VM exploding in size, reports twice as large on Mac as in Windows

Discussion in 'Installation and Configuration of Parallels Desktop' started by TedShwartz, Sep 18, 2014.

  1. TedShwartz

    TedShwartz Bit poster

    Messages:
    8
    Hello

    My VM just keeps getting bigger, and I am not sure why. I do not create any files of consequence on Windows. All storage is cloud based on the Mac with Dropbox and OneDrive. No files of size are ever created in Windows, other than Outlook's insatiable demand for space. Windows reports that I have a "C" drive of approximately 65 GB, with approximately 20 GB free. My VM is about 135 GB.

    I am running on Version 9 with OSX 10.9.4. My expectation is that I will be upgrading the MacOs in about a month, and would like to resolve the VM space issue before going through the Mac & Parallels upgrade cycle.

    Any suggestions?

    Ted
     
  2. Eugene@Parallels

    Eugene@Parallels Banned

    Messages:
    131
    Hi Ted.

    lets check the contents of the .pvm file first as the virtual hard drive size seems to be normal.

    1) open Terminal.app (Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app)
    2) open /Documents/Parallels folder in Finder -> you should be able to see your .pvm file (virtual machine's file) OR find the .pvm file by its extension using Spotlight. We need the directory where .pvm is located.
    3) type in terminal:

    "du -sh *" without quotes then hit space once and then drag and drop the .pvm file from Finder window to the Terminal Window.

    The command should look like that (example):

    du -sh * /Users/<username>/Documents/Parallels/Windows\ 7.pvm (note the spaces)

    4) Hit enter
    5) Copy the output and post it here (output contains sizes of contents of .pvm file)

    As a possible solution:

    Please open Parallels Desktop preferences:


    Right click on the Parallels Desktop icon in the Dock -> Preferences... -> Advanced tab -> check that "Use detailed log messages" checkbox is not ticked.
     
  3. Paul_Gaiduk

    Paul_Gaiduk Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    I am having the same problem. I tried your command string and got this result...
    Last login: Tue Oct 21 20:17:13 on ttys000

    pauls-time-capsule:~ enertekelectric$ du -sh*/Users/enertekelectric/Documents/Parallels/Windows\ 7\ Professional.pvm

    du: illegal option -- *

    usage: du [-H | -L | -P] [-a | -s | -d depth] [-c] [-h | -k | -m | -g] [-x] [-I mask] [file ...]

    pauls-time-capsule:~ enertekelectric$
     
  4. Paul_Gaiduk

    Paul_Gaiduk Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    again:
    pauls-air:~ enertekelectric$ du -sh* /Users/enertekelectric/Documents/Parallels/Windows\ 7\ Professional.pvm

    du: illegal option -- *

    usage: du [-H | -L | -P] [-a | -s | -d depth] [-c] [-h | -k | -m | -g] [-x] [-I mask] [file ...]

    pauls-air:~ enertekelectric$
     
  5. Carl_March

    Carl_March Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    I am having the same problem (I think). Since upgrading to Parallels Desktop 10 (and I'm running the latest update), on two different Macs running Yosemite, both with Windows 7 Ultimate VMs, my VM drives are exploding in size - without doing anything, they acquire 10+ GB in size very quickly. Using the command above, the size of the disk on the Mac and the Control Panel are the same. However, in the space of two hours, the Local Disk (C) has gone from 65.2 GB to 78 GB. There has been no activity on the VM to create such a massive increase in size. I'm wondering if it's picking up files from OneDrive even though I have turned off the Windows sharing of OneDrive. Hard to explain, but I can say that I've been using Parallels for years and have never experienced this probelm before. If it's not fixed soon, the only option will be a switch to VM Ware, which I'm sure will have it's own set of problems. Please help!!!

    Carls-MBP-3:~ CJMMBPRD$ du -sh * /Users/CJMMBPRD/Documents/Parallels/Windows\ 7\ x64.pvm
    16K ABBYY
    9.2M Applications
    24M Applications (Parallels)
    5.7M Creative Cloud Files
    33M Desktop
    198G Documents
    24G Downloads
    12K Escort
    du: Library/Saved Application State/com.adobe.flashplayer.installmanager.savedState: Permission denied
    114G Library
    255M Movies
    101G Music
    6.1G OneDrive
    30G Pictures
    750M Public
    78G /Users/CJMMBPRD/Documents/Parallels/Windows 7 x64.pvm
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2014
  6. TedShwartz

    TedShwartz Bit poster

    Messages:
    8
    Carl

    I did not have any luck with the recommended commands, and restored to a VM backup from about 9 months ago. Things have been OK since. FYI, I use OneDrive, GoogleDrive and DropBox and do not seem to have any issues. My plan is to give Yosemite a month or two to settle down, and then upgrade to it.
    What is the recommended upgrade path Mac OS upgrade then Parallels upgrade or visa versa?

    Regards
    Ted
     

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