How to Backup VMware VM to External Hard Drive [Comprehensive Guide]

Backups are critical to preventing data loss, and while VMware offers a built-in backup solution, manually exporting your virtual machines to an external hard drive is also a reliable offline backup strategy. Backup VMware VM to external hard drive enables offline protection, easy movement of backups between systems, and is cost-effective. In the following article, you will be provided with two ways to copy VM to external hard drive ESXi.

Manual Method: Exporting VMware VMs to an External Hard Drive

If you prefer a manual approach, follow these steps:

Step 1: Locate Your VM Files

VMware stores VM files in a folder containing: .vmx (configuration file)

.vmdk (virtual disk)

.nvram (BIOS settings)

.log (log files)

Default Locations:

• Windows: C: \Users\Public\Documents\VMware\Virtual Machines\
• Linux/Mac: /var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines/

Step 2: Shut Down the VM

Before copying, ensure the VM is powered off to avoid corruption.

Step 3: Copy VM Files to External Hard Drive

Connect your external HDD.

Copy the entire VM folder to the external drive.

Verify the transfer was successful.

Step 4. Restoring the VM (If Needed)

Plug in the external drive.

Open VMware, go to File > Open, and select the .vmx file.

Power on the VM.

🔴Limitation:

Time-consuming for multiple VMs.

No scheduling or automation.

There is a risk of incomplete backups if files change during copying.

Recommended Automated Backup: AOMEI Cyber Backup

For easier, faster, and more reliable backups, AOMEI Cyber Backup is a top choice. It can help you to easily back up all your VMware ESXi virtual machines to USB drives, hard disks, SSDs, and other external storage devices.

Easy-to-use Interface: The intuitive interface allows you to connect, create tasks, and implement with just a few clicks.
Centralized Backup: With just a few easy steps, you can create a backup task for multiple VMs without installing an agent on each of them.
Agentless Backup: It can create complete and independent image-level backups for VMware ESXi and Hyper-V VMs.
Comprehensive Backup Options: You can create full, incremental, and differential backups, enabling users to select the backup strategy that best fits their needs.
Instant Recovery: Once VMware crashes, quickly restore VMware to a normal state and reduce business-critical downtime.

3 simple steps to backup multiple ESXi VMs to external hard drive

Step 1. Access to AOMEI Cyber Backup web client, navigate to Source Device > VMware > + Add VMware Device to add vCenter or Standalone ESXi host as the source device. And then click … > Confirm.

Step 2. Navigate to Backup Task > + Create New Task, and set Task Name, Backup Type, Device, Target, and Schedule according to your needs.

• Device: You can backup multiple VMs on the host.
• Target: You can select to backup to an attached external hard drive or to a network path. Used paths will be saved in Favorite Storage for handy selection.
• Archive: If you want to save backups to a cloud storage. Choose Archiving backup to Amazon S3 and add a S3 bucket. Once your VMware backup is created, the backup files will be automatically archived to the Amazon S3.
• Schedule: Choose to perform full, differential, or incremental backup, and automate execution daily, weekly, or monthly according to the frequency you specified.

Step 3. You can select Add the schedule and start backup now or Add the schedule only, and click Start Backup.

📢For more features, you can choose to upgrade and enjoy:

Backup cleanup: specify a retention policy, and the old backup files that exceed the period will be automatically deleted.

Restore to new location: Backup VMware virtual machines and restore to another host or computer.

Conclusion

While manually copying VMware virtual machines to an external hard disk can be used for one-time backups, AOMEI Cyber Backup provides a smarter, faster and safer solution for regular backups. Whether you are an IT administrator or a home user, automated VMware backups keep your data safe with minimal effort.