VMware 4 User Manual page 139

Allocating all the space at the time you create the virtual disk gives somewhat
better performance, but it requires as much disk space as the size you specify for
the virtual disk.
If you do not select this option, the virtual disk's files start small and grow as
needed, but they can never grow larger than the size you set here.
You can set a size between 2GB and 256GB for a SCSI virtual disk or 128GB for an
IDE virtual disk. The default is 4GB.
You may also specify whether you want the virtual disk created as one large file
or split into a set of 2GB files.
5. Accept the default filename and location for the virtual disk file or change it, if
you want to use a different name or location. To find a different folder, click
Browse.
In most cases, the wizard creates a SCSI virtual disk by default. If your guest
operating system does not have appropriate support for the virtual SCSI adapter
in the virtual machine, the wizard creates an IDE virtual disk. If you want your
virtual disk to be an IDE device, click Advanced and be sure the virtual device
node is set to an available IDE node.
On the advanced settings screen, you can also specify a disk mode. This is useful
in certain special-purpose configurations in which you want to exclude disks
from the snapshot. For more information on the snapshot feature, see
Snapshot on page 176.
Normal disks are included in the snapshot. In most cases, this is the setting you
want.
Independent disks are not included in the snapshot. You have the following
options for an independent disk:
• Persistent — changes are immediately and permanently written to the disk.
• Nonpersistent — changes to the disk are discarded when you power off or
revert to the snapshot.
When you have set the filename and location you want to use and have made
any selections you want to make on the advanced settings screen, click Finish.
6. The wizard creates the new virtual disk. It appears to your guest operating
system as a new, blank hard disk. Use the guest operating system's tools to
partition and format the new drive for use.
C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks
Using the
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