Okay, the "Windows 7 Developer" Virtual Machine has a twoGbMaxExtentFlat 50 GB virtual hard disk. This disk is a pre-allocated disk. The Virtual Machine has 1 Snapshot and is currently using a twoGbMaxExtentSparse 50 GB disk for the Snapshot or Child virtual hard disk. This Snapshot disk can grow as needed up to 50 GB. Therefore as it stands currently the Virtual Machine has the potential to consume up to 100 GB of Host disk space just with the Base or Parent virtual hard disk and then the 1 Snapshot or Child virtual hard disk. If you were to take another Snapshot then another Snapshot or Child virtual hard disk is created and then the potential used Host disk space increases +50 GB on top of what it already consumes at the time the next Snapshot is taken.
If you delete the Snapshot it will merge the contents of the Snapshot or Child virtual hard disk ("Windows 7 Developer-000001.vmdk") with the contents of the Base or Parent virtual hard disk ("Windows 7 Developer.vmdk") and then will only be using 50 GB of Host disk space for the virtual hard disk.
You could possibly further reduce the overall footprint by changing the pre-allocated virtual hard disk to a sparse or growable virtual hard disk and after the disk was shrunk using VMware Tools it with then initially only consume the amount of Host disk space in the amount of used disk space within the Guest's Filesystem and then continue to grow as needed up to the 50 GB current size limit.
As a general rule I do not run a Virtual Machine on a Snapshot for long periods of time. Typically I will take a Snapshot prior to doing something that has potential to be problematic or when wanting to test something and then when the actions taken are without issues I then either restore to a previous Snapshot or delete the Snapshot. If I do maintain a Snapshot I do so for short intervals of time and delete regularly so as to keep the overall size of the Virtual Machine Package smaller rather then larger and also decrease the time it takes to process the Snapshots.
