> Hello all, I looked through the posts and didn't see anything helpful so
> hopefully I didn't miss it.
>
> Background info:
> Host - Win2k3 Enterprise OS w/ 4gb of memory. 2-500gb drives in a Raid 0.
>
> I successfully installed MS Virtual Server 2005 R2 on the host. I then
> attempted to create a virtual server and I am unable to create a 240gb
> virtual hard drive. I need this much space for an Exchange recovery test I
> am
> doing. Also, the drive that has the space I need is not drive 0 on the
> server, it is drive 1 which is using F: for the drive letter.
>
> Any ideas why I am unable to create a virtual disk? Oddly, when I
> attempted
> to create the virtual disk first before creating the virtual server it
> looked like that worked. However, when I then tried to create a virtual
> server I was unable to select the virtual disk.
>
> Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. If more details are needed
> please let me know.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> -Caryn

> Are your virtual disk's IDE or SCSI? Have you reviewed:
>
> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/kb00903748.aspx
> "The maximum size for a virtual hard disk is 2,040 gigabytes (GB). However,
> any virtual hard disk attached to the IDE controller cannot exceed 127
> gigabytes (GB). To support a larger virtual hard disk size, attach the
> virtual hard disk to a SCSI adapter. When deciding whether to attach
> multiple virtual hard disks to the virtual IDE adapter or a virtual SCSI
> adapter, we recommend attaching to one or more SCSI adapters to improve disk
> input/output (I/O) performance. IDE is limited to one transaction at a time,
> regardless of whether the bus is physical or virtual."
>
> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/kb00903748.aspx
> "Use virtual SCSI hard disks instead of virtual IDE hard disks
> When you configure virtual machines, use virtual SCSI disks instead of
> virtual IDE hard disks. A virtual SCSI disk can make disk activity perform
> up to 20 percent better. A traditional IDE hard disk is limited to one
> transaction at a time on the bus. A SCSI disk can handle multiple
> transactions at the same time on the bus. Therefore, we recommend that you
> use SCSI virtual hard disks when you can."
>
> "Caryn Condon" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
> > Hello all, I looked through the posts and didn't see anything helpful so
> > hopefully I didn't miss it.
> >
> > Background info:
> > Host - Win2k3 Enterprise OS w/ 4gb of memory. 2-500gb drives in a Raid 0.
> >
> > I successfully installed MS Virtual Server 2005 R2 on the host. I then
> > attempted to create a virtual server and I am unable to create a 240gb
> > virtual hard drive. I need this much space for an Exchange recovery test I
> > am
> > doing. Also, the drive that has the space I need is not drive 0 on the
> > server, it is drive 1 which is using F: for the drive letter.
> >
> > Any ideas why I am unable to create a virtual disk? Oddly, when I
> > attempted
> > to create the virtual disk first before creating the virtual server it
> > looked like that worked. However, when I then tried to create a virtual
> > server I was unable to select the virtual disk.
> >
> > Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. If more details are needed
> > please let me know.
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> > -Caryn
>
>

>Hello!
>Thanks for the info. I just read about the size limitations on the IDE's.
>I'm new to using virtual machines so I am learning as I go. At this point I
>am trying to figure out how to create a virtual scsi disk since I am unsure
>how to do so.
>
>Do you know if I can create a virtual scsi disk ahead of time to install the
>guest os?
>
>I was able to successfully install a guest os (Win2k3 Ent) on a 10gb virtual
>IDE disk. Rather than go through another guest os install I would be willing
>to add a "second virtual scsi disk" to that virtual machine. Is that possible?
>
>Thank you for your input.
>-Caryn
>

> On Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:14:01 -0700, Caryn Condon
> <(email address - cut out)> wrote:
>
> >Hello!
> >Thanks for the info. I just read about the size limitations on the IDE's.
> >I'm new to using virtual machines so I am learning as I go. At this point I
> >am trying to figure out how to create a virtual scsi disk since I am unsure
> >how to do so.
> >
> >Do you know if I can create a virtual scsi disk ahead of time to install the
> >guest os?
> >
> >I was able to successfully install a guest os (Win2k3 Ent) on a 10gb virtual
> >IDE disk. Rather than go through another guest os install I would be willing
> >to add a "second virtual scsi disk" to that virtual machine. Is that possible?
> >
> >Thank you for your input.
> >-Caryn
> >
>
> Use the Admin too to create a new drive.
> 1. Under Virtual Disks, click Create
> 2. Click Dynamically expanding or fixed
> 3. Under location, select the location of the VM you want to add
> the drive to. If it's not there enter the full path and filename
> under Virtual hard disk file name
> 4. Change your size to 240GB and click OK
>
> 5. Shutdown the VM you want to attach the drive to. You cannot
> make changes while the system is running or in a saved state, it must
> be completely shut down.
>
> 6. Under Virtual Machines, click Configure and click the VM's
> name
> 7. Under the config section, select SCSI adapters and click Add
> SCSI adapter and click OK
> 8. Now click Hard disks, click Add disk >>
> 9. Under Attachment, select your new SCSI adapter
> 10. Either find the new disk under "known VHD" or enter the full
> path and filename from step 3.
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Steve Jain, Virtual Machine MVP
> http://vpc.essjae.com/
>