This article provides steps to create and add an extra virtual disk (hard drive) to a Windows virtual machine.
- You may want to add a new virtual hard drive if you are running out of space on the first disk.
- You want to use the other virtual hard disk as a dedicated virtual drive for backing up files in the virtual machine
- You want a virtual disk which can be migrated to another virtual machine on a different location to transfer files and folder
Steps below
To create and add a new, empty virtual hard drive to a Windows virtual machine: - Shut down the virtual machine. - Go to Virtual Machine > Settings. - Click Add Device > New Hard Disk. - Click Next. - Click Create a new virtual disk and click Next. To go to the Disk Capacity screen, specify the space you want and how you want the file to be stored. - Click Next. - Select the location to store the virtual disk in the storage folder of the virtual machine. - Click Finish. - Power on the virtual machine. - Initialize and format the new drive.
To initialize and format the new drive
In the Start menu, type diskmgmt.msc and - click OK. - Right-click the disk to be initialized and then - click Initialize Disk. Windows prompts you to initialize the disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it. - Select MBR (Master Boot Record) and click OK. - Right-click the unallocated space and click New Simple Volume. - Click Next. - Enter the size of the partition (in MB) and click Next. - Select a drive letter and click Next. - Select the file system type and volume name. - Click Next. - Click Finish. Windows prompts you to format the drive. - Click Format.
The second virtual disk is usable when the status is Healthy.
