---
title: "Run a qcow2 image in VMware"
description: "Convert qcow2 to vmdk with qemu-img"
date: 2018-01-23
tags: ["virtualization"]
lang: en
url: https://bugs.cc/posts/run-qcow2-image-in-vmware/
translation: https://bugs.cc/zh/posts/run-qcow2-image-in-vmware/
---

# Run a qcow2 image in VMware

## Intro

For some reason I needed to run a qcow2 image on my laptop. Standing up an OpenStack platform was out of the question; the hardware could not take it. I wanted to see if I could just run the qcow2 image in VMware. Everything online said to convert it with `qemu-img`, and then the write-ups just stopped. So I poked at it myself and wrote the process down.

## Preparation

First download `qemu-img`. I was on 64-bit Windows, so I grabbed the [win64 build](https://qemu.weilnetz.de/w64/). After it is installed, add the install directory to `PATH` so the rest is easier.

I will skip VMware itself and the original qcow2 image. You need both.

## Steps

First convert the qcow2 image to vmdk with `qemu-img`:

```bash
$ qemu-img convert -f qcow2 CentOS_7.2_x86_64_XD.qcow2 -O vmdk Centos.vmdk
```

You will get a Centos.vmdk image in the current directory, but you cannot import it: there is no vmx file. Dropping it into VMware throws an error.

So create an empty VM in VMware first. Pick the guest OS from your qcow2; mine was CentOS 7, so I chose CentOS 7 64-bit.

Once that is created, go into that VM's folder under `Virtual Machines`, delete the vmdk, and replace it with the file you converted with `qemu-img`. Start VMware and it should work.

Here is a demo:

[YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE1dkDgRSPA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE1dkDgRSPA)