This article shows you the correct use of the Clone feature, which provides a copy or duplicate function for Windows, Linux, or macOS virtual machines running on VMware Workstation 16 Pro software.
You can quickly copy and duplicate virtual machines with the Clone structure system in the VMware Workstation virtualization program. However, this feature is not available in the VMware Player version.
Using Clone, you can prepare a virtual machine as a template and create as many VMs as you want, but it is the SID values of the user account you need to pay attention to while preparing the template. Since the SID value of a user account dedicated to the operating system in the VM you are cloning will also be copied, these values will be the same as those in other VMs.
Virtual computers with the same SID number cannot join the domain environment and cannot access the shared file servers’ folders on the network. Therefore, you need to copy the virtual machine correctly.
You can watch this video or follow the steps below to create a Clone for a Windows virtual system running in VMware.
Step 1: Run the VMware program and click on the VM you want to clone. You must ensure that the virtual machine is not running, or you cannot create Clone.
Step 2: Click on VM / Manage / Clone from the menu of the VMware program and open the Snapshot Manager window.
Step 3: You will see the instant “You Are Here” state in the open window. This indicates that the virtual machine did not have a snapshot before. In the Snapshot Manager window, select the instant state you want and click the Clone button.
Step 4: If the virtual machine is running, you will see a warning in the window you will encounter in this step. Close the VM and click the Clone button again; you will not see the corresponding notice this time.
Step 5: In the next step, select the “The current state in the virtual machine” option in the Clone Source window and click Next.
Step 6: You will see two options in the Clone Type window. For the healthiest copying process, continue by selecting the “Create a full clone” option.
Adım 7: Since the Full Clone option will take up more disk space, change the location of the VM in the “Name of the New Virtual Machine” window and wait for the process to be completed by clicking the Finish button.
Step 8: It may take some time to copy the virtual machine. That’s why I suggest you don’t do any action on your computer.
Step 9: Run the source and the same VM after completing the process.
Step 10: Open the command prompt on the source VM and check the SID of the user account with the “whomi /user” command. Likewise, check it on the same VM.
whomi /user
Step 11: Run the Sysprep tool to configure the SID setting of the operating system user account running on the VM you copied.
Step 12: After running Sysprep, check the Generalize option and wait for your virtual system to restart.
Step 13: When the same VM is turned on, you will configure the necessary steps as if installing a new system.
Step 14: Do not retype the user name with the same SID value when specifying a new username for the operating system. Type in a unique username and complete the setup. After rebooting your system, recheck the SID with the whomi command and check whether its value has changed.
Related Posts
1. How to Change Password in Ubuntu
2. How to Expand Disk in VMware
3. How to Install VirtualBox on Ubuntu
4. How to Setup VM Tools
5. How to Delete VM Workstation