Reducing size of expanding disk - How to do it in P 17?

Discussion in 'Installation and Configuration of Parallels Desktop' started by TimS29, Sep 22, 2021.

  1. TimS29

    TimS29 Bit poster

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    Running Paralles 17.0, Windows 11 pre-release, MacBook Pro, Big Sur 11.6, 2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 256GB SSD. ( The problem started with Windows 10, Parallels 16 and 16.5 )

    I have a MacBook Pro, 256 GB. Several years ago, I could set the amount of drive space Parallels could access, and thus both Windows and Mac programs could be used. Now, with Version 17, there is no apparent way to limit the size.

    My computer has 256 GB of storage. The VM uses 58 GB, and the Mac uses about 26 GB. There is only 20 GB of Free Space. Thus, Parallels has blocked off access to an additional 143 GB of storage. As a result, I have no free space to install Mac programs, nor will I have the space to upgrade the OS.

    If I remove the VM, and Parallels, then suddenly I will have ALL of that space back. Parallels will never need it, but I do.

    I have been asking support for over 6 months how to resolve this and reduce that amount of space. Responses come in 2-4 week intervals, they are always a script, and they never address the actual problem. The computer with Parallels is useless. Since I invested in the license, plus Windows and Pro upgrades, it would be nice to use this investment.

    Has anyone found a way to limit the Expanding Disk space ? Yes, I have a ticket pending and have sought support on their other support channels as well. I see others with similar questions, but have found no answers.
     
    FabriceK likes this.
  2. FabriceK

    FabriceK Bit poster

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    same question !
     
  3. TimS29

    TimS29 Bit poster

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    I never got an answer from Parallels. IN fact they closed my posts and tickets with responding. However, I did find a solution. I had started with a clean MacBook Pro, set to factory defaults and then updated to Big Sur. Then I installed Parallels and windows fresh, and got the "two drive" situation with the "other drive" using up so much space.

    Finally, I copied the VM to an external USB drive, and downloaded an external install of Big Sur. I completely reformatted the drive as Extended, and installed a fresh copy of the Big Sur. Instructions for this are online at Apple. That gave me a "virgin" computer. I then reinstalled Parallels, and no second drive. I then brought in the VM, and still no 2nd drive, or "other" drive space. Finally, I had a computer that is lean enough to run the Monterey upgrade upon release.

    Frankly, I'm done with Parallels. I'm removing to a Windows computer and it's totally stable. It's just not worth the grief, and the lack of ANY technical support. I replaced the Mac with a Surface Notebook and it works beautifully.
     

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