Recover Vmdk Flat File [upd] Now

A small text file (header) containing metadata, disk geometry, and the virtual hardware version.

vmkfstools -Q /path/to/VM_name-flat.vmdk recover vmdk flat file

In VMware terminology, the file is the actual raw data storage (the virtual hard drive), while the small header .vmdk file (without the "-flat" suffix) is merely a descriptor file containing geometry metadata. A small text file (header) containing metadata, disk

vmkfstools -c 10M temp.vmdk