Fixing a VMware Fusion virtual machine that has grown larger than the allocated size

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

A Fusion virtual machine may grow larger than the size allocated to it. This is because the maximum size was allocated to the virtual machine's hard drive or the virtual disk. The virtual machine itself can have multiple virtual disks, if configured. Snapshots in the virtual machine may also grow beyond the size allocated to the virtual disk because it records all changes made to the virtual disk since the time the snapshot was created.

For more information on snapshots, see Understanding Snapshots and AutoProtect in VMware Fusion (1014509).

This article helps you to fix virtual machines that have grown beyond the allocated size, regardless of the cause.

Symptoms:

Resolution

Each step below provides instructions and a link to a document, for performing the step and taking corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and to identify the proper resolution. They are also ordered in the most appropriate sequence to minimize data loss. After each step, try powering on the virtual machine again. Work through each troubleshooting step in order, and do not skip a step.

If your virtual machine grows too large:

1. Defrag your guest operating system (if applicable), then remove any data deleted in the guest from the virtual disk. For more information, see Defragmenting, shrinking, and cleaning up Fusion virtual machine disks (1001934).
   
   
2. Try to delete any snapshots. For more information, see Deleting snapshots in VMware Fusion (1020245).
   
   
3. If you are unable to delete the snapshots, consolidate the snapshots into the main disk. For more information, see Consolidating snapshots in VMware Fusion (1020000).
   
   
4. If you are unable to consolidate the snapshots or the virtual machine is still too large, confirm that you have sufficient (write) permissions to make changes to the virtual machine bundle. For more information, see Investigating permissions for Fusion virtual machines (1020786).
   
   
5. Confirm that the virtual machine is not corrupt or damaged. For more information, see Verifying Fusion virtual machine file integrity (1024809).

If the issue continues to exist after trying the steps in this article:

• Collect the VMware Support information. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware Fusion (1003894).
• File a support request with VMware Support and quote this Knowledge Base article ID (1025628) in the problem description. For more information, see Filing a Support Request in Customer Connect (2006985).