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Increasing VDI file size on VirtualBox – part 1: using HDClone
This little tutorial explains how to increase size of existing .vdi virtual hard drive file once the guest OS is already installed on it. I’ve taken a KISS approach describing each end every single step.
It doesn’t matter what is your operating system and what guest OS is running on VirtualBox. In my case I was running Windows XP on my computer and VB was running Ubuntu Linux as guest OS. I’ve been using HDClone 3.9 free edition and Oracle (formerly Sun) Virtual Box 3.2.6.
1. Download HDClone universal package that contains ISO bootable image.
2. Create new bigger .vdi hard drive image. Follow the standard VirtualBox procedure. I've used Fixed-size Storage not default Dynamically Expanding Storage.
3. Set new disk image as Primary Slave in VirtualBox's Storage section.
4. Mount ISO with HDClone bootable disk inside virtual CD-ROM.
5. Change boot order inside System section to begin with CD-ROM before any hard drive.
6. Start Virtualbox.
7. Follow HDClone steps. Note: if you want to use mouse you need to select Machine -> Disable Mouse Integration or press Right Ctrl + I. Otherwise use Tab to navigate between controls, arrows to change options, and space to press the buttons.
7.1. Use default drive to drive copy mode.
7.2. Select smaller drive as a source.
7.3.. Select new large drive as target.
7.4. No options need to be changed, but if you know what to do feel free to tinker with them.
7.5. Choose Automatic adjustment of partition and press Apply.
7.6. Confirm selections by pressing Start Copying .
7.7. Make yourself a tea and watch the progress bar.
7.8. After cloning finishes select option to adjust target automatically.
7.9. You’re done.
8. Shut down virtual machine.
9. Unmount HDClone from CD-ROM.
10. Set new hard drive image as Primary Master. The old one can be removed. Start virtual machine.
I’ve started virtual machine and to my surprise disk still showed the same amount of empty space. I started Disk Utility and it showed that disk size changed but my partition was still 7.5GB and there is 18GB of unused space.
What happened then? Stay tuned for the second part of the article.
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