Decreasing the Size of VHD Files by Disabling the SFC

  • Section(s): Miscellaneous
  • Published on Sep 28, 2006.
  • Last Modified on Sep 28, 2006.
  • Last Modified by ChrisSanders.
  • Rated 4.5 out of 5 based on 2 votes.
Virtual Hard Disk files can become incredibly large in size depending on there function. This simple trick will help you shrink them a bit.
There are several methods you can use to decrease the size of your virtual hard disk (VHD) files. One of the lesser known methods is to decrease the Windows system file checker (SFC). To disable to SFC on your guest operating system you can simply open a command prompt from within it and type the following commands:

sfc /cachesize=0
sfc /purgecache

Doing this can typically decrease the size of a VHD file by nearly 300 MB. Saving this much spacer per virtual machine can add up very quickly.

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Chris Sanders is the network administrator for one of the largest public school systems in the state of Kentucky. Chris's specialties include general network administration, windows server 2003, wireless networking, and security. You can view Chris' personal website at www.chrissanders.org.

About ChrisSanders

Chris Sanders is a network consultant for KeeFORCE, one of the most popular network consulting firms in western Kentucky. Chris is the author of the book Practical Packet Analysis as well as several technical articles. His personal website at www.chrissanders.org contains a great deal of information, articles, and guides related to network administration, network security, packet analysis, and general information technology.

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