PowerShell: Download VMX File, Rename, Upload, Add to Inventory

.\VM-GatherVMX.ps1 -vcServer4 "<vcenter-4-server>" -vcServer5 "<vcenter-5-server>"

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Downloads, updates and uploads VMX files with PowerCLI, then adds the VMs to the vCenter 5.1 inventory.
.DESCRIPTION
    Downloads the VMX file of every "PoweredOn" VM in the vCenter 4.1 cluster,
    removes the vShield VFILE lines, and uploads the result to the same
    datastore folder under a new name (<name>-51.vmx). Once uploaded, each VM is
    imported into the new vCenter 5.1 server.
.PARAMETER vcServer4
    The vCenter 4.1 server to connect to.
.PARAMETER vcServer5
    The vCenter 5.1 server to connect to.
.EXAMPLE
    .\VM-GatherVMX.ps1 -vcServer4 "<vcenter-4-server>" -vcServer5 "<vcenter-5-server>"
.NOTES
    Author  : Thomas Lasswell (https://www.techcolumnist.com)
    Version : 1.1 (2026-09-20)
    Requires: VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.x (VMware.VimAutomation.Core snap-in)
    History : 1.0 2013-10-25 Initial version.
              1.1 2026-09-20 Fixed VM folder lookup (now after connecting to vCenter 5.1)
                  and a variable clash that overwrote it, VMX names that contain
                  ".", "v", "m" or "x", and the unassigned $VMFullPath output.
#>
param(
    [string]$vcServer4,
    [string]$vcServer5
)

Clear-Host

if (!$vcServer4) {
    Write-Host "No vCenter 4 Server Specified"
    exit
}
if (!$vcServer5) {
    Write-Host "No vCenter 5 Server Specified"
    exit
}

# Load PowerCLI.
Add-PSSnapin VMware.VimAutomation.Core
$host.ui.rawui.WindowTitle = "PowerShell [PowerCLI Snap-in Loaded]"

# Download VMX file location.
$outvmxdir = "C:\scripts\vmxfiles"
# Modified VMX file location.
$outvmxnewdir = "C:\scripts\vmxfiles-new"
# Cluster name in vCenter 4.1 to gather PoweredOn VMs.
$vCluster = "NA Cluster"
# VM folder name in vCenter 5.1. This folder needs to exist.
$VMFolderName = "Import"
# ESX host in vCenter 5.1 to import VM.
$ESXHost = "<esx-host>"
# Resource pool in vCenter 5.1 to import VM.
$ResPool = "Infrastructure"

# Connect to vCenter 4.1 server.
Connect-VIServer $vcServer4

$aVM = Get-VM -Location $vCluster | Where-Object { $_.PowerState -eq "PoweredOn" } | Select-Object Name, PowerState
$aVMInfo = @()
foreach ($vm in $aVM) {
    $vname = $vm.name
    Write-Host $vname

    # Process VMX information.
    $VMView = Get-VM $vname | Get-View
    $VMPathName = $VMView.Config.Files.VmPathName
    Write-Host $VMPathName

    # Download VMX file.
    $dsname = $VMPathName.Split(" ")[0].TrimStart("[").TrimEnd("]")
    $vmRelativePath = $VMPathName.Split(']')[1].TrimStart(' ')
    Remove-PSDrive -Name fromds -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    New-PSDrive -Name fromds -Location (Get-Datastore $dsname) -PSProvider VimDatastore -Root '/' | Out-Null
    $dlvmx = $outvmxdir + ("/") + $vmRelativePath.Split('/')[1]
    $checkforoutfile = Test-Path $dlvmx
    if ($checkforoutfile) {
        Remove-Item $dlvmx
    }
    Copy-DatastoreItem -Item fromds:\$vmRelativePath -Destination $outvmxdir -Force

    # Update VMX file to -51 file without vShield lines.
    $vmxfile = $VMPathName.Split("/")[1]
    $vmxsource = $outvmxdir + "\" + $vmxfile
    $vmxdest = $outvmxnewdir + "\" + [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($vmxfile) + "-51.vmx"
    $checkforoutfile = Test-Path $vmxdest
    if ($checkforoutfile) {
        Remove-Item $vmxdest
    }
    Get-Content $vmxsource | Where-Object { $_ -notmatch 'VFILE.globaloptions' -and $_ -notmatch 'scsi0:0.filters = "VFILE"' } | Set-Content $vmxdest
    Add-Content $vmxdest "`n#Modified to remove VFILE Lines"

    # Upload new VMX file to datastore.
    Write-Host $vmxdest
    $vmxupload = ($vmRelativePath -replace '\.vmx$', '') + "-51.vmx"
    Write-Host $vmxupload
    Copy-DatastoreItem -Item $vmxdest -Destination fromds:\$vmxupload -Force

    # Set array for addition of VMs.
    $obj = New-Object PSObject
    $obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "VMName" -Value $vname
    $obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "VMDatastore" -Value $dsname
    $obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "VMPathName" -Value $vmxupload
    $aVMInfo += $obj
}

Remove-PSDrive -Name fromds -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Disconnect-VIServer $vcServer4 -Force -Confirm:$false
Start-Sleep 5

# Connect to vCenter 5.1 server.
Connect-VIServer $vcServer5
$VMFolder = Get-Folder $VMFolderName

# Import VM to vCenter 5.1.
foreach ($vm in $aVMInfo) {
    $vname = $vm.VMName
    $datastore = $vm.VMDatastore
    $VMPath = $vm.VMPathName
    Write-Host $vname
    Write-Host $datastore
    Write-Host $VMPath
    $VMFullPath = "[" + $datastore + "] " + $VMPath
    Write-Host $VMFullPath
    New-VM -VMFilePath $VMFullPath -VMHost $ESXHost -Location $VMFolder -ResourcePool $ResPool | Out-Null
}

Disconnect-VIServer $vcServer5 -Force -Confirm:$false