Disk space in Windows way lower than disk space used in Mac (.hdd and .hds)

W

WagnerL

Junior Member
Hello. My .pvm file for a Windows VM in Mac takes way more space than the Windows disks. I checked the .hdd and .hds files in details, and they take more space than the space taken in Windows VM. All disks are like that, but I will take one as an example that the difference is significant.

The Windows disk takes only 8GB. Take a look at the D: drive properties screenshot:

upload_2023-2-24_16-43-15.png

But then when I see the files in Mac (show package contents for .pvm then for the .hdd), this is the space it takes:

upload_2023-2-24_16-45-36.png

Note how the .hds file takes 50 GB. It's taking way more space. Why is this happening? I have already tried the following:
1. I tried cleaned up disk in Windows
2. Tried to Analyze/Optimize disk in Windows with defragmenter.
3. SmartGuard is disabled and all snapshots are deleted.
4. Parallels say there is no disk space to be reclaimed
5. I tried to run the following command in Terminal:
prl_disk_tool merge --hdd /Users/wagner/Parallels/Windows\ 11.pvm/Windows\ 11-0.hdd

Nothing works. Parallels still takes 50 GB in disk space for a VM disk that has only 8GB of data. The other two disks are the same, but they take "only" around 20GB data more than the actual Windows size. In summary I'm losing 100 GB disk space here.

What can I do to reclaim such disk space?
Thank you.
 
Hello,
To open a case and get support, kindly login to https://my.parallels.com/ > Support (top-right conner) > Select the Product to get Support > and choose a category for the type of support.
We have opened a case and sent you and email for follow up for further investigation.
Thanks
 
Thank you. To who it may concern, after the help of the support team in the private support ticket, the problem was solved by disabled Bitlocker in the VM disks.
 
As a follow-up, please note that the following steps are helpful:
0. Start the Virtual Machine and disable BitLocker encryption.
1. Shut down the Virtual Machine. Make sure that the virtual machine is shut down. If it is in a suspended state, please run it and then shut down (Actions > Shut Down).
2. Open the virtual machine's Configuration ( https://kb.parallels.com/117287 )
3. Hardware > Hard Disk >Advanced > check "Enable TRIM"
4. Run the Virtual Machine.
5. Press Command + R to open up a Run dialog box. Then, type CMD and then press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER.
6. Execute the command below:

defrag /c /k /x /l

7. Wait 5-10 minutes and restart the virtual machine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top