How to Increase Hard Disk Space in VMware

In this article, we will examine the steps to expand/increase the disk capacity/size of a virtual machine installed on the VMware Workstation.

Increasing Disk Size in VMware Workstation

How to Increase Hard Disk Space of a Virtual Machine on VM Workstation/Player

Users with advanced computer knowledge are familiar with the VMware Workstation virtualization program. You may need to increase the hard disk size of virtual machines installed on VMware Workstation when you need them.

It is a straightforward process to increase the disk size of the virtual machine installed on the VMware Workstation virtualization program. In our previous articles, we examined how to clone a VM and how to snapshot a VM.

In this article, we will take steps to increase the disk size in VMware. On Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems installed on VMware software, HDD expansion can be done quickly.

Before expanding the C: drive of the virtual machine, VMware must not have a Snapshot. If you have previously received a Snapshot, you must delete it from the Snapshot Manager.

How to Configure Virtual Machine Disk Size on VMware Workstation 12/14/15

In all versions of VM Workstation, the steps for increasing disk space are the same. Follow the steps below in order to improve the C: drive area of your VM.

You can find the download link for VMware Workstation for your Windows computer in the related article.

Step 1

After running the VMware Workstation, open the virtual machine where you want to expand the HDD. Then click on the Hard Disk option, as in the image below.

Configuring Hard Disk

Step 2

In the Virtual Machine Settings, click the Expand button.

Expand Disk Capacity

Step 3

In the Expand Disk Capacity window, type the amount in Maximum Disk Size (GB) if you want to increase the size of the virtual machine’s C: drive.

Configuring Maximum Disk Size

Step 4

After specifying the size amount, click the Expand button.

Expanding Virtual HDD

Step 5

We are expanding the virtual HDD of the VMware virtual machine.

Expanding Virtual Disk

Step 6

The expansion of VMware disk capacity has been completed successfully. The warning in the image below tells us to set the HDD for the operating system. Now click OK to continue.

Disk Expanded Successfully

Step 7

Click the OK button to save the setting.

Virtual Machine Settings

Step 8

Start the virtual machine.

Running the Virtual Machine

Step 9

On My Computer, you can see that the size does not increase on the C: drive. That’s why you need to open Disk Management.

Windows 7 VM

Step 10

Click the Right Button / Manage button on my computer.

Manage This Computer

Step 11

Click Disk Management and then right-click on the (C:) drive.

Disk Management

Step 12

In the window that opens, click Extend Volume.

Expand Volume

Step 13

The Wizard window is opened. Continue by pressing the Next button.

Volume Expansion Wizard

Step 14

On the Selected tab, you can see the amount of HDD that you can increase. Select Disk 0 to continue.

Selecting the HDD to Configure Size

Step 15

After increasing the disk size of the virtual machine on the VM, click Finish.

Closing Volume Wizard

Step 16

As you can see in the image below, the process of increasing disk size has been completed successfully.

Windows 7 Disk Management

Step 17

You can check the C: drive in the following image, which has expanded.

$C:\ Properties$

Video 1

You can watch the video below to configure the C: drive size of a virtual machine running on a VM Workstation, and you can also subscribe to our YouTube channel to support us.

Watch on YouTube

Video 2

You can watch the video below to increase the HDD size of a Windows 10 virtual machine running on a VM Workstation!

Watch on YouTube

Things That Stick in Your Mind When Expanding Your Virtual Machine Disk

Is there something I must delete before increasing disk space in VMware?

Yes, there is, and this is a very critical step. Do not start the process without deleting your virtual machine’s snapshots. The disk expansion wizard does not work while snapshots exist and gives you an error.

In fact, let me tell you this: Clean all the snapshots you took before from the Snapshot Manager. I had many clients who skipped this rule, and all of them lost time.

Luckily, the process is simple: Shut down the VM, go into the Snapshot Manager, select each snapshot and say ‘Delete’. Then you can easily work on the disk size.

In which versions of VMware Workstation does disk expansion work the same way?

The same logic works in almost all of them. The steps match exactly in Workstation 12, 14, 15, and newer versions. This feature even exists in the Player version, only the interface may show small differences.

Think of it like this: VMware settled this job so well that the ‘Expand’ button has been almost in the same place for years. Whatever version you use, if you select ‘Hard Disk’ in ‘Virtual Machine Settings’ and look for the ‘Expand’ option, you will find it.

One more tip: If the button is not active, either the VM is running or there is a snapshot. Handle those first.

I increased the disk size but the C drive still looks the same inside Windows. Where did I go wrong?

You did nothing wrong, this is very normal. You only increased the physical upper limit of the virtual disk. Unless you tell the operating system ‘You can now use this unused space’, the C drive stays in its old state.

Honestly, most users panic here. But the solution is in seconds: Right-click the ‘My Computer’ icon, say ‘Manage’, then go into ‘Disk Management’. There, the unallocated partition you will see as a black area will be waiting for you.

Then right-click the C drive and select ‘Extend Volume’. The wizard will give you the chance to add all the remaining space. Give approval, the job is done.

Does the virtual machine being turned on cause problems during disk expansion?

It does, and right in the middle of it. VMware lets you do the disk expansion process only when the VM is off. The ‘Expand’ button appears gray and cannot be clicked while the virtual machine is running.

Since the topic is open, let me add this: Turning off the VM is not enough; make sure it is in ‘Power Off’ state. The process is not done in Suspend mode either.

A client of mine who skipped this called and asked ‘It gives an error, what should I do?’. It turned out they had turned off the VM but did ‘Suspend’, not ‘Shut Down Guest’. Pay attention, this detail can be annoying.

Are the same steps valid for virtual machines running Linux or macOS?

They are valid, but there is a difference in the last part. On the VMware side, the steps to increase the disk size are completely independent from the operating system. So after you expand the disk with ‘Expand’, the hard part starts in the guest operating system.

In Windows, extending the volume with Disk Management is very easy. In Linux, however, you need to resize the partition with tools like ‘fdisk’ or ‘gparted’ on the command line. A similar logic works for macOS; manual action via Disk Utility is a must.

In short, VMware does its job, the rest is the operating system’s responsibility. But do not be afraid, there is a ready solution for every platform.

Does expanding the virtual disk really take up that much space on my physical computer?

No, it does not happen as you think. Usually a dynamic disk (thin provisioning) is used in VMware. So even if you make the disk 100 GB, the VM only occupies as much of that space as it uses on your physical HDD.

But pay attention to one point: After you do the expansion, if you copy and delete files inside the VM, the file size on the physical disk does not shrink. It still stays at the highest level. To clean this, you need to use VMware’s ‘Shrink’ feature.

Still, the general rule is this: Expanding does not take up space; you can do it without fear. Just make sure there is enough free space on your physical disk.

Conclusion

In this article, we have examined step by step how to increase the disk size of a virtual machine in the VM Workstation virtualization program installed on a Windows 10 PC.

The only thing you should remember when increasing the HDD size is that you need to delete the Snapshot of the virtual machine.

How to Increase Hard Disk Space in VMware Workstation