Vmkfstools is an ESXi Shell command line interface (CLI) for building and managing volumes and virtual disks on an ESX/ESXi host. Among its storage administration features, vmkfstools can be used to copy, convert, rename, import, export and resize virtual disks.
The .vmdk file (also called the descriptor) is a text file that contains configuration information about a VM's virtual hard drive. The *-flat.vmdk file is the virtual equivalent of a physical hard drive, this is where raw data is written to. You won't find this file listed in Directory Browser.
In the Computers column under My Virtual Machines, click the virtual machine to be recovered. Click Recover Virtual Machine to recover the VM. In the Recover Virtual Machine dialog box, the VM Name field shows the name of the source VM. Leave the default name to restore the original VM.
Virtual Machine Restore Process
- Step 1: Save Virtual Machine Logs.
- Step 2: Shutdown Virtual Machine.
- Step 3: Make a copy of the Virtual Machine folder.
- Step 4: Attempt to fix the snapshots.
- Step 5: Confirmation of existing virtual disk configuration.
- Step 6: Command-Line access to ESXi server.
You can also change whether the virtual hard disk is stored in a single file or split into 2GB files. The Virtual Disk Manager file, vmware-vdiskmanager, is located in the Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Library directory.
Type chkdsk c: /r and press Enter.
- Double-click This PC icon or My Computer icon.
- Right-click on the drive to run the check.
- Click Properties.
- Select the Tools tab and click Check.
- Click Scan drive to start scanning.
How to Use VHD Repair Tool
- Step 1:- Download and Install Hyper V Recovery Software.
- Step 2:- Then Add VHD or VHDX files to the software.
- Step 3:- Now Choose Quick Scan/ Advanced Scan/ repair corrupt VHD file.
- Step 4:- All VHD files data will be available for previewing purpose.
Resolving the Fusion error: The file specified is not a virtual disk (1020887)
- Open your virtual machine's settings file (.
- Look for the line that begins with:
- There is a file name, in quotes, after the equal sign.
- Save and close the settings file.
- Quit Fusion, and reopen it.
- Start your virtual machine.
Checking disk space usage on a VMFS volume of an ESX/ESXi host
- Open a console to the ESX/ESXi host.
- Determine the free disk space on each filesystem using the command:
- Review the Use% for each of the listed items.
- When you have finished reviewing the output, type logout and press Enter to exit the system.
To recover a VM:
- In the Computers column under My Virtual Machines, click the virtual machine to be recovered.
- Click Recover Virtual Machine to recover the VM.
- In the Recover Virtual Machine dialog box, the VM Name field shows the name of the source VM. Leave the default name to restore the original VM.
- Click Submit.
How to open VMDK files
- Save the .
- Launch WinZip from your start menu or Desktop shortcut.
- Select all the files and folders inside the compressed file.
- Click 1-click Unzip and choose Unzip to PC or Cloud in the WinZip toolbar under the Unzip/Share tab.
To do this, just right-click on the VMDK flat file and select Open Archive to copy the VMDK contents to a folder of your choosing. Alternatively, extract the entire disk contents using the Extract to folder functionality. The method works for VMDKs previously attached to either Windows or Linux.
How to Make a VMDK File
- Download and install "VMware Workstation" from the VMware website.
- Launch the VMware Workstation program by double-clicking the desktop icon or clicking the shortcut from the "All Programs" list in the "Start" menu.
- Click the "File" menu.
- Click "New" and "Virtual Machine." Click "Next."
- Solution 1: Run Vmware Authorization service with Administrative Privileges.
- Solution 2: Reinstall Vmware with the Repair Option.
- Solution 3: Start VMware with Administrative Privileges.
- Solution 4: Stop and Restart all VMware Services.
On Workstation, VMDK files are stored in the same directory with virtual machine configuration (VMX) files. On Linux this directory could be anywhere, and is usually documented as /path/to/disk. On Windows this directory is likely to be C:My DocumentsMy Virtual Machines, under the virtual machine name.