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sedberg1

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Windows Server 2008 Disk Space Issue

I have a VM running 2008 64-bit SP2 with 40 GB C drive originally.  The VM is ESX 4.1.  I added 5 GB to the hard disk (only one used for C drive).  Then rescanned the disks on the VM.  The extra 5 GB became available and then I expanded the C drive.  The 5 GB became integrated into the C drive.  However, it is only showing when looking at the graphic of the C drive, meaning that in Disk Management.  In the list of drives in the middle window, the 5 GBs isn't showing.

Screenshot of Disk Management attached.  The graphic shows 45 GB.  The list of drives shows C still only has 40 GB.

I've tried rebooting and cehcking Event logs.  Don't see anything out of the norm.
DiskMgmt.docx
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ITdiamond
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Did you try to refresh your view (F5), or close diskmgmt utility and re open it?

What about when you browse in explorer, does it show the 45GB?

I've increased disk space numerous times without issues.  My usual order of operations is:

Edit the virtual hardware in VMWare to make the disk bigger.

In the VM, run diskmgmt.msc and refresh it.

It will show the unallocated space once refreshed, and then I just right click on the disk and extend the partition.

Then I close and reopen diskmgmt.msc and it shows the new space.

I double check in Windows Explorer and make sure the added space is there.

Very handy to be able to do this on the fly without taking the server down!  I love VMWARE!
Hi There!
Disk0 is set as a 45gb. However the C: partition has only been allocated the 40GB when you installed the VM.

So the extra 5gb you assigned to that harddrive is not assigned to the C: Partition. When you say expanded and integrated into the C: Drive, how do you know it took?

If you attempt to partition that other 5gb's into, lets say a e: partition, will it allow you?
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Brad Bouchard

Sounds stupid, but do a refresh, both in Disk Management, and in My Computer.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
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OK, not for nothing, thanks for suggesting Refresh, but I did mention a reboot.

@ITdiamond, that's exactly what I did.  The only thing is that you don't "refresh" the disk after adding the space but rather go to Actions > Rescan Disks, which makes new 5 GB come up as unallocated space.  

I did this for 7 other servers at the same time, all running the same OS w/SP2.  Those other 7 servers show the extra 5 GB as available in Windows Explorer.

For this server, Windows Explorer (ie Computer) still shows the disk space as 40 GB, which is my concern since that means the space isn't really available.  Plus, I have monitoring on this server which checks Windows Explorer for space, and the alerts for low space (which triggered the whole addition of 5 GB) are still coming up as problems, which again brings up the concern.

There's gotta be something weird with this particular server, and that's what I'm trying to figure out.
@hancocka,

I can try this but will have to wait for the weekend unfortunately as it requires powering off the machine and causing downtime on a prod machine.
Always have a full backup before partition or disk changes!