[Solved] How to make a virtual disk bigger?
[Solved] How to make a virtual disk bigger?
Hi I am using Ubuntu and have successfully installed WinXP in VirtualBox (first time using it, great bit of kit). The only issue is I created a 2GB disk and now its full. I did set it to dynamic size but it has not expanded, so what should I do? Is there a way to manually expand it? I could not find anything in the manual or poking around in the disk manager.
Thanks, Cham.
Thanks, Cham.
Hi,
dynamic disk are in fact disk with specified size (eg.: 2GB) which are not fully allocated when created, so it could have size of 15 KB (just an example), then you'll format it and add a 500 KB file, size become now 584 KB (always an example), and so on until it reach it's max size: 2GB. It is not a disk which will grows and grows as needed !
dynamic disk are in fact disk with specified size (eg.: 2GB) which are not fully allocated when created, so it could have size of 15 KB (just an example), then you'll format it and add a 500 KB file, size become now 584 KB (always an example), and so on until it reach it's max size: 2GB. It is not a disk which will grows and grows as needed !
There is 2 options: the most reliable is to create a bigger disk and copy content from the first to this one (with something like backup tool), the other one is a bit tricky, you'll have to modify the geometry of virtual disk and resize partition with a partition tool like parted on Linux.
I succeed with 2nd solution with a WinXP system disk (I was bored to use 1st solution ), I have twice the size now, but the inside size of vdi is still the older. It's work, no error at all.
To do this I have just write a little patch for vditool. I'll send it soon to dev.
I succeed with 2nd solution with a WinXP system disk (I was bored to use 1st solution ), I have twice the size now, but the inside size of vdi is still the older. It's work, no error at all.
To do this I have just write a little patch for vditool. I'll send it soon to dev.
JusTiCe8 is right, I've just done this by creating a bigger disk and then copying the contents.
- Create a new disk using Virtual Disk Manager (in VirtualBox goto File -> Virtual Disk Manager)
- download System Rescue CD
- set your current VM to have the new disk image as it's second hard disk and the System Rescue CD iso file as it's CD
- boot the vm from the CD
- at the command prompt type startx
- when X Windows starts, type gparted in the terminal that is open on screen
- in gparted select the windows partition and choose copy
- select the second hard disk
- right click on the representation of the disk and click paste
- gparted will prompt you for the size of the disk, drag the slider to the max size
- click apply
- wait .......
- when it's done right click on the disk and choose Manage Flags, and select Boot
- exit gparted and power off the VM
- change the VM settings to only have one disk (the new bigger disk) and deselect the iso as the CD.
- boot the VM into your windows install on it's new bigger disk!
Last edited by gushy on 12. Jul 2007, 13:10, edited 3 times in total.
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Gushy
Gushy
no extension it's just a binary executable; just save it without and chmod it to be executable
If firefox doesn't want to play nicely use wget:
If firefox doesn't want to play nicely use wget:
Code: Select all
wget -c http://www.virtualbox.org/download/testcase/vditool
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Gushy
Gushy
Thanks and you prob. think I'm a bit daft but I still cannot get it to work, tried downloading with ff and wget and I just get 'command not found' when I try vditool from the command line, I can see it when I do ls (its on my Desktop).
If I type vdi then hit tab it does not autocomplete, I get vdir instead!! Sorry I know this is hardly related to the issue of resizing a vdi...
If I type vdi then hit tab it does not autocomplete, I get vdir instead!! Sorry I know this is hardly related to the issue of resizing a vdi...