How to Copy a VMware Machine to a USB
VMware provides products for creating and running virtual computers inside an isolated container of a physical computer. By creating a virtual machine, users can test software in a virtual environment without fear of causing problems on the host computer. Virtualization also allows users to run multiple operating systems on a single physical computer. Once a VMware virtual machine is created, it can be easily moved to a new location or copied to a USB flash drive for backup.
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Instructions
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Locate the VMware virtual machine file on your computer using Windows Explorer. The file extension for the virtual machine file is .vmwarevm and is located inside the Virtual Machines folder in My Documents.
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Connect the USB flash drive to any available USB port on your computer. Open another Windows explorer window by clicking on the My Computer icon on the desktop. Click the icon for Removable Media once it appears in the Explorer window.
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Copy the virtual machine file from your computer to the USB flash drive. Click on the virtual machine file inside the Virtual Machines folder and press Control and C on the keyboard to copy the file. Paste the file to the flash drive by clicking inside the Explorer window and pressing Control and P on the keyboard. The file can also be copied by right-clicking on the file and selecting Copy. To paste the file, right-click inside the Explorer window for the flash drive and select Paste.
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Wait for the file to be completely copied from your computer to the USB flash drive. Eject the flash drive by clicking on the USB icon in the system tray and selecting Eject.
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Tips & Warnings
If you would like to operate the virtual machine from the new location, indicate that you have moved the virtual machine when prompted during the startup process.
The virtual machine file cannot be copied or moved while it is running. Be sure to power-down the virtual machine before performing this process.
