Recovering a VMFS partition requires a delicate approach that respects the complexities of the clustered file system. While partition table errors can often be fixed via CLI tools, severe metadata corruption or hardware failure necessitates specialized software capable of parsing VMFS at the file level. The success rate of recovery is inversely proportional to the amount of write activity occurring after the incident occurs.
This guide explores the standard procedures for , from manual command-line fixes to advanced software solutions available in 2026. Understanding VMFS Partition Loss
Virtual Server Data Recovery: Guide to Restoring Virtual Environments
If it mounts, immediately browse the datastore from the vSphere Client. See your VMs? Good. Now this suspect disk before doing anything else. data recovery vmfs partition
Or find the partition device ID:
If you see 0 instead of the VMFS GUID ( AA31E02A... ), or the partition table is missing entirely, you have a recovery candidate.
Critical system files (like the Volume Header or Journal) are corrupted. This can cause the datastore to appear as "inactive" or unformatted. Recovering a VMFS partition requires a delicate approach
To effectively recover data, one must understand the structure of VMFS. Unlike standard file systems (NTFS, EXT4), VMFS is a clustered file system designed to allow multiple servers to read and write simultaneously.
SSH into your ESXi host and run:
VMFS6 and VMFS5 store backup partition tables at the end of the disk. Try: This guide explores the standard procedures for ,
Run vmkfstools -V to force the ESXi host to discover the restored VMFS volume. Using Professional VMFS Recovery Software
If partedUtil and vmfs6-recover cannot find the partition or you see "File system is corrupt," it’s time for third-party tools. These can scan raw disks and rebuild VMFS structures: