Is importing OVA/OVF Files possible?

[notmnky]

Hi!
Up until now I was using VM Virtualbox, but after switching to an M1 i realized I can't work with that anymore. I am an absolute beginner, and need to run HADOOP/HIVE that has been provided to me in an OVA compilation.
Or is there any other way to export the file from Virtualbox to be able to open it in UTM?

[conath]

Hi notmnky, the file format used by UTM for VM hard disks is QCOW2 (UTM is based on QEMU). Other formats are technically supported but result in degraded performance and occasional data loss.

I found this guide online about converting from OVA to QCOW2. https://www.xmodulo.com/convert-ova-to-qcow2-linux.html

After you have converted the file, create a new VM in UTM with a configuration similar to the one you were using in VirtualBox. Save it and re-open the configuration (right click, edit or the button at the top right). In the Drives tab, click on Import Drive and select the QCOW2 file. The file will be copied to the VM bundle and appears in the list of drives. Now save the config and start the VM.

[conath]

The VMs might be intended for legacy BIOS mode, so you can try disabling "UEFI Boot" in the System settings and see if it works.

[mtoseef99]

The VMs might be intended for legacy BIOS mode, so you can try disabling "UEFI Boot" in the System settings and see if it works.

I am facing the same error, and after disabling the "UEFI Boot" under QEMU tab, I am getting the message below.

Any suggestions?

[Hairful]

The VMs might be intended for legacy BIOS mode, so you can try disabling "UEFI Boot" in the System settings and see if it works.

I am facing the same error, and after disabling the "UEFI Boot" under QEMU tab, I am getting the message below.

Any suggestions?

You should try this.

• Change your disk mode to NVMe.
• Close the UEFI option in QEMU
• Start the machine and then press esc immediately
• Choose NVMe to start
• DONE!

[Hairful]

Hey @conath , I am trying to install a vm from vulnhub on UTM but I am having problems with it. I have converted the ova file into qcow2 as you suggested, but it still doesn't seem to work.

here is what i get when i start the machine

You should try this.

• Change your disk mode to NVMe.
• Close the UEFI option in QEMU
• Start the machine and then press esc immediately
• Choose NVMe to start
• DONE!

[J-GitHub1]

LEGEND

[Foiler-NZ]

I converted a Virtualbox Windows XP instance from OVA to QCOW2 per the link above.

Windows XP boots until just before the Windows login screen, then the VM crashes and tries to boot again .. the same thing happens in Safe Mode. I presume I have to change the System settings or maybe the Display settings to get the boot process to complete?

[conath]

Adding to what osy said. You can import the existing VM’s hard disk into the new VM after it’s installed and then access the data (shows up like any hard disk in Windows XP).

[Foiler-NZ]

I am quite keen to get that VM going as is due to previously licensed software .. in Safe Mode you can see that the boot process crashes after loading mup.sys .. which is sometimes caused by disk errors apparently .. I loaded the drive in another XP vm and ran a chkdsk but no errors showed up so it is something else .. any suggestions would be welcome :-)

[conath]

My suggestion would be to look into older forums for a similar situation - UTM is a relatively young piece of software, QEMU (its main backend) has been around for much longer. If you search online for "move VirtualBox to QEMU" or similar, you might find a solution that can be adapted to work with UTM. Good luck! 👍

[startergo]

So at this page it says it is enough to set uuid.bios to -uuid and ethernet0.generatedAddress to macaddr. Can someone confirm?
https://www.linux-kvm.org/page/How_To_Migrate_From_Vmware_To_KVM

Look at your VMX configuration file:

scsi0:0.fileName = "zimbra-000001.vmdk"
uuid.bios = "56 4d 3f 3d 32 80 5b f2-94 31 21 c9 b2 c3 93 b9"
ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0c:29:c3:93:b9"
And then build the command-line:

kvm -drive file=zimbra-000001.vmdk,boot=on
-net nic,macaddr=00:0c:29:c3:93:b9 -net tap
-uuid 564d3f3d-3280-5bf2-9431-21c9b2c393b9

[Hairful]

You should try this.

• Change your disk mode to NVMe.
• Close the UEFI option in QEMU
• Start the machine and then press esc immediately
• Choose NVMe to start
• DONE!

[laugsg]

This process solve my issue with UTM, hope it helps

1. Follow the tutorial shared by @conath to convert .ova to .qcow2 (mac: brew install qemu - not qemu-utils)
2. Create New Virtual Machine
3. Emulate
4. Custom
5. Skip ISO boot
6. The rest of configs as your needs or default (continue, continue, etc... save)
7. Continue & Save

At this point something that looks like a virtual machine was created in the left panel.

1. Open the VM that you just created
2. Go to Setings
3. Drives: In the popup Settings window at the bottom left is Drives - Delete that Drive (Mine is called IDE Drive)
4. Drives: Click in New...
5. Import
6. Select the qcow2
7. Go to QEMU Tab
8. Unselect "UEFI Boot"
9. Save
10. Run

This part was taken from this video

[kevinadhiguna]

I followed this steps and failed to boot Kali Linux:
[ ... ] Failed to access perfctr msr (MSR c0010004 is 0)

Any ideas?

[sameoj]

Hi,

I`m trying to login to my Window Server installed on UTM.

Each time I press these keys: Command+Option+Esc; it displays "Force Quit Application." Please see attached screenshot.

Can anyone, please, tell me what I`m doing wrong?

Thank you in advance

[LucasKuhn]

#2521 (comment)
I followed @laugsg answer and it worked, but the performance was super slow 🐢
Asking UTM to force multicore gave a significant performance boost:
On the initial UTM screen, select the vm, click on top right to edit, then:
Sytem -> Force multicore

[AartSpilt]

Thanks for the info. I did manage to make and run an virtual machine. And also managed to install Kali. What I want to do is to run both the virtual machine from vulnhub (for example earth) and Kali. And with netdiscover I want to assess the ip adress user by the virtual machine. Anyone knows which network settings to use?