HDD file consuming 18 GB more than Guest is.

[bobbyt]

I have a Windows 10 Guest that is actively using 21.8 GB of disk space inside the guest:

However when I open the .pvm for the guest, and get info on the .hdd file it shows its using about twice that:

I verified that the difference is not covered by reclaimable disk space:

The question is: What is consuming the extra 17.64 GB and is there any way to get that back?

 

[Hemnath@Parallels]

Hello bobbyt.

What is consuming the extra 17.64 GB

Probably hidden snapshots.

is there any way to get that back?

Please try these steps:
1.) Shut down Windows (as opposed to simply suspending it).
2.) Disable 'SmartGuard'.
3.) Launch Terminal (from the Finder menu, navigate to 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.) Ensure there is a backup of the virtual machine file (the one with the extension '.pvm') available. Then drag the .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). 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
6.) 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.)
7.) Once the operation finishes, close Terminal.
8.) 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.