Collected from various places on the Web. The latest information can be found in this VMware KB Article.
- Cleanup the VMs virtual hardware prior to powering it on. This includes adjusting the RAM size, number of CPUs and NICs, and removing any unneeded hardware (e.g. serial, parallel, & USB ports, floppy drive).
- First boot should be into Windows Safe Mode (F8). Remove all drivers and applications specific to the original server hardware. This includes network teaming & management applications, array configuration software, and video & sound drivers. Do not restart if prompted when uninstalling. Wait until everything is uninstalled first, and then reboot Windows into Normal mode.
- Change the Windows HAL. If the server went from multiple CPUs to a single vCPU, or vice-versa, make sure to change the Windows HAL appropriately.
- Install VMware Tools and then reboot when finished.
- Remove all non-present hardware from the operating system (see below). After a conversion from different physical hardware, there will be a lot of hardware devices that are no longer present on the new VM. While they are no longer present, they still consume resources and should be completely removed.
- Remove old NICs. If your old NICs used static IP addresses, you will get a warning error when trying to set your new vNIC to the same IP address. This is because the NICs are still configured as non-present devices.
- Check your Windows services and make sure there are no vendor hardware specific services running. If the uninstall applications did not remove them then disable them.
- Check your vNIC properties to make sure they are no vendor specific clients or services loaded (e.g. NIC teaming drivers). If so, uninstall them.
To remove non-present hardware:
- Open a Windows command (CMD) prompt and run the following commands:
SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1 DEVMGMT.MSC
- Note: You cannot open Device Manager through the GUI. The first SET command only affects applications run from the same CMD window.
- After Device Manager opens, select View from the top menu, and then the Show Hidden Devices option, which will display all hidden and non-present hardware devices.
- Expand each section to remove all hardware that is grayed out (lighter in appearance then the other devices), which means it is no longer present. Just right-click on an item and choose Uninstall. There will be a lot of it under the Non-Plug and Play Drivers and System Devices sections. If you see no grayed out hardware you may have spelled the above SET command incorrectly. If so, go back and try again.
- Once you’re done, reboot.