I'm in a bit of a pickle here and looking for some advice on migrating an older physical server that was converted to VMware a while back to Hyper-V. This server, which has been running Windows Server 2008 R2 on an HPE ML350, is only powered up when accounting needs something from it. Now, our company is switching entirely from VMware to Hyper-V, using Veeam for migration. We hit a snag during the migration attempt because of a secure boot error, and after disabling it, the VM just hangs during the boot process. We're debating whether to keep it on ESXi since the boot time is manageable, or to get it running in Hyper-V. I'd prefer to avoid booting up ESXi every time we need it, especially since accounting expects to need access for another three years. Any tips for getting this VM to boot up in Hyper-V smoothly?
4 Answers
Honestly, Hyper-V is just not the best for production—it feels pretty buggy. If you have alternatives supported by your backup, I'd suggest going that route. It can handle development environments, but it’s not my favorite for production use.
For us, we found success using Veeam's instant restore for 2003 servers. Make sure to set it as a Generation 1 VM and mount the old tools ISO from 2012. That made a huge difference when we moved the drives over to the production host. You could give that method a go.
Check out the StarWind V2V Converter. I've used it to migrate VMware VMs to Hyper-V before. It wasn't perfect; some of them refused to boot after conversion, but it was helpful overall. For any that didn't work, I managed to use Veeam to create a backup and restore it successfully.
Sounds promising! I might try that as well, just to keep my options open.
Remember, Windows Server 2008 R2 may need specific drivers for Hyper-V. It might be worth adding those drivers before the migration. Also, consider upgrading the VM to Server 2012 R2, which could help it boot better in the new environment.
Glad to hear that worked for you! I totally forgot about using that tool—I'll give it a shot. Thanks for reminding me!