Recover Vmdk From Datastore Upd Jun 2026

| Task | Command | |------|---------| | List deleted files | vmfsundelete /vmfs/volumes/DS -l | | Recover by inode | vmfsundelete -R -i 12345 -o /recovery/disk.vmdk | | Repair VMDK header | vmkfstools -x repair disk.vmdk | | Clone VMDK skipping errors | vmkfstools -i bad.vmdk -d thin good.vmdk | | Scan for recoverable VMDK signatures | vmkfstools -V /vmfs/volumes/DS | | Show VMDK descriptor info | cat disk.vmdk |

If the VMDK contained critical data and manual recovery seems too risky (or the vmkfstools method failed), don't risk corruption. recover vmdk from datastore

%%MAGIT_PARSER_PROTECT%% 4. **Identify the exact size** of the flat file in bytes: %%MAGIT_PARSER_PROTECT%% bashls -l *-flat.vmdk%%MAGIT_PARSER_PROTECT%% 5. **Create a temporary disk** with the exact same size to generate a new descriptor: %%MAGIT_PARSER_PROTECT%% bashvmkfstools -c [SIZE_IN_BYTES] -a lsilogic -d thin temp.vmdk%%MAGIT_PARSER_PROTECT%% ```6. to match your original file and edit it to point to the old -flat.vmdk . 4. Advanced Recovery Using Specialized Tools | Task | Command | |------|---------| | List