Deleted 2 oldest vmdk files

[Stainless2000]

Deleted 2 vmdk files from 2013 from a datastore thinking they were artifacts. But apparently not. I still have 2 large files remaining. I need to either recover those files somehow or attempt to recover the contents in the remaining files in hops that a small database is still intact. Can someone provide guidance? ESXi 4

[a_p_]

see my reply in your other post Re: Deleted vmdk files

[continuum]

ESXi 4 ? - very good
You deleted the oldest vmdks you have ? - very good
Please create a VMFS-header-dump like this:
# find out the filename in /dev/disks/* that is used to access your datastore with the deleted files
cd /dev/disks

ls -lah * | grep -v  0 "vml"

# that should list the available choices
# your choice should end with :1 or :3
# verify you pick the correct one by comparing the size
dd if=/dev/disks/EDIT-THIS-DEVICE:1 bs=1M count=1200 | gzip > /tmp/david-stedman.1200.gz
download to your admin-host
and if possible provide a download-link.
Usually I need about one hour to study the dump before I can give you a report via skype.

Your starting conditions sound pretty good - dont assume a complete loss before we had a talk.

Ulli