Virtual Machine optimizers [closed]

I have read a discussion about musthave Windows software. User esabine addend a link to Scott Hanselman's tools list. One of the tools Scott was writing about was an optimizer tool for VM’s. - Invirtus VM Optimizer for 70 USD. However, Invirtus is not in the market anymore, and was acquired by Quest and Vizioncore. The prices went up 4 times (to about 300 USD).

Does anyone knows good VM optimizer tool, that will work with VMWare Workstation?

Solution 1:

VMware does have built in tools for shrinking Virtual Disks.

And you can also use the VMware Virtual Disk Manager to do this.

Solution 2:

A lot of supposed optimizers just make it easier to remove unnecessary software/services from Windows--items that can be removed manually (for free) by the user.

I agree with Dave Webb's suggestion for using VMWare's built-in tools. In addition, I keep a bare-bones image (whether it's XP, Vista, or Windows 7) with as much of the bloat uninstalled/disabled. I'll use the bare-bones image as a base for subsequent clones.

The biggest optimization IMHO is ensuring that your VM isn't fragmented.