Access host's physical disk from Win7 VM?

[dicobalt]

Is it possible to access a host physical SATA disk in the VM's OS? I don't need to install Windows on the physical disk I only need the VM's OS to see the physical drive directly. Host is Win7 x64 guest is Win7 x86. I have seen some documentation on this site but it seems to be contradictory. I noticed there is an option to add a physical disk but I have never been able to get it to actually do anything. So I was wondering if anyone here knows how to make it work ?

[WoodyZ · Accepted solution]

Setting aside the issue that this thread mentions if your talking about accessing the Host's OS System Disk as a Raw Disk simultaneously from the Virtual Machine, even if it were possible, you corrupt the files system since only one OS can directly control the physical hard drive at a time. So it would have to be a second physical disk that wasn't the system disk where the VM can take control away from the Host.

[dicobalt]

It keeps giving me an error and then the VM window closes (see attached jpg file). It is a secondary disk, no OS on it. Is there something special I should do on the host OS to keep the drive safe? I already removed the drive letter from Disk Management on the host OS.

[continuum]

that error is normal and expected behaviour unless you use workarounds.

Check the link already given by woody and don't miss jokkes posts




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VMX-parameters- WS FAQ -[ MOAcd|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VMDK-Handbook

[dicobalt]

Yea, looks like it is working ok now. Why doesn't Vmware lock the drive and dismount? It's bizzare that I have to use a 3rd party utility to enable functionality that is supposed to be built into the program.

[continuum]

good question - especially when you remember that VirtualBOX had the same issue when Vista came out.

But the VirtualBOX engineers came up with a solution much earlier.

We made noise about this problem since years - but still nothing happens.




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VMX-parameters- WS FAQ -[ MOAcd|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VMDK-Handbook