https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-vSphere-Discussions/Export-VM-ESXI-6-7-erro/m-p/1384592#M14155 #Syntax For the command. You will notice that I am exporting thin-provisioned .vmdk files ovftool -dm=thin "vi:///" .ova For username, type root and press enter. For password, type the password and press enter. #Example ovftool -dm=thin "vi://192.168.93.142/template_2016" template_2016.ova Problem: When I tried importing this via the GUI, I noticed that at the final window of the Create/Register VM wizard, I would see an error that states "A required disk image is missing." It did allow me to click Finish and the import would work without any issues. However, I did not want the error so I found that it was b/c the .ovf file contains references to the nvram file. The steps below walk you through extracting the .ova file, editing the .ovf file by removing any lines that say "nvram", and then deleting the files you do not need. #You can untar the contents of the .ova file tar -xvf template_2016.ova rm *.mf rm *.nvram - edit the .ovf file - find "nvram" inside and delete the line(s) Once you have tested importing the .ovf and .vmdk files, delete the ova file Now you can import your VM the normal way using the Create/Register VM wizard. You will select the .ovf and all .vmdk files instead of an .ova file.