I’ve seen all sorts of ways to convert from VMware to XCP-ng. The biggest issue I always run into is the Windows system [Windows 11, Server, etc] will not have the XCP-ng drivers setup correct for booting. This results in the dreaded BSOD with inaccessible boot drive (which results in your slamming your head on to the desk).

Here’s the short way I recommend:

• On XCP-ng, using tiny11.iso by NTDEV [search and you shall find it], create a minimal Windows 11 VM.
• Download Veeam agent for Windows, install it onto the newly created Windows 11. As it runs the install, it will ask to create a “Recovery Media”. Let it create the .iso file and remember where it put it.
• Once you have the Veeam Recovery Media iso [which will have XCP-ng drivers in it], copy this to your XCP-ng’s ISO library. Again, so many different ways to setup ISOs, so I leave you to figure it out… In my case, I just used filezilla to copy the ISO off the VM and place it in my XCP-ng ISO area.
• On your LIVE Windows 11 VM still running on VMware, you can load Veeam agent for Windows. Setup backup to write to a shared drive that both the VMware ESXi box can access as well as your XCP-ng server.
• Once you have a full backup of the LIVE Windows 11 VM, create a new VM on the XCP-ng server to match your VMware VM. IMPORTANT: Set the new VM to boot the Veeam Recovery Media ISO you created above.
• Boot your new XCP-ng Windows 11 VM into the Veeam Recovery. Select the [BARE METAL] restore and follow the prompts.
• As the restore almost gets done, you will notice that the Veeam Recovery will modify the BCD and install the needed XCP-ng Virtual machine drivers. Really got to hand it to the Veeam programmers who built this into the recovery process.

Enjoy,

Uncle Carl