Storing snapshot .vmdk files in a Workstation virtual machine's working directory

Products

• VMware Workstation

Issue/Introduction

In VMware Workstation 8 and above, the virtual disk files for snapshots (.vmdks) are created in the same directory as the base (parent) .vmdk. This might not be the working directory of the virtual machine, the directory where the virtual machine settings file (.vmx) is stored. The snapshot state file (.vmsn) is created in the working directory.

This article explains how to create the snapshot virtual disk files in the working directory, instead of the directory with the base disk. This can be useful if you want to keep the frequently-accessed snapshot disk files on a drive with a higher access speed than where you want to keep the less-often used parent disk.

For more information about taking snapshots, see Using Snapshots to Preserve Virtual Machine States in Using VMware Workstation. For more information about the different types of virtual machine files, see Virtual Machine Files in Using VMware Workstation.

Resolution

To save new snapshot disks in the working directory rather than the directory with the base disk, modify the virtual machine's settings file:

1. Power off the virtual machine.
2. Delete existing snapshots (if any). 
3. Browse to the .vmx (configuration) file for the particular virtual machine. See Tips for editing a .vmx file.
4. Add this parameters to the file:
   
   snapshot.redoNotWithParent = "TRUE"
    
5. Save and close the .vmx file.

New snapshot .vmdk files are now created in the working directory.