How to permanently delete file in windows 7 virtual and decrease the size of the file (. vmwarevm).

[Rocha51]

Good afternoon everyone.

It's my first time here and I'm a basic question is the following:

VMwarefusion I use on my MAC and when I delete a file or folder inside the file Windows_7.vmwarevm Windws 7 continues with the same size.

I would really like to know how to delete a specific file or folder (EX: Songs) windows 7 and it may reduce the file Windows_7.vmwarevm.

I'm picking up a lot and I thank you from my heart to help.

[WoodyZ]

Use the Shrink tab in VMware Tools, have a look at: Open the VMware Tools Control Panel

Also have a look at: Clean Up a Virtual Hard Disk

Additionally it is always good to have a known good clean backup, and Time Machine does not count, of the Virtual Machine Package before preforming any disk level operations!

==========

It is a known fact that Time Machine is not 100% reliable backing up/restoring Virtual Machines under all circumstances/conditions.  Also backing up Virtual Machines via Time Machine is disk/time intensive and wastes a tremendous amount of space for something that may be corrupt and worthless come time to restore it.  At a minimum I would exclude Virtual Machines from Time Machine and with the Virtual Machines shutdown, not suspended, and VMware Fusion closed then manually copy the Virtual Machines Package(s) to an alternate location, preferably on to a different physical hard disk.  Then keep the User Data that is stored within the Virtual Machine backed up off of the Virtual Machine on a regular basis so as to always have a current User Data Backup.  If you have to restore a properly backed up Virtual Machine that is not as current at least you'll have a working Virtual Machine and current User Data to go forward with when you find out your Time Machine Backup of the Virtual Machine fails.

Message was edited by: WoodyZ - Added Backup and Time Machine info.

[Rocha51]

Thanks for the feedback.

I conferme its guidelines and the file actually decreased.

Explaining better:

I did a test by copying a folder of 50 GB for Windows 7 and virtual file increased from 31.32 GB to 80 GB after that, even deleted the windows 7 and also cleaned up the trash. The same continued with the same file size of 80 GB. Following his advice, he declined to 69 GB.

There is another way to lower a little more?

[WoodyZ]

The first thing that needs to be done is to use the Shrink tab from VMware Tools in the Virtual Machine's Guest OS.  This actually should prepare to shrink and shrink the virtual hard disk.  That usually is then as small as you can get it however make sure you do not have any Snapshots and then also after using the Shrink tab you can also try Disk Clean Up from within the Virtual Machine's Settings.  Although that last step normally isn't necessary if you use the Shrink tab in VMware Tools.

Otherwise... To help figure out what is what, the best way to provide comprehensive diagnostic information is to use the "Collect Support Information" command from the VMware Fusion (menu bar) > Help > Collect Support Information and then attach the .tgz file it created on your Desktop to a reply post.

Also how much free space is shown for the C: Drive in Windows Explorer?

[admin]

If you are in Fusion 4 or above, you can go into the VM Settings, choose 'General'. After waiting a few moments, you can see a graph. Look at the 'Reclaimable' value. That's the amount you can reclaim by clicking 'Clean Up Virtual Machine'.

[jpitersion]

Hi,

You can use File shredder to delete a file what you want to delete permanently,just try to use Kernel File Shredder which consists of advanced data erasing algorithms that completely deletes the target files and their backups from the computer’s hard disk. This Tool also helps in permanently deleting the vital information or database records of organizations from the client’s network.

You can get more Information of thi Tool from here http://www.datashreddertool.com/

[WoodyZ]

@jpitersion The OP is not about securely deleting a file per se, but about reclaiming space on the Host that was used by what was deleted in the Virtual Machine and shrinking the disk and or using Clean Up a Virtual Hard Disk is the appropriate answer in this regard.  Additionally the program you've suggested has no ability or functionality to perform the necessary actions that correctly answers the OP.

[MacsRule]

WoodyZ wrote:

@jpitersion The OP is not about securely deleting a file per se, but about reclaiming space on the Host that was used by what was deleted in the Virtual Machine and shrinking the disk and or using Clean Up a Virtual Hard Disk is the appropriate answer in this regard.  Additionally the program you've suggested has no ability or functionality to perform the necessary actions that correctly answers the OP.

I don't know it this will apply to the OP but there's a program in WIndows 7 (and 8 and also XP) called Disk Cleanup which will locate and remove a variety of files and will also search system files for anything that can be removed safely (e.g., Service Pack Backup Files). It's especially useful if the VM is an upgrade from an earlier version of Windows since the old system files are saved just in case and can free up GB's of space which can then be reclaimed by Fusion. Disk Cleanup has obviously been around for a long time but I just discovered it :smileyblush: so I figured I'd pass it along.

[WoodyZ]

If one is looking to maximize the reduction in overall size that a sparse virtual disk consumes on the Host in Windows VM then utilizing Disk Cleanup or similarly CCleaner prior to shrinking the disk or using Clean Up a Virtual Hard Disk certainly will help and while not the explicit focus of the OP nonetheless it certainly has more relevance then Kernel File Shredded does.  Not that Kernel File Shredded can't remove some of the extraneous files, but not all that Disk Cleanup or similarly CCleaner does by design, as its primary focus is on securely removing its target to thwart recovery and this really is outside the scope of the OP and also unnecessary since it would be impossible to recover a deleted file from within the VM once the VM's disk has been processed by shrinking the disk or using Clean Up a Virtual Hard Disk.  At that point one would have to examine the Host's Filesystem in an attempt to recover bits and pieces at the disk level something that previously existed within the virtual hard disk.  Now if security is what one is looking for then running a utility like Kernel File Shredded on the target files/folders prior to performing shrinking the disk or using Clean Up then it's certainly useful, albeit still outside the relevant scope of the OP.

[josefin1]

Here is how to ensure permanent deletion of deleted files in Windows

1:- Search Command Prompt in Windows 10 Taskbar Search.

2:- Right click on Command Prompt Icon and choose Run as administrator.

3:- Now type cipher /w:C command on your command prompt and press Enter.

Source:- https://merabheja.com/permanent-deletion-of-deleted-files-in-windows/