To ensure successful VMDK recovery, follow these best practices:
VMDK missing descriptor? → Recreate with vmkfstools -z VMDK won’t open? → Try clone via vmkfstools -i Files inside needed urgently? → Use third-party recovery tool Entire VMFS corrupt? → Scan datastore with UFS Explorer / DiskInternals
: If a VM is running but a VMDK is missing, consolidating snapshots can sometimes rebuild the current state into a new, functional VMDK. vmdk recovery tool esx 5
vmkfstools -x repair [path_to_vmdk] to attempt an automated fix of minor metadata inconsistencies [30]. Third-Party VMDK Recovery Tools When manual methods fail or for more complex cases like accidental deletion, specialized tools can scan the VMFS volume and reconstruct files [13, 17]. DiskInternals VMFS Recovery : A powerful tool designed to recover data from corrupted ESXi VMFS partitions and RAID arrays [10, 14]. It supports "Reader" mode for fast file access and "Uneraser" for deleted items [20]. Kernel VMDK Recovery : Allows users to select a corrupted VMDK, scan it, and preview files before extraction [13, 19]. SysInfo VMDK Recovery Tool : Supports various VMDK types, including flat, sparse, and split files, and can recover data from lost partitions [22]. BitRecover VMDK Recovery Wizard : Features multiple scanning modes for deleted or formatted data and provides a preview of recovered contents [15, 24]. Common Recovery Scenarios Scenario Recommended Action Missing Descriptor Recreate the descriptor file using
A VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) file is a container file that stores the virtual disk of a VM. It's a crucial component of VMware's virtualization technology, allowing VMs to store data in a virtualized environment. To ensure successful VMDK recovery, follow these best
Sometimes the small text file (the descriptor) that points to the actual data (the -flat.vmdk ) gets corrupted or deleted. VMware VMDK Recovery Tool - DiskInternals
# Install qemu or vmware-mount (older VMware DiskMount utility) modprobe nbd qemu-nbd -c /dev/nbd0 /path/VM-flat.vmdk mount /dev/nbd0p1 /mnt/vmdk # Copy data, then unmount → Use third-party recovery tool Entire VMFS corrupt
: A highly recommended tool that can scan ESX/ESXi storage remotely over a network. It reconstructs the VMFS file system to locate orphaned or deleted VMDKs.
: Designed to extract data from VMDK files even if the virtual machine itself refuses to boot.