Recover Deleted Vmdk From Datastore Jun 2026

Avoid creating new snapshots, virtual machines, or uploading ISOs to that specific datastore. Method 1: Recover via SSH (The Header Trick)

💡 If the data is mission-critical and Method 1 doesn't work, do not keep experimenting. Every minute the datastore is mounted increases the risk of a permanent overwrite. Consult a professional data recovery service immediately. To help you get the best result, let me know: Did you delete the entire VM folder or just a single disk ? Is your datastore on a local drive or a SAN/NAS ? What version of ESXi are you running? recover deleted vmdk from datastore

| Factor | Impact on Recovery | |--------|---------------------| | Time since deletion | Critical – more writes = lower success | | Datastore free space | Low free space → deleted blocks likely reused | | VMDK size | Large VMDKs (>1TB) are harder to recover fully | | VMFS version | VMFS6 has better deleted file handling than VMFS3 | | File fragmentation | High fragmentation reduces recovery quality | Avoid creating new snapshots, virtual machines, or uploading

Deletion of VMDK files can occur due to various reasons such as: Consult a professional data recovery service immediately