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CHAPTER 9 Using Virtual Disks
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Note: To use SCSI disks in a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 virtual machine,
you need a special SCSI driver available from the download section of the VMware
Web site at www.vmware.com/download. Follow the instructions on the Web site to
use the driver with a fresh installation of Windows XP or Server 2003.
A virtual disk of either type can be stored on either type of physical hard disk. That is,
the files that make up an IDE virtual disk can be stored on either an IDE hard disk or a
SCSI hard disk. So can the files that make up a SCSI virtual disk. They can also be stored
on other types of fast-access storage media, such as DVD-ROM or CD-ROM discs.
File Locations
Disk Files
The virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings) allows you to choose the disk files
for a virtual machine.
You may want to choose a file other than the one created by the New Virtual Machine
Wizard if you are using a virtual disk that you created in a different location or if you are
moving the automatically created disk files to a new location.
The disk files for a virtual disk store the information that you write to a virtual
machine’s hard disk — the operating system, the program files and the data files. The
virtual disk files have a .vmdk extension.
A virtual disk is made up of one or more .vmdk files.
On Windows hosts, each virtual disk is contained in one file by default. You may, as an
option, configure the virtual disk to use a set of files limited to 2GB per file. Use this
option if you or your end users may place the virtual disk on a file system that does
not support files larger than 2GB. This is also the preferred option for virtual machines
that may be installed on a FAT32 file system.
You must set this option at the time the virtual disk is created.
If you are setting up a new virtual machine, in the New Virtual Machine Wizard follow
the Custom path. In the panel that allows you to specify the virtual disk’s capacity,
select Split disk into 2GB files.
If you are adding a virtual disk to an existing virtual machine, follow the steps in the
Add Hardware Wizard. In the panel that allows you to specify the virtual disk’s capacity,
select Split disk into 2GB files.
When a disk is split into multiple files, larger virtual disks have more .vmdk files.