Host Platform: RHEL 4 (U8) x86
VMware Ver: VMware-server-2.0.2-203138
Host NTFS drivers:
fuse-2.7.3-1.el4.rf
fuse-ntfs-3g-1.2310-1.el4.rf
Virtual Disk Type: Growable, SCSI
Guest OS: MS Windows Server 2003 SP2
Guest Filesystem Type: NTFS
VMware Tools Ver: 7.7.6, build-203138
References:
1. VMware Virtual Disk Manger User's Guide
2. VMware Disk Mount User's Guide
Problem: Cannot mount VMware virtual disk to shrink it in RHEL 4
Description:
First, a MS Windows disk check and defrag was done inside the guest OS. Then a VMware defrag was done using Virtual Disk Manager.
cd /var/lib/vmware/VirtualMachines/KC130WSUSI
vmware-vdiskmanager -d KC130WSUSI.vmdk
Following the steps in the "Virtual Disk Manager User's Guide", I then attempted to mount the virtual disk in preparation for shrinking but encountered an error.
vmware-mount /home/vmware/VirtualMachines/KC130WSUSI/KC130WSUSI.vmdk /mnt/KC130WSUSI
-
[Mount Error]----
mount: fs type ntfs not supported by kernel
Failed to mount partition 1 of disk '/home/vmware/VirtualMachines/KC130WSUSI/KC130WSUSI.vmdk' on '/mnt/KC130WSUSI': A loop device operation failed
-
The VMware Disk Mount User's Guide says "Disk Mount on Linux requires the Fuse package". We have both fuse and fuse-ntfs-3g packages installed, yet vmware-mount doesn't seem to recognize this driver.
There is only one partition in this virtual disk and it's NTFS.
vmware-mount -p /home/vmware/VirtualMachines/KC130WSUSI/KC130WSUSI.vmdk
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[Virtual Disk Partitions]----
Nr Start Size Type Id Sytem
-- -
-
-
-- -
1 63 125563977 BIOS 7 HPFS/NTFS
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I was able to accomplish the shrink using VMware Tools within the guest OS. Within the Windows Server 2003 Guest, opened VMware Tools. On the tab the C: drive is shown as a supported partition. Clicked button. When finished (about 30 min) it asks if I want to shrink now. Clicking begins the process. While running (about 1 hour) the guest is non-responsive but the shrink appears to be successful.
Questions:
1. Is there something I'm missing in the procedure to shrink off-line using the Virtual Disk Manager?
2. Is there an undocumented flag for vmware-mount to tell it what filesystem driver to use (like -t for native Linux mount)?