Why does Parallels take double disk space?

I have a Windows 10 Pro guest OS on MacBook Pro. The virtual disk is configured at 128Gb of which I use about 110Gb. On the Mac ssd however I can see two related files:

Windows 10 Pro.pvm
Windows 10 Pro-0.hdd.0.{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx}

Both files are more than 110Gb! This is waste of space - half of my drive is take by the virtual machine. Why does Parallels take double space?

 

Is it possible to make it use less disk space? This is really annoying. Upgrading MacBook SSD is expensive.

 

Please try deleting the snapshot, unwanted files and empty the trash in Windows virtual machine & keep us posted whether it resolves low disk space issue.

 

I am sorry, it says "No snapshots available"

The trash and unwonted files on the guest machine are obviously not relevant here, but anyway, I keep the trash clean. There is only one unwonted file and it is on my host computer.

Anything else I can try?

 

Please perform Disk Cleanup in Windows 10 virtual machine.
Open run command type "%temp%" without quotes select and remove all files.

 

I am sorry, how can the content of the virtual machine's HDD affect the behavior of Parallels? This may reduce the size of the guest machine's HDD a little bit, but not help changing the way Parallels stores it.

 

You are pulling my leg, right? I did this and found two specific files that occupy half of my disk space:

Windows 10 Pro.pvm
Windows 10 Pro-0.hdd.0.{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx}

Each of those is more than 100 Gb in size. I understand I need the first one, but how can I get rid of the second? I read that if I simply delete it, the virtual machine will stop functioning.

 

Hi!
I have exact same question what @AlekseyM2 has - is it possible to get rid of one or another of those large files?
Experiencing same issue - space used on SSD is double of what VM disk size is.

 

Hello AlekseyM2 & AndrisS,
I suggest you check the location of both the files Windows 10 Pro.pvm is a package inside that you will have a virtual hard disk with an extension .hdd the second file you have mentioned is inside that virtual hard disk. So actually pvm is a package inside that the second file is located. You can also refer this article.

 

Thanks @Ajith@Parallels!
Indeed, i have calculated total disk used size and Parallels was as much as it's hdd size. Confusion for me came from Storage Manager, where in Large Files list it was listed both pvm and hdd, so i first thought they both take space on disk.

 

Glad to hear that! Feel free to reach us anytime for support.

 

Thanks for clarifying this.