: 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.
: 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
: A professional-grade tool that supports flat, sparse, and delta VMDK files across all versions of ESX and vSphere. : A highly recommended tool that can scan
| Method | Steps | |--------|-------| | | Create new VM → add existing disk → point to descriptor VMDK. | | Restore descriptor file | If -flat.vmdk exists but no descriptor, create a new one via vmkfstools -z (see below). | | vmkfstools repair | vmkfstools -x repair /vmfs/volumes/datastore/VM/VM.vmdk | | Check snapshot chains | vmkfstools -D /path/VM.vmdk to see disk chain info. | | Clone VMDK | vmkfstools -i source.vmdk destination.vmdk -d thin (skips some corruption). | : A professional-grade tool that supports flat, sparse,