How to Enlarge a Virtual Machine’s Disk in VirtualBox or VMware

Running out of space on your virtual machine? You’re not alone. Whether you’re using VirtualBox or VMware, hitting a disk limit is a common headache—especially if you underestimated your storage needs when setting things up. The good news? You don’t need to start from scratch. You can enlarge your VM’s virtual disk and keep everything intact.

Here’s how to do it, step by step.

🔧 For VirtualBox

Step 1: Shut Down the VM

Make sure your VM is powered off—not suspended or paused. Changes can’t be made while it’s running.

Step 2: Resize the Virtual Disk

Open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

VBoxManage modifyhd "/path/to/your.vdi" --resize <size-in-MB>

Example:

VBoxManage modifyhd "C:\VMs\Ubuntu.vdi" --resize 51200

This command resizes the disk to 50 GB (since 51200 MB = 50 GB).

Note: This works only for VDI or VHD disk formats. If you’re using VMDK, you’ll need to convert it to VDI first.

Step 3: Expand the Partition

Resizing the disk file doesn’t automatically expand the partition inside the OS. Boot into a live Linux ISO (like GParted or Ubuntu) and use a partition editor to stretch the partition to use the new space.

Need a project idea? Try installing Chrome OS in a virtual machine—you’ll need the space.

💻 For VMware (Workstation or Fusion)

Step 1: Shut Down the VM

Same rule—shut it down completely.

Step 2: Resize the Disk

In VMware Workstation or Fusion:

• Go to VM > Settings > Hard Disk.
• Click Utilities > Expand.
• Choose the new size and hit Expand.

Step 3: Expand the Partition

Once you boot the VM, the OS still sees the old partition size. Use the built-in OS tools to extend it:

• Windows: Use Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc), right-click the primary partition, and select Extend Volume.
• Linux: Use gparted or parted to resize the partition.

Working with macOS on VMware? These tutorials might help:

• How to Install macOS Ventura on VMware on Windows PC (2024)
• How to Install macOS Sonoma on AMD Ryzen (VMWare) using OpenCore

⚠️ A Few Important Tips

• Always back up the VM before resizing. It’s rare, but things can go sideways.
• Make sure the VM’s OS supports resizing partitions.
• If you get errors, double-check that the VM is shut down and not running snapshots.

Final Thoughts

Resizing a virtual machine’s disk is a straightforward fix once you know the steps. The key is to remember that increasing the size of the disk file isn’t enough—you also need to expand the partition inside the virtual OS. Do both, and you’re back in business with more space to work with.

Got stuck? Drop a comment or shoot me a message—happy to help troubleshoot.