How to increase disk space in VMware

VMware is a cloud-based operating system that allows you to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical computer. Thus, VMware works as an interface between your hardware and your different operating systems. If your virtual machine is running out of disk space, you will receive a notification every time you turn on the computer and you may even notice a decrease in the speed and efficiency of your computer. To increase available hard disk space, you can simply adjust the disk settings and allocate recently freed space to it. Before using any of these methods, be sure to delete all snapshots and shut down the virtual machine.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Expand the disk through VMware settings

Step 1. Make sure you meet the prerequisites

In order to increase the disk size in VMware, the virtual machine must be powered off and not have any snapshots. To determine if there are snapshots, review the "Information" section under the "Summary" tab on the virtual machine.

Step 2. Go to the "Settings" screen

You must access from VMware.

Step 3. Select the hard drive you want to expand

You will find it under the "Hardware" column.

Step 4. Expand your disk

On the right side of the window, under "Disk Provisioning", set the new "Provisioned Size" for the disk. Instead, some versions have a drop-down menu that says "Utilities." There select "Expand". Generally the disk has between 30 and 40 GB of preset space. Now it would be nice to try expanding it to 45 or 55 GB.

Step 5. Click "OK"

The new maximum size you set for your virtual disk will now be applied.

Step 6. Scan your disk again

While you've just expanded the size of the disk, there are a few more steps you need to take within the operating system. To scan your disk again, go to "Disk Management" and select "Rescan Disks".

Step 7. Adjust the drive size of your operating system

Now that you have expanded and scanned your disk again, you will see an "Unallocated Space" that was just created. You must allocate this space to your operating system drive. To do so, right-click on the unallocated space and choose "Extend Volume." A small wizard will open to help you determine what to do with the newly created space. Assign it to your virtual disk.

Method 2 of 2: Expand the disk in Workstation, Player, ACE Manager, Server, or GSX

Step 1. Open the command interpreter

If you are using the VMware Workstation, Player, ACE Manager, Server, or GSX products, follow this method. You can open the shell by pressing the "Start" button and typing "cmd" without the quotes in the search bar. Select "Run".

Step 2. Go to the product installation folder

1. For Workstation use the path:
   \ Program Files \ VMware \ VMware Workstation
   on Windows or
   : / usr / sbin
   on Linux.
2. For Player and ACE Manager use the path:
   \ Program Files \ VMware \ VMware Player
   on Windows or
   / usr / sbin
   on Linux.
3. For Server use the path:
   \ Program Files \ VMware \ VMware Server
   on Windows or
   / usr / bin
   on Linux.
4. For GSX use the path:
   \ Program Files \ VMware \ VMware GSX Server
   on Windows or
   / usr / bin
   on Linux.

   

   Step 3. Write the following code:

   vmware-vdiskmanager –x 100Gb vm.vmdk and press ↵ Enter. With this command you will change the size of the current disk.

   Replace vm.vmdk with the full path of your virtual machine's disk and 100GB with whatever disk size you want

   

   Step 4. Extend the disk partition

   Although you have just extended the volume of your disk, it is now necessary to notify the operating system about this change. Go to "Computer Management" and select "Disk Management". Right-click on "Volume" and select "Extend Volume."

   Advice

   • You will not be able to complete this task if the virtual machine is powered on or if you did not delete all snapshots.
   • Instead of expanding your current disk, you may want to create a new disk and transfer the data to it.

   Warnings

   • Before expanding your disk, it would be good if you create a backup of your current data.
   • If you try to resize the disk in Lab Manager, you will lose all data. If you need more space in your virtual machine, in that case it is better to create a new virtual disk with the space you want and move all your data to that new disk.