Compressing a VMWare Virtual Machine

When using snapshots the virtual machine can become quite large. Even if you clone the VM you will often end up with many files. The best method for "consolidating" and "compressing" your VM is to use VMWare Converter.

Things you Will Need:

• VMWare Converter 3.n from http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/

Procedure

1. Open VMWare Converter.
2. Click on Convert Machine.
3. Select the type of source as "Other" and click NEXT.
4. Browse or enter the path to the Source VM or image and click NEXT. (EX: C:\VirtualMachines\Jumbo.vmx
5. For the Source Data make sure the option for "Convert all disks and maintain size" and click NEXT.
6. Click NEXT.
7. For the Destination Type select Other Virtual Machine and click NEXT.
8. For the Virtual Machine Name and Location
9. Enter in the name of the VM
10. Click BROWSE and navigate to the CLONE folder.
11. Click on Make Folder.
    Click OK.
12. Choose the type of virtual machine to make, choose Workstation 5.x for Server 1.n series or Workstation 6.x for Server 2.n series.
13. Click NEXT.
14. For the Virtual Machine Options choose the following:
    - Select "Import and convert (full clone)"
    - Select "Allow virtual disk files to expand" for the Disk Allocation.
15. Click NEXT.
16. For Networks just click NEXT.
17. Make sure the setting is Bridged, not NAT.
18. For Customization place a checkmark in "Remove all System Restore Checkpoints (recommended)" and click NEXT.
19. On the Ready to Complete dialog click FINISH.