Need help creating a virtual disk over 2TB

[seruralabis23]

I have Virtualbox

i need a 7tb disk on it

I created a vdi with the command

vboxmanage createmedium disk --filename "C:\Users\root\VirtualBox VMs\7TB.vdi" --size 6700000 --format VDI --variant Fixed. But in the virtual machine itself, I only have a 2TB disk.

diskmgmt has 4.9tb of unallocated space, but I can't do anything with it.

[mpack]

2TB is the max size supported by an MBR BIOS. Anything larger than 2tb requires the EFI BIOS setting.

[Rootman]

2TB is the max size supported by an MBR BIOS. Anything larger than 2tb requires the EFI BIOS setting.

Actually you are confusing the BIOS / SETUP boot type with the disk portioning standard.

Regardless of how the system boots, Legacy or EFI, the disk must be setup as GPT partitioned in order for you to access over 2 TB of space. If this disk is the OS disk and it boots via MBR then the disk is not GPT and can't be ad Legacy / MBR needs a regular MBR partition table type to work.

There are manual ways of changing a disk from Legacy / MBR to GPT, some involve destroying the disk contents. For Windows MS has a utility which works - most times, it's called mbr2gpt.exe, Google for information on how to use it. I prefer Minitool Partition wizard, the free version does not do this and you must use the paid version and they have now moved to a paid subscription service rather than a single payment method. GParted will convert it, but only by destroying the contents of the disk, so a backup must be done.

If you can wipe the contents of the disk without too much issue on losing the data, you can just delete the contents and recreate them using Windows Disk Management. You would have to copy the contents elsewhere or make a backup, then restore it.

[scottgus1]

Anything larger than 2tb requires the EFI BIOS setting.

Actually you are confusing the BIOS / SETUP boot type with the disk portioning standard.

I think there is a middle circumstance that requires both thoughts here (I could be wrong).

I understand that a larger-than-2TB disk must be GPT.

However, if the larger-than-2TB disk is not the boot disk, then the boot disk can remain MBR and the VM can remain Legacy BIOS.

If the larger-than-2TB disk is also the boot disk, then the VM must be EFI BIOS.

[seruralabis23]

Anything larger than 2tb requires the EFI BIOS setting.

Actually you are confusing the BIOS / SETUP boot type with the disk portioning standard.

I think there is a middle circumstance that requires both thoughts here (I could be wrong).

I understand that a larger-than-2TB disk must be GPT.

However, if the larger-than-2TB disk is not the boot disk, then the boot disk can remain MBR and the VM can remain Legacy BIOS.

If the larger-than-2TB disk is also the boot disk, then the VM must be EFI BIOS.

Please tell me how to be.
It doesn't really matter to me what the disk will be and where the operating system will be located.
I need a drive that will be over 6TB in my windows. Should I create a 100 GB disk and place the operating system on it, and allocate the rest of the space (6 TB) as free?
Can I do it? If yes, how to do it?

[scottgus1]

See section 1 about how to make a new VM.

I would make to disks for the VM:
1: the boot disk, dynamic sizing, 200GB or another desired size, one data partition to contain the OS.
2: the 6-7TB data disk.

With this configuration, you will be able to use Legacy BIOS. Virtualbox's EFI BIOS is not compatible with some OS's.

Virtualbox will make the VM with the first boot disk, as long as you tell it to make a dynamic disk at 200GB or your other desired size during the New VM Wizard.

You'll have to add the 6-7TB disk afterward.

If you set the VM to use a modern OS, it'll probably have a SATA controller. Click the VM's Storage settings. You'll probably see the SATA controller with the boot disk on port 0 and the optical drive on port 1.

Click the controller, then the final green + to add a hard disk. The Media Selector will appear. "Select the large disk you made earlier, then "Choose" it.

Install the OS on the 200GB disk. Then in the VM's OS, go to the OS's disk management tool, initialize the other disk, make it GPT partitioning, then quick format it. (The stuff happening inside the OS is the OS's processes. See the OS's help channels for how to do these things.