Two vmdk files in a single vmwarevm

[deltau]

I was trying to perform some file clean up on my MBP, and one of my vmwarevm files is at 24GB. I was trying to do some "shrinking" and was examining the settings of the VM hard drive. That's when I noticed it was using a file named "Windows XP Professional-000001.vmdk". So I "Showed The Contents" of the vmarevm file and noticed there were two vmdk. The first I mentioned and a second "Windows XP Professional.vmdk". The second hasn't been updated since October, while the first was updated yesterday (when I shut it down).

The hard drive within in the VM is not partitioned. I only have a "C" Drive.

My question is, where did this second vmdk file come from? Why? Is it a snapshot (if I've done that, it was by accident)? I'm assuming I can get rid of the "old" vmdk?

Thanks for the help!

Sean

[admin]

It's probably a snapshot, the name is consistent with one. Do not get rid of the old disk, the new one depends on it (e.g. snapshots are not independent). Check if Fusion thinks it has a snapshot; if so, you could discard it (merging the changes back to the base disk). If Fusion doesn't think it has a snapshot, you can manually merge the disks with vmware-vdiskmanager (assuming you have enough disk space for a new copy). Let us know if you need help doing this.

[deltau]

Thanks. That's what I was beginning to realize, too. I'll copy the whole directory (just in case) and then discard the snapshot. Should/can I discard the changes with the VM NOT running?

[admin]

Should/can I discard the changes with the VM NOT running?

Shouldn't make a difference, either should work. Remember that the backup copy should be done while the VM is not running.