# Clone the current state from snapshot chain vmkfstools -i corruptVM-000001.vmdk -d thin recovered.vmdk vmkfstools -i corruptVM-000001.vmdk -d thin -a lsilogic consolidated.vmdk 4.3 Using vmfs-tools (Linux-based recovery) Boot a Linux live CD and install vmfs-tools:
Introduction A Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) file is the backbone of any VMware virtual machine. When it becomes corrupt, the VM may fail to power on, throw I/O errors, crash randomly, or become completely inaccessible. Corrupt VMDK files can result from abrupt power loss, storage failures, snapshot issues, network interruptions during migration, or hardware problems. esxi repair corrupt vmdk
If the data is irreplaceable and native tools fail, professional recovery services may be the last resort – but they are expensive. Prevention through robust storage, clean shutdowns, and backups is always better than any repair method. Provide the exact error message from vmkfstools -x check for a more targeted solution. # Clone the current state from snapshot chain
sudo apt-get install vmfs-tools # Debian/Ubuntu vmfs-fuse /dev/sdb1 /mnt/vmfs # Now copy VMDK files out Then repair using qemu-img or vmware-mount (VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit). When built-in tools fail, consider these: If the data is irreplaceable and native tools
| Type | Description | |------|-------------| | | The small text file (flat.vmdk descriptor) is damaged or missing. | | Flat file corruption | The large binary data file is corrupted. | | Metadata corruption | Internal filesystem metadata inside VMDK is damaged. | | Snapshot chain corruption | Delta VMDK files or child/parent relationships are broken. | | VMFS filesystem issues | The underlying datastore has problems. | 3. Built-in ESXi Repair Tools 3.1 vmkfstools – The Primary Utility vmkfstools is the native VMware disk management tool. a) Check VMDK: vmkfstools -x check /path/to/your.vmdk b) Repair VMDK (Descriptor & Basic Corruption): vmkfstools -x repair /path/to/your.vmdk This fixes certain structural issues in the descriptor and basic metadata. c) Clone Disk to Bypass Bad Sectors: vmkfstools -i /path/to/corrupt.vmdk -d thin /path/to/new.vmdk Cloning can skip unreadable sectors, effectively recovering rest of the data. d) Convert VMDK to Raw and Back: # To raw vmkfstools -i input.vmdk -a lsilogic -d raw output.raw Back to VMDK vmkfstools -i output.raw -d thin repaired.vmdk 3.2 ESXi Command-Line Recovery Steps Step-by-step repair attempt:
| Tool | Use Case | |------|----------| | | Recovers VMDK from corrupted VMFS datastores. | | SysTools VMDK Recovery | Extracts data from corrupt VMDK without ESXi. | | Stellar Phoenix VMDK Recovery | Repairs corrupt virtual disks and recovers files. | | R-Studio for VMFS | Advanced VMFS datastore recovery. | | UFS Explorer | Professional VMFS & VMDK recovery. | | Veeam FLR | If backups exist, perform file-level recovery. |