Why is this VDI file so flipping huge?

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Forbin & Cleo
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Joined: 16. Apr 2017, 04:25

Why is this VDI file so flipping huge?

Post by Forbin & Cleo »

I have a Windows Server VM that has a 150GB OS disk (20 GB free) and no other drives or volumes of any kind. Why is the VDI file 452GB in size? I tried shrinking it with the Linux virtualbox commands, but no change. Why is this file so much bigger than what Windows sees?

I don’t know if it is relevant, but I noticed that in Windows, the Virtual Disk Service is in a stopped state. When I try to start it, it stops again after a moment with no errors.
socratis
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Re: Why is this VDI file so flipping huge?

Post by socratis »

Post the output of:
  • VBoxManage showmediuminfo <FullPathToVDI>
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
Forbin &amp; Cleo
Posts: 3
Joined: 16. Apr 2017, 04:25

Re: Why is this VDI file so flipping huge?

Post by Forbin &amp; Cleo »

Post the output of:
VBoxManage showmediuminfo <FullPathToVDI>

Code: Select all

[root@vmhost08a lab03]# vboxmanage showmediuminfo lab03_new.vdi
UUID:           0d3a9dd6-e879-46f7-824e-4423d59c008e
Parent UUID:    base
State:          locked write
Type:           normal (base)
Location:       /vmdir/lab03/lab03_new.vdi
Storage format: VDI
Format variant: dynamic default
Capacity:       512000 MBytes
Size on disk:   463007 MBytes
Encryption:     disabled
In use by VMs:  lab03_new (UUID: 85db7413-0728-4bf5-a182-28ff990c7976)
Last edited by socratis on 17. Apr 2017, 09:31, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Enclosed the information in [code] tag for better readability
mpack
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Re: Why is this VDI file so flipping huge?

Post by mpack »

So the VDI is not 150GB capacity, the capacity is 500GB. Hence the answer to the question posed in the topic title.
Forbin &amp; Cleo
Posts: 3
Joined: 16. Apr 2017, 04:25

Re: Why is this VDI file so flipping huge?

Post by Forbin &amp; Cleo »

Well, it looks like you’re correct. I looked at this previously and was sure it had a single 150GB partition, but I just checked the VM again, and it actually has a 500GB partition. You’re absolutely right. At some point, data must have been written to the partition and then deleted. Sorry for wasting your time.
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