vmware : IDE to SCSI

I’ve found that vmware converter (this may be fixed in newer verions) creates vmware guests with an IDE controller. There can be performance issues if you choose to remain with this particular controller… Best bet is to change it to one of the various vmware SCSI controllers…

Depending on which windows operating system you are running depends on which controller you use….  http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1006621

Guest Operating System
Adapter Type
Windows 2003, 2008, Vista
lsilogic
Windows NT, 2000, XP
buslogic
Linux
lsilogic

 

http://sanbarrow.com/vmdk/vmx-ide2scsi.html

You can easily change the type of the virtual controller for a given disk.
Lets have a look at an example.

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1
CID=fffffffe
parentCID=ffffffff
createType=”twoGbMaxExtentFlat”
# Extent description
RW 4193792 FLAT “diskname-f001.vmdk” 0
RW 2097664 FLAT “diskname-f002.vmdk” 0
# The Disk Data Base
#DDB
ddb.adapterType = “ide”
ddb.virtualHWVersion = “3”
ddb.geometry.cylinders = “6241”
ddb.geometry.heads = “16”
ddb.geometry.sectors = “63”

The disk above uses a virtual ide-controller.

ddb.adapterType = “buslogic” This entry converts the disk into a SCSI-disk with BusLogic Controller

ddb.adapterType = “lsilogic”   This entry converts the disk into a SCSI-disk with LSILogic Controller
ddb.adapterType = “ide”   This entry converts the disk into a IDE-disk with Intel-IDE Controller

This changes the harddisk – but doesn’t change the controller itself.

ide0.present = “TRUE”
ide1.present = “TRUE”
scsi0.virtualDev = “lsilogic”
scsi0.virtualDev = “buslogic”
scsi1.virtualDev = “lsilogic”
scsi1.virtualDev = “buslogic”

Use entries like this in your *.vmx file. By the way, you can have LSI-logic and BUS-logic controllers in one VM.

Think twice before you make changes like this with a boot-disk.

Bluescreen 07b – mass-storage driver:
Activate the apropriate driver in the registry: intelide.sys or vmscsi.sys or symmpi.sys – you may have to add files as well.

If you get the above issue on a w2k8 box you might be able to enable the LSI_SAS driver before you convert the machine to SCSI controller.

  1. Boot machine with IDE controller
  2. Take a snapshot (for failback)
  3. Regedit and find the following key \\HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\LSI_SAS
  4. Change the “Start” dword from 4 to 0
  5. Shutdown the machine
  6. Remove all the virtual disks (do not delete the disks, just remove them)
  7. Create copies of each .vmdk file (cp) (for failback)
  8. Edit the .vmdk file for each disk (vi)
  9. Change the “adaptertype” to “lsilogic” (if w2k8)
  10. Re-add existing disks (this should also bring in a LSI SAS controller)
  11. Boot the machine

Black screen with cursor blinking in the topleft of the screen:
Write a new partition boot-sector.

hyper-v to esx conversion

V2V cold clone process for SBS / exchange / sql / DC’s etc…..    (works in vSphere)

Steps to convert from hyper-v guest to vmware guest

  • Remove hyper-v integrated services while hyper-v guest is running. (if possible)
  • Note down NIC networking details first
  • Clean shutdown hyper-v guest
  • Use StarWind Converter (free) to convert VHD to “dynamically growing VMware” image and use “IDE” as type. Note “SCSI” does NOT work if you have not got the LSI / BUS drivers in the source image, just use the default options – dynamic vmware and IDE.
  • Create VMware guest shell (virtual machine equivalent to hyper-v specs but without the disks) – remove all hard drives, iscsi controller should also disappear.
  • Upload the VMDK to same data store as virtual machine and attach to the virtual guest in the right order. They should be detected as “IDE”
  • Start new vmware guest
  • If you could not remove integrated services (i.e. hot clone), then you MUST disable hyper-v services immediately.
  • Install vmware tools – reboot
  • Remove hidden NIC and other orphaned devices, and reconfigure network card as per original.
  • Windows may need to be re-activated – do this.

Note : converting a machine to use an IDE controller will limit its performance!