After Clone, WHAT?

[RetiredGuy]

SO SORRY! Don't seem able to find 'post new message'

After Clone, WHAT?

Okay, I'm stuck.
I have to upgrade the disk size of a guest. Sure, you guys say no 'fixed', yada-yada-yada.
Well, I've no interest in doing disk management, partitioning, etc., so instead of 'resize', I figgered I'd be creative.
1. Create a new disk
2. clone old --->new with '--existing' parameter
3. Run: VBoxManage clonemedium disk C:\Users\Public\VBox\WxP64-SB\WxP64-SB.vhd C:\Users\Public\VBox\WxP64-SB\newvirtual64.vhd --existing
4. SUCCESS! As per manual, ''if the destination medium is larger than the source the remaining part of the destination medium is unchanged."

Now what? Can't 'Add' or 'import' the new vhd; how can I start it to know it's good?
(After determining it's good, any reading how to swap out old for new?)

FYI: Win10Pro 64-bit host & guest, 1tbHDD(h),50gb HDD(g), 80gb new drive, both fixed

[scottgus1]

I'll guess that #3 is the command used in #2.

Can't 'Add' or 'import' the new vhd

Import is for whole VMs packed as appliances, so a disk file is not imported.

If you want to make a new VM for the new VHD file, make a new VM. then when you are asked to either make a new disk file or use an existing one, use the provided dialog boxes to navigate to the new VHD file.

If this process does not succeed, please explain exactly what is happening, including any error messages you receive.

BTW, VHD is not a good disk file format, unless it is a fixed size VHD, just to let you know. VHD has a design flaw that can kill the data in the disk file if the host glitches while the VHD is expanding. Dynamic VHDs can expand, so the design flaw can be triggered. Fixed size VHDs do not expand so the design flaw will not trigger on them.

[RetiredGuy]

Okay, I'm stuck.
I have to upgrade the disk size of a guest. Sure, you guys say no 'fixed', yada-yada-yada.
Well, I've no interest in doing disk management, partitioning, etc., so instead of 'resize', I figgered I'd be creative.
1. Create a new disk
2. clone old --->new with '--existing' parameter
3. Run: VBoxManage clonemedium disk C:\Users\Public\VBox\WxP64-SB\WxP64-SB.vhd C:\Users\Public\VBox\WxP64-SB\newvirtual64.vhd --existing
4. SUCCESS! As per manual, ''if the destination medium is larger than the source the remaining part of the destination medium is unchanged."

Now what? Can't 'Add' or 'import' the new vhd; how can I start it to know it's good?
(After determining it's good, any reading how to swap out old for new?)

FYI: Win10Pro 64-bit host & guest, 1tbHDD(h),50gb HDD(g), 80gb new drive, both fixed

[scottgus1]

Merged your topics, please see my post above.

[RetiredGuy]

Thank you VERY MUCH for replying. Logged in to plead that somebody - anybody - comment.
So I figure ILL try your recommendation (where do I find 'make new vm? Not in the media tool )
Back soon.


P.S. My idea ssound? You didn't comment...

[RetiredGuy]

Forget it, my whole premise is wrong.
When running clone, an end of-partition marker must be written too (c: drive size is unchanged).
Explorer shows the correct VOLUME size, but that is of no help.
So I'm back to 1)clone, 2)resize clone, 3)re-partition

No flippin' idea how to re-partition+extend et al, gonna look at the docs.
Wish me luck !

[scottgus1]

how to re-partition+extend et al

Mpack's CloneVDI has a clone & increase feature which will also increase the main data partition as well, in at least some circumstances. I have used it and it works fine.

[RetiredGuy]

Tried your suggestion - thank you! - but I gotta be missing something

Per the attached, I'm looking to clone an existing disk, as well as expand it.
The clone piece apparently works, and gives feedback as it progresses.
The1st indication I had that something wrong is that the mb completed + the mb to go equaled the original size (!).
I am not expanding. What am I missing?

[scottgus1]

Please run these commands on the host's command prompt:

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"
vboxmanage showmediuminfo "drive:\path\to\cloned\drive\file.vdi"

[RetiredGuy]

Thanks for any help:

C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox>vboxmanage showmediuminfo "C:\Users\Public\VBox\CloneWxP64-SB\CloneWxP64-SB.vdi"
UUID: 655f8e65-3c05-48ee-822d-3e154a728743
Parent UUID: base
State: created
Type: normal (base)
Location: C:\Users\Public\VBox\CloneWxP64-SB\CloneWxP64-SB.vdi
Storage format: VDI
Format variant: dynamic default
Capacity: 77824 MBytes
Size on disk: 54802 MBytes
Encryption: disabled
Property: AllocationBlockSize=1048576

C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox>

One thhing. I always run as a limited user (paranoid). Is that maybbe a problem?

[scottgus1]

Capacity: 77824 MBytes
Size on disk: 54802 MBytes

Looks like it worked. If you run the disk file in a VM and it shows the desired 76-ish GB in the main partition then delete the "looks like".

The output of CloneVDI is always a dynamic .vdi, so the clone disk file will start off still small as the original (or smaller if you checked 'compact') and will increase in space over time.

If you desired a fixed-disk vdi, then you can fill up the clone disk with junk files to grow the vdi to its final size then delete the junk files. The disk file will remain grown.

[mpack]

The 1st indication I had that something wrong is that the mb completed + the mb to go equaled the original size (!).

That's because you did not tick the "Compact" option. If you had then the output file would have been smaller than the original.

CloneVDI successfully increased the capacity of the virtual disk. Increasing the capacity does not change the size of the host file until the guest uses some of that new capacity.

[RetiredGuy]

Thank you BOTH for answering.
STOOOOPID! STOOOOPID! I can't believe that I was looking at the size of dynamic disk!

That said, I believe this utility should be forthcoming with more diagnostics at completion. Yeah, I know it's a public service; so let's just call it a suggestion - probably not worth more than you paid for it.
Like, what say you show the TRUE 'capacity' as is shown in 'showmediuminfo'?
Additionally, how about showing that the partition has been extended, and we're not just dealing with 'Unallocated Space'?

I'm attaching a Win Explorer shot of the folder after running this utility.
Just to confirm, all I get is a .vdi, not a full VM. (Solved easily enough with a 'Machine-->Add' but using an existing drive)

Finally, a confirmation is requested that a .vdi icon is red rather tha blue, as a vhd.

Thanks again, and would greatly appreciate anything you can add her..

[RetiredGuy]

Hello?

[mpack]

Hello? I don't see an additional question. Details of what CloneVDI does can be found in its release notes.