VMWare : Resize Virtual Disk & Partition

How can I resize, increase, or expand the size of my drive/partition when using VMWare ?

1. Power off the VMWare virtual machine that has the virtual disk that you want expanded.

2. Resize the VMWare virtual disk using the VDiskManager tool that comes with VMWare.

   Read the help file that comes with the tool for the appropriate command line flags.

   Below is an example to increase the size of the disk named "image.vmdk" to 12GB:

   vmware-vdiskmanager -x 12GB image.vmdk

   This will resize the virtual disk, but it will not resize the partition.

3. On another VMWare virtual machine, add the disk that has been resized as a secondary disk (it must not be a primary or system disk).

4. Start the VMWare virtual machine discussed in step 3.

5. Use the Microsoft Windows 'diskpart.exe' tool to resize the partition on the secondary disk.

   programs -> run -> diskpart.exe (or whatever path the tool is located)

   show volume

   select volume 2 (this may be another, check it)

   extend

   exit

6. Shut down the VMWare virtual machine (discussed in steps 3-5).

7. Remove the secondary disk from the VMWare virtual machine.

8. Start up the original VMWare virtual machine.

You should notice that the drive and partition have now been expanded to the size you desired.

Disclaimer : Pharos Systems International does not support or claim to support any Microsoft or VMWare products. This help file is only an example of something that has been done successfully in the past. We do not take any responsibility for the manipulation of hardware or software as discussed in this knowledge base article. As always, make sure that you have at least one known good restorable backup for any data or configuration that you would like to keep.