion.
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Click the virtual disk type (and version, if applicable) that you want to create, and then click Next.
VMware Virtual Disk (.vmdk) Converts the recovery points to a .vmdk format. This format only supports Workstation version 8. VMware ESXi Server Converts the recovery points to a VMware ESXi Server. Note: Veritas System Recovery 18.0.2 no longer supports physical to virtual conversion for ESXi on a 32-bit operating system. Microsoft Virtual Disk The .vhd format is supported for all versions before Windows 8 and the .vhdx format is supported for Windows 8 and above. Note: The Microsoft Virtual Disk type supports .vhd and .vhdx conversions. The .vhd conversion is available for all operating systems. The .vhdx conversion is only available for Windows 8/2012 R2 and above. If the sector size is 4K, the virtual disk can only be converted to a .vhdx format. -
Do one of the following:
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Click View all recovery points near the bottom of the pane, and then select a recovery point in the list based on its creation date.
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In the View by list, select a recovery point source.Note: If you have specified a password while defining a backup job, theEnter Passworddialog box is displayed. Enter the password that you specified when you created the backup job and clickOK.
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Source options when you view recovery points by Date
| View by - Date | Displays all of the discovered recovery points in the order in which they were created. |
|---|---|
| Date | Lets you select an alternate date by using the drop-down calendar. Use the calendar if no recovery points are discovered and displayed in the table. |
| View all recovery points | Lets you view all recovery points that are available. |
| Sector Size | Lets you view the sector size, which is displayed as 4K or 512. |
Source options when you view recovery points by File name
| View by - File name | Lets you view recovery points by their file name. |
|---|---|
| File name | Specifies a path and a file name of a recovery point. |
| Browse | Lets you browse to a path that contains a recovery point. |
| For example, you can browse for a recovery point (.v2i) or incremental recovery point (.iv2i) file on an external (USB) drive. Or, you can browse to a network location, or removable media. | |
| User name | Specifies the user name if you specify a recovery point file name that is located in a network path. |
| See Rules for network credentials . | |
| Password | Specifies the password to a network path. |
Source options when you view recovery points by System
| View by - System | Lets you use the current system index file that is located in the recovery point storage location. The system index file displays a list of all of the drives on your computer and any associated recovery points from which you can select. |
|---|---|
| The use of a system index file reduces the time it takes to convert multiple recovery points. When a recovery point is created, a system index file is saved with it. The system index file contains a list of the most recent recovery points, which includes the original drive location of each recovery point. | |
| Date | Lets you select an alternate date of a system index file by using the drop-down calendar. Use the calendar if no recovery points are discovered and displayed in the table. |
| Perform conversion using latest recovery points for this computer | Converts the most recent recovery points that exist in the recovery point storage location on your computer. |
| The list of drives, source files (.v2i and .iv2i files), and dates comes from the most current system index file (.sv2i). | |
| Perform conversion using recovery points for another computer | Converts the recovery points that exist on another computer. |
| Browse to and select the .sv2i file for the desired system | Specifies a path to a system index file (.sv2i) that resides elsewhere, such as a network location. |
| If you selected a system index file that is stored on a network, you are prompted for your network credentials. | |
| See Rules for network credentials . | |
| Browse | Lets you browse to a path that contains a system index file. |
| For example, you can browse to an external (USB) drive, a network location, or to removable media to select a system index file. | |
| Drives | Lets you select the drives with the recovery points that you want to convert based on the selected system index file. |
| Sector Size | Lets you view the sector size, which is displayed as 4K or 512. |
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Click Next.
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Set the virtual disk destination options based on the virtual disk format and version (if applicable) that you selected, and then click Next.
Virtual Disks Destination options for converting to VMware virtual disk or Microsoft virtual disk
| Folder for virtual disks | Lets you type the path to the folder where you want to place the virtual disk files. |
|---|---|
| Note: When you select a folder to place the virtual disk files, theSector Sizeof the source and destination must be the same. | |
| Browse | Lets you browse to locate the folder in which you want to place the virtual disk files. |
| User name | Lets you type the user name if you specified a virtual disk folder location on a network |
| See Rules for network credentials . | |
| Password | Specifies the password to a network path. |
| Create one virtual disk per volume | Lets you create one virtual disk file per volume. |
| If you do not select this option, each drive is matched to its respective hard drive letter assignment during the conversion. Therefore, it results in multiple drives within one virtual disk file. | |
| Note: This option is not available if the volumes are on separate disks. | |
| Rename | Lets you edit the file name of the resulting virtual disk file. |
Virtual Disks Destination options for converting to VMware ESXi Server
| ESXi server name or IP address | Indicates the name of the server or the server's IP address. |
|---|---|
| User name | Indicates a valid administrator user name that has sufficient rights to an ESXi server. |
| Password | Indicates a valid password to the ESXi server. |
| Destination for the virtual disks | Indicates the path to the folder where you want to place the virtual disk files. |
| Browse | Lets you browse to a destination location for the virtual disks. |
| Rename | Lets you edit the name of the resulting virtual disk file. |
| Next | Specifies a temporary location options for VMware ESXi Server virtual disks. |
| Temporary location for conversion | Lets you type the name of the server or the server's IP address that you can use as a temporary location for files. |
| Temporary Location Credentials | Lets you type a valid administrator user name and password that has sufficient rights. |
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Set the general conversion options you want, and then click Next.
Split virtual disk into 2 GB (.vmdk) files Splits the virtual disk into multiple 2 GB .vmdk files. For example, use this option if your virtual disk is stored on a FAT32 drive. Or, any file system that does not support files larger than 2 GB. Or, if you want to copy the virtual disk files to a DVD but the size is larger than the DVD allows. Note: This option is specific to VMware; it is not available if you selectedMicrosoft Virtual Diskas the conversion format. -
Review the summary of the choices you made.
If you need to make any changes, click Back.
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Click Finish.
See Editing a virtual conversion job.
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