How to expand a VMware virtual Windows disk

1. Shut down the VMware virtual machine

2. Expand disk to desired size using Converter, vCenter UI tool, or vmware-vdiskmanager.exe

3. Detach disk from host machine, attach to a surrogate VM, and boot it up

4. Find disk drive letter and run diskpart.exe

* Type “list volume”. Look for the volume number for the expanded drive.
* Type “select volume x“, where x is number for the expanded disk.
* Type “extend”. The volume will instantly be extended.
* Exit diskpart.

5. Shut down surrogate VM and reattach disk to original machine

6. Boot the original machine. You should now have a larger volume

You might want to run “chkdsk /f /r” to be sure the disk is in good shape.

*Steps 3, 5, and 6 are only necessary if you are expanding a boot disk. If you are extending a secondary disk, there is no need to go through the surrogate VM process.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at 10:45 pm and is filed under Server Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.