VMware GSX 3 User Manual

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C H A P T E R   5  Moving and Sharing Virtual Machines
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Preparing Your Virtual Machine for the Move 
1. Open the virtual machine using the VMware product with which you created it. 
If the virtual machine has more than one virtual disk and if the virtual disks use 
different disk modes, you must use the Configuration Editor (choose Settings > 
Configuration Editor) to change one or more of the virtual disks so they all use 
the same mode.
2. Be sure you know whether the virtual disk is set up as an IDE disk or a SCSI disk. 
You can check this in the virtual machine settings editor. 
Also, note the size of the virtual disk you are moving. You need this information 
when you prepare the new host machine, as described in the next section.
3. Be sure the guest operating system is completely shut down. If the virtual 
machine is suspended, resume it using the VMware product with which you 
created the virtual machine, then shut down the guest operating system. 
Note:  Do not move a suspended virtual machine from one host to another. 
4. If your virtual machine is using disks in undoable mode, it is best to commit or 
discard the changes when the guest operating system shuts down. If you cannot 
commit or discard the changes to your disk, read 
5. If you have a network connection between the original host machine and the 
new host, you are finished with the preparations on the original host. If you do 
not have a network connection, you need to have a way of moving the virtual 
disk (.vmdk) files from the virtual machine’s directory to the new host. You 
could move them to a shared network directory, for example, or burn them to 
CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs. 
Note:  If your disks are using undoable mode and you have not committed or 
discarded your changes, you must also move the redo-log (.REDO) file to the 
new host computer. 
Preparing the New Host Machine
1. Make sure GSX Server 3 is installed and working correctly on the new host.
2. Start the VMware Virtual Machine Console and run the New Virtual Machine 
Wizard. Select the appropriate guest operating system for the virtual machine 
you are moving.
Choose a virtual disk for your hard drive and use a drive type (IDE or SCSI) that 
matches the type of the virtual disk you plan to move.