Creating and adding a new virtual disk to a Windows virtual machine in VMware

SysEnthusiast

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.