vSphere 4 – Increase a VMs Hard disk under Windows 2008
Here’s how I recently changed the C: boot drive on a Windows 2008 VM
One of our older Windows 2008 templates has a 40GB C:\ hard disk, however I’d like it to be 50GB.
With the combination of vCenter Server 4, Windows 2008 and vSphere 4 this couldn’t be easier!
Prerequisites:
- Have admin access to vCenter Server and the Windows server
- A quick snapshot is always a good idea
Steps:
- While the server is still ON, yes I said “While the server is still on”, in vCenter Server right click on the VM
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Choose Edit Settings, Choose the Hard disk you want to expand and type in the new size, Choose OK
- In Windows 2008 server open Server Manager, Click on Storage, Click on Disk Manager
- Note the extra space on your hard disk
- Right Click on the C: drive and choose Extend Volume
- Choose Next on the Welcome Screen
- Type in the amount you want to extend by or just click next the max
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Click Finish to start the expansion, in about 2 seconds you’re done…
vmexplorer 
April 8, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Does this work in ESXi?
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April 8, 2011 at 9:46 pm
Yes, it does work in ESXi. But I did have to do a refresh of the drives before the extra space showed up and the option to Extend was enabled.
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April 12, 2011 at 3:49 am
Hey David – Yes this should work on ESXi. This is a function of vCenter Server less about ESX.
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