Fusion cannot change HDD size

[AReus]

I'm using VMware Fusion 11.0.2

I've changed my HDD (SCSI) in VM from 60GB to 100GB.

But windows 10 x64 still "see"s 60GB.

Tried to "extend Volume", but this is grayed out

No snapshots

When I change the HHD size for Windows 7 x86, after reboot it automatically changed to the correct size.

Any suggestions?

Arno

[minivlab]

After changing the size in Fusion, if you go into the Windows VM and launch Disk Manager do you at least see the unallocated space (~40GB in your case)?

[AReus]

Yes, I can see the Unallocated space, but Extend Volume is grayed out.

[wila · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The reason you cannot extend is because there is a "Recovery Partition" between the normal disk and the free space area.

In order to be able to extend the disk you have to delete the recovery partition.

After that you can extend as normal.

FWIW, a recovery partition makes less sense in the virtual world as it is so easy to make backups.

With the virtual machine shut down, VMware Fusion not running and preferably with all the snapshots committed, make a copy of your VM bundle to an external disk.

You can also use my tool in the signature of my reply, but I advise against using Time Machine ( https://www.vimalin.com/why-is-time-machine-not-a-good-backup-for-virtual-machines/ )

Copying manually to an external disk works just fine though.

Hope this helps,

--

Wil

[minivlab]

You can't expand the disk because of the recovery partition between your C drive and unallocated space.  You can safely delete the recovery partition without any issues or mal-effects on the OS.  The steps are pretty well written in the following link:

https://carpediemsystems.co.uk/2017/05/16/vmware-windows-10-expandpartition-problem/

[AReus]

Yes that did the trick!!

Thanks

BR
Arno

[VicenteEp]

This!, after removing the recovery partition I was able to extend the disk.

I remove it with the following command;

Get-Partition | Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.Type -eq 'Recovery'} |
Remove-Partition 

[S7v3n]

How do you revert the SSD space back to Back from WMware Fusion 13?

I have deleted the partition in Disk Management. However in WIndow 11 ARM- 64, it does not allow me to decrease the Harddisk Size. So these spaces are now stuck in the grey zone, "Recovery Partition".

[Technogeezer]

Short answer: You can expand, but not reduce the size of a virtual disk.

What you can do is to configure or shrink your C: partition so that its size is less than the virtual disk size. That way the size of the virtual disk will never grow to the maximum size that you have configured. 

[blastframe]

This PowerShell script helped so much. Thank you!

[Technogeezer]

For future reference, here's a great article on how to move the Windows Recovery partition and expand your C drive size in Windows 10 and 11. https://thedxt.ca/2023/06/moving-windows-recovery-partition-correctly/  Note that this procedure uses only Microsoft built-in utilties. No third party products required.

You would use this procedure after you have expanded the virtual disk with Fusion (or Workstation). 

The nice thing about moving the recovery partition instead of simply deleting it is that the partition is available for use like it is on a physical PC. It saves you having to find your Windows installation ISO and booting from it should you need to use any of the Windows recovery procedures.