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Mount cloned RDM in Windows VM without formatting

We have a series of VMs with RDM drives. As part of a DR environment, we need to clone the VM and RDM.

Then, I need to add cloned RDMs back into Windows. How can I do this without initializing and formatting the RDM drive? All I want to do is add it and assign a drive letter to it.

Thank you!

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

If the LUN, already has been formatted with a NTFS partition, (volume), it should already be present in Disk Management, you just need to assign a drive letter, before doing that, you may need to select the Disk, and Click ONLINE, it may current appear as OFFLINE.

ONLINE-ING a drive does not initialize it, only initialize does that process, and formatting is another process and function.

Have you tried this yet ?

svillardi

ASKER

Yes, but all that comes up is to initialize and create a volume.

svillardi

ASKER

A new disk shows up and if I cancel the initialize disk dialog box, Disk 1 shows up, unknown and unallocated.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

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svillardi

ASKER

Andrew,

We have virtualized storage through an IBM SAN Volume Controller. We have duplicated the lun with the SVC, then presented it to the hosts in VMware 5.5.

Thanks for your help,

svillardi

ASKER

So, to get back to you, we did in fact use a process to create a new empty clone. Accidentally, of course.