Moved from "How to" Hi, I searched this and can't get a straight answer. My VM is 32 gigs and I don't need that size anymore, I am using the Mac more now. I want to use Parallels Image Tools to reduce the size of windows, is it possible and is it safe? Thanks, Emilio Build 3186
Hello, kitesurfer Unfortunately, you can't reduce your virtual hard drive. You should reinstall your Windows.
No need to re-install Windows! You can't reduce the size Windows sees your hard drive, but you can compress it so it only takes up actual used space. Windows sees my HDD as 32 GB but it's only taking up 6GB on my Mac. Use Parallels Image Tools to convert your HDD to an Expanding one if it's not already. Then start your VM, double click on the Parallels Tools systray icon, select Disk Compacting, choose your volume(s) and make sure "Execute all stages at once" is checked. Click start and wait. There won't be any changes to the size Windows sees, but if it's only using 10GB then that's all that'll be taken up on your Mac.
You can reduce the actual size of the VM on the hard disk. I use Acronis True Image to make a clone of the VM and then use that clone. The clone is generally much smaller than the original. See this: http://forums.parallels.com/thread10835.html
