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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<!DOCTYPE topic PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Topic//EN" "topic.dtd">
<topic xml:lang="en-us" id="create-vm-wizard-virtual-hard-disk">
<title>Specify a Virtual Hard Disk</title>
<body>
<p>There are many ways in which <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> can
provide hard disk space to a VM, see <xref href="storage.dita#storage"/>. </p>
<p>The most common way is to use a virtual hard disk. This is a large image file on your
physical hard disk, whose contents <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/>
presents to your VM as if it were a complete hard disk. You can copy this file to another
host, and use it with another <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> VM. </p>
<p>To prevent your physical hard disk on the host OS from filling up, <ph
conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> limits the size of the image file. But the
image file must be large enough to hold the contents of the guest OS and the applications you
want to install. For a Windows or Linux guest, you will probably need several gigabytes for
any serious use. The size limit of the image file can be changed later, see <xref
href="vboxmanage-modifymedium.dita"/>. </p>
<p>
<note id="note_vc4_gjs_pbc">
<p>If you choose <b outputclass="bold">Do Not Add a Virtual Hard Disk</b> at this stage you
will need to attach a hard disk using VirtualBox Manager or VBoxManage commands before you
can install a guest operating system. </p>
</note>
</p>
<section id="section_wql_21r_pbc">
<title>Create a Virtual Hard Disk</title>
</section>
<p>Follow these steps to create a virtual hard disk to use with this VM. To prevent your
physical hard disk on the host OS from filling up, <ph
conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> limits the size of the image file. But the
image file must be large enough to hold the contents of the guest OS and the applications you
want to install. For a Windows or Linux guest, you will probably need several gigabytes for
any serious use. The limit of the image file size can be changed later, see <xref
href="vboxmanage-modifymedium.dita"/>. <ol id="ol_z2h_q5q_pbc">
<li>
<p>Select <b outputclass="bold">Create a Virtual Hard Disk Now</b>. This creates a new
empty virtual hard disk image, located in the VM's machine folder. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Enter the following settings: </p>
<ul id="ul_i3n_y1r_pbc">
<li>
<p><b outputclass="bold">Disk Size</b>. Use the slider to select a maximum size for
the hard disk in the new VM. </p>
</li>
<li><p><b outputclass="bold">Pre-Allocate Full Size.</b> This setting determines the type of image file used
for the disk image. Select this setting to use a <i>fixed-size file</i> for the disk image. Otherwise,
<ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> will use a <i>dynamically allocated file</i> for
the disk image. </p><p>The different types of image file behave as follows: </p><ul id="ul_j3n_y1r_pbc">
<li>
<p><b outputclass="bold">Dynamically allocated file.</b> This type of image file only grows in size
when the guest actually stores data on its virtual hard disk. Therefore, this file is small
initially. As the drive is filled with data, the file grows to the specified size. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p><b outputclass="bold">Fixed-size file.</b> This type of image file immediately occupies the file
specified, even if only a fraction of that virtual hard disk space is actually in use. While
occupying much more space, a fixed-size file incurs less overhead and is therefore slightly faster
than a dynamically allocated file. </p>
</li>
</ul>For more details about the differences, see <xref href="vdidetails.dita#vdidetails"/>. </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol></p>
<section id="section_bdq_h1r_pbc">
<title>Use an Existing Virtual Hard Disk</title>
</section>
<p>Follow these steps to use a virtual hard disk that already exists on the host. Ensure the image file is in a
suitable location (usually the machine folder) and not in use by other VMs.<note id="note_fzl_3tw_hcc"
type="caution">Data on the disk image may be deleted.</note><ol id="ol_txk_str_pbc">
<li>
<p>Select <b outputclass="bold">Use an Existing Virtual Hard Disk File</b>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Select the image file to use with the new VM, and then click <b outputclass="bold">Add</b>. </p>
</li>
</ol></p>
<p> </p>
</body>
</topic>
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