?? Selecting "remove from inventory" DELETED my vmdk file

[IB_IT]

Ok,

I tried this on a test VM, so I'm not in a panic, but my results were disconcerning to say the very least. I was simulating a scenario to reregister a VM if it fell out of inventory from VC. I highlighted the test VM in VC (that was powered off), selected "remove from inventory" and now when I browse the SAN to add the vmx file back into inventory, the vmdk file is completely GONE!

Anyone seen anything like this?

My VC server: 2.0.1

My ESX servers: 3.0.1

Thanks.

[Milton21]

I have never seen that...

Can you see the directory from ssh

[IB_IT]

yes, I can still see the dir from ssh and from VC itself. All other VM-related files are there, but the *.vmdk file is gone. I know because I just checked it a few minutes before I tried the remove function and it was there. I know I chose the correct menu option...if I chose "delete from disk" it would have removed the entire servername folder from the LUN. Wow, can't believe that just happened.

[Milton21]

That is odd.... Did you try to add it in by right clicking on the vmx file just to see if it would work?

[IB_IT]

Well,

I added it back in successfully, but when I go to power up the VM, I get error message: "A file was not found"...as expected since the vmdk is nowhere to be found. I created a new test VM and tried to recreate this issue a couple of times, but to no avail. Oh well, I can only say that I must have been "bobbin" when I should have been "weavin". I may have inadvertantly clicked something, but I could swear to it that I did not. Thanks for the help anyway.

[IB_IT]

HOLY $%&!

I just did it again!!

Ok, here's what I did (I am testing something, so I know this is not the way to reregister a lost VM):

-Once the VM is off, I highlighted it and selected "remove from inventory"

-Once gone, I right-click a Host and chose "new VM"

-select to customize the install

-run through wizard and when it gets toward the end under "select a disk", choose "use existing" and browse....um.....no disk.

Where in the world did it go? I JUST created this VM. I confirmed (as I did before) that the vmdk file was there. I may open a case with VMWare on this one.

[IB_IT]

well, I figured out what I did. There were two folders on the LUN "servername" and "servername_1". Even though the folder with "servername" had the vmdk file, and even though the servername.vmx file within the "servername" folder was the one registered in VC, it removed my vmdk when I selected "delete from disk" to the folder associated with "servername_1". Makes sense since that vmx file was still pointing to the vmdk file in the "servername" folder.