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Host Drive

Posted: 18. Mar 2014, 04:23
by Clarindan
everytime i use VM's and saves it, then i check my host HDD memory is seen to be decreasing, please help

Re: Host Drive

Posted: 18. Mar 2014, 10:21
by socratis
That would be logical if you used dynamic VDIs. The space occupied in the HDD will start small and keep increasing until you reach the maximum that you defined for your virtual HD. But the "save" thing that you said could also be another issue. When you say "save" do you mean "taking snapshots"?

Re: Host Drive

Posted: 18. Mar 2014, 14:16
by Clarindan
socratis wrote:That would be logical if you used dynamic VDIs. The space occupied in the HDD will start small and keep increasing until you reach the maximum that you defined for your virtual HD. But the "save" thing that you said could also be another issue. When you say "save" do you mean "taking snapshots"?
yes saving the machine state,
when creating a virtual hard drive, which one is the best to prevent host drive from fulling up
VDI
VMDK
VHD
HDD
QED
QCOW?

Re: Host Drive

Posted: 18. Mar 2014, 15:43
by mpack
The format isn't relevant to the question - they will all behave in a similar way. That said, in VirtualBox you should stick to VDI until you know a good reason not to.

It's your behaviour that's filling up the host disk, not the choice of format. Sav files don't grow, and there's only one per VM state, so they shouldn't be an issue. Dynamic disks do grow over time, but the rate of growth can be expected to soon slow down, provided you make sure to avoid all use of snapshots.

Re: Host Drive

Posted: 18. Mar 2014, 16:21
by Clarindan
mpack wrote:The format isn't relevant to the question - they will all behave in a similar way. That said, in VirtualBox you should stick to VDI until you know a good reason not to.

It's your behaviour that's filling up the host disk, not the choice of format. Sav files don't grow, and there's only one per VM state, so they shouldn't be an issue. Dynamic disks do grow over time, but the rate of growth can be expected to soon slow down, provided you make sure to avoid all use of snapshots.
ok what if when creating VM's and i put it as (fixed size) will this fix my problem?
Thanks

Re: Host Drive

Posted: 18. Mar 2014, 17:03
by mpack
Using "fixed size" will solve your problem after a fashion: you'll find the host drive filled up immediately, instead of it happening slowly over time. So, you'll find your probem solved in the same sense that death solves the problem of illness.

You seem to be asking questions and then ignoring the solutions offered. Give me some details, like how much free space you have? what size of disk you have given the VMs? and how many? Also whether or not you are using snapshots? How much disk space are you losing each time?