This is a helpful review and guide on how to read VMFS partitions (VMware ESXi datastores) from a Windows machine.
If you have a drive from a failed ESXi host or a damaged datastore and need to pull specific VMs off it, this is the safest route.
Before diving into the "how," let's look at the "why": windows read vmfs partition
Windows cannot natively read VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) partitions because it lacks the necessary drivers to recognize VMware's proprietary file system. If you connect a disk with a VMFS partition to a Windows machine, it will appear in as an "Unknown" or "GPT" partition.
This guide explains the safe, effective methods to read VMFS partitions on Windows. This is a helpful review and guide on
To access data on a VMFS drive from Windows, you need third-party tools. Below is a review of the best methods available, ranked by ease of use and safety.
Avoid software that claims to "restore" the partition by writing to the disk unless you are sure. If your goal is data recovery, always work on a clone of the drive or use Read-Only tools. If you connect a disk with a VMFS
If the drive is healthy and you just want to read/write files to it like a standard external drive, you need a filesystem driver.