Resize VMWare virtual machine under Windows 7


  1. Turn off the virtual machine;
  2. Commit/remove all the snapshots or make a Full Clone if you use Link Clones.
  3. Open a Command Prompt and go to:
    C:\Program Files\VMWare\VMWare Server or C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation
    or for 64-bit
    C:\Program Files (x86)\VMWare\VMWare Server or C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware WorkstationRun this command to expand the virtual disk:
    vmware-vdiskmanager -x 12GB “My harddisk.vmdk” (in this case, 12 GB will be the new size).
    The file name can contain spaces because of the double quotes.

Note: Because this only expands the disk and not the partition, you’ll need to resize the partition table as well. This can be done with ‘diskpart.exe’, a built-in tool of Windows. VMWare provides a list of tools on their web site: KB1004071

  1. Power on your virtual machine;
  2. Open a Command Prompt and type: diskpart
  3. Type: list volume
    Remember the volume number (#) of your volume!
  4. Type: select volume (the number from step 3)
  5. Type: extend

Finished, no need for a reboot.

Seen on Leon Meijer’s Weblog