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regbit
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Diskpart 2003 server C partition

The posts and instructions I have read regarding increasing the provisioned size of a virtual disk say I have to shut down the virtual server the disk is on, add the disk to another virtual server, change the provisioned size then shutdown that virtual server, remove the added disk, and re-add the disk to the original virtual server then run diskpart on the original virtual server to extend the partition.

Can I just change the provisioned size on the powered on virtual server in edit settings then run diskpart on that virtual server and reboot to extend the partition size?

Thanks

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vmroyale
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Hello and welcome to the communities.

For Windows 2003, I always use Dell's free extpart utility. Extend the C: in the powered-off VM's properties and then power it up and run:

extpart C: 1024

where 1024 equals each GB you increaed the size.

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com

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vmroyale
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Hello and welcome to the communities.

For Windows 2003, I always use Dell's free extpart utility. Extend the C: in the powered-off VM's properties and then power it up and run:

extpart C: 1024

where 1024 equals each GB you increaed the size.

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com
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aravinds3107
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As vmroyale suggested the best option to increase the system parition on Windows 2003 would be to use dell extpart as this doesnt involve any downtime. I have the written the step  in my blog you can take a look if required

If you find this or any other answer useful please consider awarding points by marking the answer correct or helpful |Blog: http://aravindsivaraman.com/ | Twitter : ss_aravind
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regbit
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Hi vmroyale,

Will extpart work with an HP server?  When I went to download extpart it looked like it was specific for Dell's.

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aravinds3107
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If you are looking to Extend you Virtual Machine it will work irrespective of the hardware..

If you find this or any other answer useful please consider awarding points by marking the answer correct or helpful |Blog: http://aravindsivaraman.com/ | Twitter : ss_aravind
regbit
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I get Unable to connect to C: or it does not exist when I run extpart c: 3072.  Any ideas?

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vmroyale
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Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a reboot to correct this. Is this a basic or dynamic disk?

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com
dmented
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Here's what I normally do when resizing using diskpart:

Assume: VM_A is the 2003 that needs resizing

- Shutdown VM_A

- Increase Disk size of VM_A

- Mount Disk of VM_A to VM_B (windows machine)

- Assign disk letter to the new disk on VM_B

- run: diskpart on cmd prompt

- List Volume (identify the volume number of the new disk)

- Select Volume <number>

- extend

- Remove the disk on VM_B (do not delete)

- Boot-up VM_A

.. thats it. I haven't experienced a single problem so far with this method.

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eeg3
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Sometimes services can cause the "Unable to connect", and a common culprit is the Indexing Service. Try stopping that and seeing if it helps.

Blog: http://blog.eeg3.net
a_p_
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If extpart doesn't work for whatever reasons and you want to avoid the hassle (and risk) of attaching the disk to a helper VM, you can just boot the VM from e.g. a Windows 7/2008 DVD/ISO, accept the language settings and the press Shift-F10 to open a command line from which you can run the diskpart utility.

André

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rickardnobel
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For me the "extpart" solution has worked very good with Windows 2003, and you does not even need to power off the VM while extending the virtual disk. Just to a "rescan" in Disk Management and make sure Windows is aware of the new size first, then run extpart from the Command Prompt.

My VMware blog: www.rickardnobel.se
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regbit
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Yeah, the reboot worked.  Thank you for your help vmroyale!  BTW, it is a basic disk.

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bpage2525
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Thanks man,

Worked!!!

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