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Need to delete VM but see consolidation error

I want to delete a VM from disk, but it had a snapshot, so I ran a ‘delete all’ on it first.

Now, I see the error: ‘Virtual machine disks consolidation is needed’

I don’t care about the consolidation, I just want to delete the VM.  Will there be any lingering file issues on the datastore if I just delete the VM at this point & not do the consolidation? Thx!

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SupreetK
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Just delete the VM and the leftover files in the VM folder would be the orphan ones unless they are being used by some other VM Smiley Happy This is where it gets crazy sometimes. This is why, we do not recommend deleting anything directly. We move the files to a different folder and observe if anything complains about the missing files. However, the snapshot data files will either be delta or SeSparse. Navigate to the VM folder and run the command <ls -lah | egrep -i 'delta|sesparse'>. Chances are that the disks might be spread across different folders and datastores. In that case, you need run the above command from all the concerned folders.

Cheers,

Supreet

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SupreetK
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If all the delta/SeSparse files are part of the snapshot chain, will be deleted with the VM. If there are any orphan files, those will be leftover. Just make sure the disks are not being used by any other VMs.

Cheers,

Supreet

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The disks are not in use by other VMs, but how do I look for 'delta/sesparse' or orphan files?  Thx

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SupreetK
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Just delete the VM and the leftover files in the VM folder would be the orphan ones unless they are being used by some other VM Smiley Happy This is where it gets crazy sometimes. This is why, we do not recommend deleting anything directly. We move the files to a different folder and observe if anything complains about the missing files. However, the snapshot data files will either be delta or SeSparse. Navigate to the VM folder and run the command <ls -lah | egrep -i 'delta|sesparse'>. Chances are that the disks might be spread across different folders and datastores. In that case, you need run the above command from all the concerned folders.

Cheers,

Supreet

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i did the delete from disk & there were no lingering files, so all good.  Thx for your help!