# Hard Disk Settings

In the **Hard Disk** pane, you can view and configure the virtual machine's hard disk-related settings.

To open these settings, choose **Actions** > **Configure** > **Hardware**, then click **Hard Disk**.

<figure><img src="/files/mLXV3sCY3jhKKOt9Pv5m" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<table><thead><tr><th width="214">Option</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Source</strong></td><td><p>Use this field to specify the virtual hard disk file (<code>.hdd)</code> that emulates the virtual machine hard disk:</p><ul><li>To use the Boot Camp partition, select it from the list.</li></ul><p><a data-footnote-ref href="#user-content-fn-1"><strong>Note:</strong> you can choose Boot Camp only if you have it on an Intel Mac. Boot Camp is not available on Apple Silicon Macs.</a></p><ul><li>To use a virtual hard disk file, choose it from the list, or click <strong>Choose an image file</strong> and specify the path to the desired image file (<code>.hdd</code>).</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Properties</strong></td><td>Click this button to edit the hard disk size.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Location</strong></td><td>Use this field to specify the type of interface for connecting the hard disk. This option is for advanced users only.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Enable TRIM</strong></td><td>In most cases, the space that the virtual machine takes up on your hard disk expands as you add files and other data but isn't reduced when you delete data. To set Parallels Desktop to automatically reduce disk space, select <strong>Enable TRIM</strong>. This option may affect the performance of HDD (but not SSD) disks.</td></tr></tbody></table>

[^1]:


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.parallels.com/landing/pdfm-ug/v19-en-us/parallels-desktop-for-mac-19-users-guide/parallels-desktop-preferences-and-virtual-machine-settings/virtual-machine-settings/hardware-settings/hard-disk-settings.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.