<![CDATA[Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working)]]>I have a VMDK file with it's associated VMDK Flat file from a ESXi setup that I'd like to import into XCP-ng. I am trying to do so via Xen Orchestra's import feature, however when doing so I can select either (or both) files, and then I get this small spinning icon (see below) but it never actually imports anything or progresses and no new tasks are created within the Tasks section. I've given it over an hour before and still nothing.

93ede737-40ee-41dd-a5a8-904626f8fa18-image.png

Any ideas here? I suppose the other option would be to use XCP-ng Center since it sometimes works better for this stuff, but I don't see a way to import multiple disks and LATER attach them to a VM going that route (I have 6 disks that need to be imported for a single VM)

This is all coming after I have tried the new direct import feature with XOA (updated on the vmware branch) through CLI (which gives me an error and doesn't appear to even connect to my ESXi host), and trying to import an OVA which was exported from VCenter (it's 6 disks and it gets partially imported and then says "device already exists" and only seems to import 3 or 4 of the virtual disks within that OVA file.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/topic/6831/cannot-import-vmdk-through-import-disk-migrating-from-esxi-all-methods-not-workingRSS for NodeThu, 14 May 2026 10:52:09 GMTTue, 17 Jan 2023 20:50:43 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Mon, 07 Apr 2025 07:14:02 GMT]]>we are reworking the import code , along the new backup code ( https://xcp-ng.org/forum/topic/10664/our-future-backup-code-test-it ) to unify the differetn disk transformation path

For now:

  • V2V handles flat, cowd, sesparse, stream optimized vmdk in the format "metadata.vmdk and a data file ) and ova ( for VSAN)
  • disk import support monolithic vmdk ( cowd, sesparse, streamoptimized )
  • ova improt support only stream ova with streamoptimzed vmdk inside
]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91674https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91674Mon, 07 Apr 2025 07:14:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Fri, 04 Apr 2025 20:36:44 GMT]]>@piotrlotr1 Most VMDK's should work, but the V2V tool is really what is meant for this. It lets you warm migrate from VMware to XCP-ng with very little downtime.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91639https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91639Fri, 04 Apr 2025 20:36:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:09:05 GMT]]>@planedrop
It just says "Drop (...) VMDK (...) files here to import disks." so I thought I could simply drop it there and job done : - )

But in general for example importing VM in OVA format works fine.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91609https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91609Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:09:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 03 Apr 2025 22:21:37 GMT]]>@piotrlotr1 Maybe I missed some context in this thread, so apologies if I did.

But the V2V tool should handle this, is there a reason you are wanting to do it as a VMDK import instead?

I've used the V2V a lot and it works quite well.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91596https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91596Thu, 03 Apr 2025 22:21:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 03 Apr 2025 08:20:11 GMT]]>@florent
monolithic flat sounds like a disk which cannot be created directly by vSphere (ESXi effectively). This is the type of a disk which comes from VMware Workstation or am I wrong? That's why you've mention about v2v tool or converting to vhd?

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91537https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91537Thu, 03 Apr 2025 08:20:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Wed, 02 Apr 2025 14:52:37 GMT]]>hi, for now the disk import wizard can only handle monolithic vmdk ( and more precisely stream optimized vmdk)

you have two files, and the data file is a -ftat..vmdk, so basically a raw file

In your case, I think tou'll have to convert the vmdk file to a vhd, for exampe with qemu-img convert.

The v2v tool should be able to handle this, do you have any issue ?

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91495https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91495Wed, 02 Apr 2025 14:52:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Wed, 02 Apr 2025 08:26:41 GMT]]>Yes, yes, of course.

So when I try to import .vmdk disk nothing actually happens.

I've left the whole thing for few hours but nothing changed.

Tried at the beginning with big disk but also after that tried with small one.

There is a "loading gear" and it's only spinning around (marked on below screenshot).

screenshot_06.PNG

No error, I've tried multiple times.

Not sure if that helps but in general .vmdk disks comes with a bit different shapes.

There can be a -flat one (zeroed or lazy), the one which is thin. As additional there may be a difference between disk exported to template directly from VMware vCenter and the .vmdk disk created via VMware Workstation. Disk can be created with different SCSI controller like LSI or VMware Paravirual. -flat.vmdk can be opened with 7zip but there is no way to do the same trick with thin .vmdk. - Does any from above matters from XOA point of view?

Q: Is there any specific requirement for that .vmdk disk to be imported to XOA?

I've also tried to export a VM from VMware vCenter into OVF, convert it to OVA and import it to XOA - and that worked fine. Connected .vmdk disk from that imported VM to a VM created in XOA and at the beginning the disk was NOT spotted. It was NOT visible in the system but after few tries I was able to initiate it and works perfectly fine now.

So the problem is with importing just a .vmdk file.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91476https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91476Wed, 02 Apr 2025 08:26:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:30:34 GMT]]>Hi,

Can you recap exactly what you did and the error message you had? Thanks!

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91441https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91441Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:30:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:26:34 GMT]]>Hi, I just tried to do a similar thing and it seems that the issue is still there.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91440https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/91440Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:26:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Mon, 05 Aug 2024 21:04:13 GMT]]>@caponate yup, I ended up doing the same

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/81280https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/81280Mon, 05 Aug 2024 21:04:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Sat, 06 Jul 2024 03:34:06 GMT]]>@scottieIP No, and it's entirely possible the issue has been fixed. I ended up just backing up the database from that VM and migrating it to a new VM on our cluster.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/79828https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/79828Sat, 06 Jul 2024 03:34:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Fri, 05 Jul 2024 23:28:59 GMT]]>@alexredston Im stuck here too... did you get any where?

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/79818https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/79818Fri, 05 Jul 2024 23:28:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:00:26 GMT]]>@planedrop I have exactly the same issue. I've exported the disk as two files ( the flat one is 800GB) and the wheel is simply spinning 24 hours later. Did you manage to resolve this?

The direct import from ESXi didn't work for me either. My biggest criticism of this would be that there is no feedback to indicate whether it it working or not, an orange task appears, clicking to see the logs hangs indefinitely. I'm not sure if there is a way to upload the pair of files that make up the VMDK to the machine over SCP and then kick off the import from there.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/78821https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/78821Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:00:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Fri, 03 Mar 2023 07:49:31 GMT]]>Interesting 🤔 Are you sure they are VHD and not VHDX? If it's possible to access the problematic VHD, we could take a look and see what's inside in terms of structure and headers.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59458https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59458Fri, 03 Mar 2023 07:49:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Fri, 03 Mar 2023 02:41:44 GMT]]>@olivierlambert Yep. And I confirmed it today, it appears it is JUST the vhd files exported from Azure that don't work. I don't know what in the hell they do to them, but there's something messed up about them. Maybe I will export a generic one and post it for analysis.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59454https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59454Fri, 03 Mar 2023 02:41:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 02 Mar 2023 08:08:57 GMT]]>You could also try to import the VHD directly with xe on the host, and see if it works.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59409https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59409Thu, 02 Mar 2023 08:08:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 02 Mar 2023 08:08:19 GMT]]>Just to double check: are you in HTTPS in your browser?

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59408https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59408Thu, 02 Mar 2023 08:08:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 02 Mar 2023 02:07:22 GMT]]>Here is what I get when trying to upload the exported vhd:

Tried with 3 different browsers just in case.

d5440a17-3ed3-490c-a1d0-1cfd312ad240-image.png

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59404https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59404Thu, 02 Mar 2023 02:07:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 02 Mar 2023 01:54:11 GMT]]>@planedrop Is that even possible anymore? I cannot find the option to do that, it has been a long time since I used xcp-ng center.

Just tested it on my main desktop at home, I can import a generic windows server VHD I downloaded from microsoft. But not a copy of an Azure VM that I downloaded the other day (but it boots in hyper-V)... Very weird. I will try downloading it again and report back.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59403https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59403Thu, 02 Mar 2023 01:54:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:21:58 GMT]]>@caponate Have you tried importing it via XCP-ng center? It's older but may be worth a try.

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59400https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59400Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:21:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:20:04 GMT]]>@olivierlambert No, it is our unifi controller VM so it has some private info. I tried it this afternoon again with a different VHD and had the same result, this time a VHD I exported from our veeam backups, which I have done with XOA before without issue. Should I create my own thread?

I also just tried it again from my macbook with safari, same result. Weird how when I go to show logs, there is nothing.

Thank you so much for your assistance!

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59399https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59399Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:20:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Wed, 01 Mar 2023 22:02:02 GMT]]>Is it a generic VHD that we could grab somewhere to see if we can reproduce here?

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59397https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59397Wed, 01 Mar 2023 22:02:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Wed, 01 Mar 2023 18:43:33 GMT]]>@olivierlambert Realized it was on stable, just updated it to latest but now I just get an error with no logs 07dfece8-1230-4f8c-9a17-f54a03979c14-image.png

83ea446d-4404-4d6f-8516-821a32834385-image.png

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59394https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59394Wed, 01 Mar 2023 18:43:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Cannot Import VMDK Through Import > Disk (migrating from ESXi, all methods not working) on Wed, 01 Mar 2023 17:44:35 GMT]]>Hi,

XOA on latest full up to date?

]]>https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59391https://xcp-ng.org/forum/post/59391Wed, 01 Mar 2023 17:44:35 GMT