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Extending partitions in Windows using DiskPart (1007266)

Purpose

This article provides steps to expand a virtual disk (VMDK) and then extend a partition using DiskPart in Microsoft Windows.

Resolution

 
Caution: VMware strongly recommends that you have backups in place before performing any disk partition operation. Also make sure the virtual machine has no snapshots, before starting to extend the VMDK. If the virtual machine has snapshots use "Delete all" from the Snapshot Manager to commit them. Verify again in the Snapshot Manager, in the Edit Settings and the virtual machine datastore that the snapshots were committed. 
 
To expand VMDK and extend a partition:
  1. Log into the VMware ESX/ESXi host as the root user. Verify that the virtual machine does not have any snapshots by going into the virtual machine's directory and looking for Delta files. Run the command:

    #ls -lah /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name/*delta*
    -rw------- 1 root root 1.8G Oct 10 10:58 vm_name-000001-delta.vmdk

    Note: For more information on logging into the ESX/ESXi, see the following:
  2. If the virtual machine does have snapshots, commit them using these commands:

    #vmware-cmd -l /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name/vm_name.vmx

    #vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name/vm_name.vmx removesnapshots removesnapshots() = 1

  3. Power off the virtual machine.

    Note: The virtual machine can be powered on to increase the vmdk size.

  4. To expand the VMDK using the VI Client (if the option exists), edit the settings of the virtual machine and click the hard disk you want to expand.

  5. Enter a new value in the New Size field:



    To expand the VMDK using the vmkfstools -X command, run the command:

    #vmkfstools -X <New Disk Size> <VMDK to extend>

    #vmkfstools -X 30G /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name/vm_name.vmdk

    Note: Ensure that you point to the <vm_name>.vmdk, and not to the <vm_name>-flat.vmdk. Using vmkfstools -X is the only option to expand an IDE virtual disk .

  6. To extend the C: partition, find a helper virtual machine and attach the disk from the first virtual machine to the helper.

    To add an existing virtual disk to the helper virtual machine:

    1. Go to the Edit Settings menu of the virtual machine.

    2. Click Add > Hard Disk > Use Existing Virtual Disk.
    3. Navigate to the location of the disk and select to add it into the virtual machine.

      Note: A helper virtual machine is a virtual machine that has the same operating system to which you attach the disk.

  7. Start the virtual machine.

  8. Verify the volume in question has been mounted and has been assigned a drive letter. This can be set in Windows Disk Management or by selecting the volume and typing assign from within the DiskPart command.

    In versions of Windows prior to 2008, open a command prompt and run the DiskPart command:

    C:\Documents and Settings\username>diskpart

    Microsoft DiskPart version 5.1.3565
    Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Microsoft Corporation.
    On computer: USERNAME-HELPER-VM
    DISKPART> list volume

    Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
    ---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
    Volume 0 D CD-ROM 0 B
    Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 30 GB Healthy System
    Volume 2 E NTFS Partition 10 GB Healthy

    DISKPART> select Volume 2
    Volume 2 is the selected volume.

    DISKPART> extend
    DiskPart successfully extended the volume.
    DISKPART> exit
    Leaving DiskPart...

    Note: Ensure to choose the correct volume. The Size is the old value.

    Note: If you are in Windows 2003, and you see the error The volume you have selected may not be extended. Please select another volume and try again, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 841650.

  9. In Windows 2008, click Start > Computer Management > Disk Manager, right-click on the partition and select Extend Volume. For more information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 325590.

    Note: The preceding links were correct as of March 14, 2013. If you find a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

  10. Power off and detach the disk from the helper virtual machine. Keep all default settings and do not delete the VMDK from the disk.

  11. Power on the first virtual machine and verify the disk size change.

Additional Information

For more information about Microsoft DiskPart, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles 300415 and 325590
  
Note: All links in this article were correct as of May 7, 2012. If you find a broken link, provide feedback to this article and a VMware employee will update the link.
 
For more information, see Increasing the size of a disk partition (1004071).

Tags

extend-windows-partition

See Also

Update History

12/01/2010 - Added the steps to add an existing virtual disk to the helper virtual machine 04/26/2011 - Added link to article 1004071 in the Additional Information section

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