I accidentally deleted four vmdk files that I absolutely need to recover. What are my options?
If it is just the vmdk files and not the flat-vmdk files you have deleted, the it is possible to recreate them using the step-by-step guide from KB1002511 ( http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=100251... ).
If you deleted the flat file, then you will have to restore from backup.
are the vmdks thick provisioned ?
if yes I may be able to help - if they are thin provisioned call Ontrack
Mine were. Can you help, please?
We have good success using VMFS Recovery from Disk Internals.
Dear einstein
It wasn’t working totally, are you sure
it was working in vmware esxi 5.1 or new?
@ did anyone try it ? , please share the infomation, thanks you.
I would try vmfs-fuse first - thats a free tool available for Linux.
In my recovery work I occasionally check what Diskinternals or UFS-explorer would be able to recover - but I do not remember a single case where we actually used one of them.
When the deleted vmdks were thick provisioned and the datastore was not too full I use a manual procedure to extract those vmdks.
Dear continuum-san,
Thanks your feedback,
I re-try the Diskinternals as you mentioned.
Now it is working in W2K8R2, but the progress is so lazy only 4% for every
5hours.
it still is scanning disk, maybe my disk was too big to recovery.
I would like to share the best third party tool which let you recover your data from deleted, formatted or lost VMDK files/folders or partition. Using this VMDK recovery software [Moderator edit: Removed spam link] one can easily get its important VMware files (created under NTFS/FAT file systems).
Dear Anglina-san,
Thank you for your kindness, but I already gave up to recovery date.
hello
i'm looking the best way to recover vmdk file from ESXi 3 datastore ,for your info i have vmfs recovery , ontrack easy recovery enterprise 11
Best regard
Firts be sure that you make a copy of files, what you want to delete, it is nclear, but sometimes it is be deleted in reccycle bin, and sometimes just go who knows where and cannot be recoverd !!!
So make a copy of each file you want to delete and better use option move it in (recycle bin, or where you want, you have this option in most windows boost software as auslogics boot speed (not free, but you habe it in torrents) or just add that keys to enable this in right click menu cotext:see attachnents !!!
Firts be sure that you make a copy of files, what you want to delete, it is nclear, but sometimes it is be deleted in reccycle bin, and sometimes just go who knows where and cannot be recoverd !!!
So make a copy of each file you want to delete and better use option move it in (recycle bin, or where you want, you have this option in most windows boost software as auslogics boot speed (not free, but you habe it in torrents) or just add that keys to enable this in right click menu cotext:see attachnents !!!
and see
or just for you agin add it to right click context meny only wit this;
The best option is using a snapshot you've saved earlier. Virtual machine provides you a feature for saving snapshot, so that you can recover data if any problem or issue takes place. If there's nothing like that, you must try VMDK Recovery software to recover files from VMDK. The blog post shared below contains a very useful information regarding this. You must read the blog post.
[Moderator edit: Removed spam link.]
I hope this would be helpful here.
Regards.
Want to recover deleted VMDK files then go for the Best VMDK recovery software [Moderator edit: Removed spam link] with the help of which you can easily recover your deleted VMDK files in no time. The manual process is also available but everyone can not process it and can lose your data permanently. This software provides you the efficient features like three scanning modes, the most important feature of the software that helps to recover the deleted VMDK file easy and many more. The free version is also available.
If you have flat.vmdk file then you can recover vmdk file by creating descriptor file.
Here is the process
To create a virtual machine disk:
Hi Rajev
The procedure you posted looks like you just copied some lines from the knowledgebase.
Unfortunately doing it like this is neither the fastest, nor the smartest nor the best way to do it.
IMHO this KB should be deleted.
I do not support doing it like this as it is based on guesswork and can make matters worse.
Anyway - posting this in this context is not helpful.
Regards
Ulli
> Want to recover deleted VMDK files then go for the Best VMDK recovery software [Moderator edit: Removed spam link] with the help of which you can easily recover your deleted VMDK files in no time.
I wonder why you post this in the vSphere-forum ?
The software you mentioned is completely useless for any scenario that is about recovering deleted vmdks from a vSphere-datastore.
If you are interested in advertising your product you should know this yourself.
If you are posting this as a normal user you should have noticed this in your first attempt of using this tool.
If you post this because you just heard about somebody that has heard about a case ... sorry - that is not helpful for any user that reads this post.
Ulli
In this forum, if any body post the question/query then we can reply with appropriate answer, Is it this tool (Best VMDK recovery software) recommended by vmware ?
I am not advertising any product here , we are here share our knowledge , that's why I gave also KB along with my answer.
edit wila: Removed spam link, do not repost a link previously removed by another moderator please!
If your .vmdk file deleted from your storage device. Then you have to recover it by using any trusted recovery software. I found most of the above replies are suggesting to use vmdk data recovery software. Its wrong, your file is deleted from storage device so you need an HDD recovery software. I also faced the same kind of situation and I used SysTools Hard Drive Data Recovery Software and recovered all type data. Also, the SysTools provides hard drive recovery and VMDK Data Recovery in the bundle.