Windows 10: VMware how to delete disks from HOST (not the VM)

Hi folks
there's plenty of info about removing a Virtual disk from a VMware VM but this just removes the virtual HDD from the VM but doesn't actually delete it from your Host disk.

What you have to do is go into the VM file itself for the VM and once you've ascertained which disk it is you then delete all the files with a name for example

vmname -0-s001.vdmk
vmname -0-s002.vdmk etc

also delete the definition file
vmname -0.vdmk

(note there might not be a number if it's the initial (original) Virtual HDD you want to delete -- e.g vmname-s001.vdmk etc and vmname.vdmk)

This can be useful if you change around virtual HDD's in a VM and want to get rid of one's you've removed. I wanted to change some SCSI virtual HDD's to SATA and move the VM to smaller disks (compacting HDD's doesn't delete surplus space from HOST).

To find out the actual HDD that is being used for boot for example in my case : it's this one

vmname -0.vdmk

so I delete all the other ones -- freed up over 100GB on HOST getting rid of unused VHD's.





Note - this deletes the VHD's from the HOST - to delete from the VM just use the delete in the VM menu --note to repeat deleting a VHD from the VM does NOT delete the files from the host - to do that use method as I've shown.

Incidentally you can move existing VHD's between VM's by just in the VM hardware add hard disk -->use existing VHD. Point to the definition disk e.g vmname -0.vdmk i.e the one without any s001, s002 suffixes.

Cheers
jimbo

:)

 

Can we run Windows 10 on a VMWare VM?

my company would like to use Windows on a VMWare Vm. The host is a VMWAre server and we don't care which Windows version we use except that the VM will be configured with 2 CPU and 1 TB of disk and single user.

I hear tell that Windows 10 USB would work but has anyone actually had experience doinf this pleasE?

thanks heaps

norm

 

VM's using VMware on W10 Host with Storage Spaces randomly fail


Hi folks

Running some VM's on W10 Host (x-64 PRO) with VMware workstation Rel 14 I get random failures if the VM's are on storage spaces. The same VM's work perfectly when on external SSD's or internal standard (non Storage space area) HDD's.

The failures are seemingly totally random and could be something to do with the underlying file system of the storage space array -- don't know enough about Ms's implementation of storage spaces so can't say.

I suggest though if using Storage spaces for your VM's and using VMware I'd back them up to standard devices in case of failure.

I've sent log and report to VMware (fully licensed for VMware workstation Rel 14).

Message comes up ………,vdmk failed and the VM hangs. hast to be forceably powered off from the VM menu. It shows one of the virtual disk areas has had some I/O problem -=-it's not always the same number - it's random. intermittent and 100% unpredictable so I've given up the idea of storage spaces for Virtual Machines currently.

Strange thing is the OTHER way around - running Windows VM's also on VMware workstation 14 on a Linux host running RAID 0 no problems whatsoever when the VM's are on the RAID 0 arrays.

So the identical VM's fail on windows but not Linux -- hope VMware can sort this out - or Ms need to fix problems with Storage spaces.

Haven't sent a report to Ms as I can bet they'll say it's VMware's problem not ours.

Cheers
jimbo

 

VMWare workstation 11 no internet.


Try re-installing VMware. If that doesn't work, make sure that the firewall on host computer isn't blocking VMware, then update or install VMware Tools in the VMs. (I could give step-by-step instructions but I'm sure won't need them)