Hello JimP52. The disk space value allocated to Windows under Hardware -> Hard Disk 1 is only an upper limit - not an actual, tangible disk space amount - to which Windows will gradually occupy more and more disk space on your Mac. This is not the same as the size of the virtual machine file (it is a file with the extension '.pvm'), which is the actual space that Parallels occupies on your Mac. To reduce its size:
1.) Free up disk space in Windows as much as possible, shut Windows down and then reclaim disk space.
2.) Disable 'SmartGuard'.
3.) Launch Terminal (Finder > Go > Utilities > Terminal.app).
4.) Copy the following command and paste it in Terminal as it is (do not hit 'Enter' yet): prl_disk_tool merge --hdd
5.) Find your virtual machine on your Mac (it is a file with the extension '.pvm', make sure that there is a backup of this file).
6.) Right-click on the .pvm file, select 'Show Package Contents' from the menu that appears and look for a file with the extension '.hdd'.
7.) Drag this .hdd file and drop it inside the Terminal window (do not close the screen in which you see the .hdd file yet; keep it open).
8.) In Terminal, you will now see an outcome similar to the following example (please note there should be a space between --hdd and /Users/Username...): prl_disk_tool merge --hdd /Users/Username/Documents/Parallels/Windows\ 7.pvm/Windows\ 7-0.hdd
9.) Press 'Return' to start merging Snapshots (this process removes all snapshots, including hidden ones). (IMPORTANT: Please wait till the operation completes; do NOT close the Terminal window before then.)
10.) Once the operation finishes, close Terminal.
11.) Now, go back to the window in which you saw the .hdd file. Move the folder 'Snapshots' and the file 'Snapshots.xml' to the Trash. Then close this window.
Last edited: Jul 22, 2018