How To Resize Windows 2003 Server Virtual Disk on VMware ESX

The following guide explain “How to resize Windows 2003 server (boot system) virtual disk on VMware ESX”.

Preliminary Note

Operating System: Windows 2003
Hostname: Win07
Initial drive c: hard disk space: 12 GB
Allocate additional hard disk space: 8GB
Total size(resize) = 20GB
VMware ESX version 3.5 update 3
GPart LiveCD 0.3.9-4

Note: We’re NOT warranty and response for any disk corruption. Please make sure you have BACKUP before proceed.

Here you go step by step:

Power off Windows 2003 virtual machine.
Resize existing hard disk size from 12Gb to 20Gb.

Power on Windows 2003 virtual machine and make sure you can see additional disk allocated.

Once again, restart Windows 2003 virtual machine and boot with GPart LiveCD(default settings).

Select ‘Don’t touch keymap’ and press ‘ENTER’.
Press ‘33′ and ‘ENTER’.
Please ‘ENTER’ to continue.
Right click on GParted menu -> click ‘Resize/Move’.
Use your mouse and scroll/resize /dev/sda1 to maximum size.

Click ‘Resize/Move’.
Click ‘Apply’ twice.
Click ‘Close’.

Restart Windows 2003 virtual machine again and I would suggest you run Windows checkdisk(chkdsk) during boot up.

Go to Windows Disk Management tools.

Gongratulation if you can see 20Gb drive C: available.

Any feedback or comment are welcome and I hope this guide is helpful.

15 Responses

Dean

Couldn’t you just get Extpart from Dell and do it within the Windows 2003 OS? No reboot required.

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&releaseid=R64398&formatcnt=2&fileid=83929

Leong Kin Onn

Hi ,
why not to used the diskpart command to extend the unallocated space ?

Thanks
LeongKO

Superman

Hi Dean, Dell EXTPART command worked like a charm thanks

Hi LeongKO, I don’t think you can extend system drive online with diskpart command.

craig

In order to use Diskpart, you required to boot from Winpe which require down time still. System partition could not be done online

vishy

This guide is also good using diskpart
http://vmprofessional.com/index.php?content=2k3resize

The screen shot show it only apply to non system disk. As I mentioned earlier, diskpart require downtime if you use it to resize system partition. You may need to boot it with winpe to do it for system partition

Planet Malaysia

Few more methods can be found @ http://vmware-land.com/Resizing_Virtual_Disks.html

If you do have the partition magic, you can re size without down time and interruption

Nino

http://sites.google.com/site/thevmhut/Home/vmware/esx-3-5/how-to-expand-a-vm-system-drive

Albert Frick

Works fine with gparted. thanks for publishing,
best regards
Albert

Olivier

Thanks Superman. Your procedure worked great for me. I was using W2003 SP2 on ESXi 3.5u3.

LeongKO

HI All ,
recently i try this software called acronis disk director server version 10 to extend my C:\ drive partition without reboot the server.

is this software consider free?

Hi Craig ,
The software is license .

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