: Unless using a high-end forensic tool, always mount VMFS volumes as Read-Only on Windows. Windows may attempt to write signatures to the disk, which can corrupt the VMFS metadata and make the datastore unreadable by ESXi.
If you do not want to use third-party recovery software directly on the raw disk, you can use a Linux intermediary. Linux has open-source, read-only tools for VMFS (like vmfs-tools , though VMFS 6 support varies).
First, he moved noncritical workloads off the host, vMotioning a few low-priority VMs to neighboring blades. The host eased; the CPU dropped from panic to perspiration. Next, Dante checked the storage paths: one path showed errors. Multipathing had flailed and presented the datastore as inaccessible to the Windows host. The datastore itself was healthy—metadata intact—but the host’s view was corrupted.
Select and choose the disk containing the VMFS 6 file system. Expand the drive tree inside the Evidence Tree pane.
| Expectation | Reality | |-------------|---------| | Free native solution | None. Windows has no VMFS driver. | | Hot, writable mount | Possible only with expensive tools (e.g., UFS Explorer), but extremely risky if the volume is live on ESXi. | | Read-only hot mount | Yes, with tools like DiskInternals VMFS Recovery or OSFMount (partial v6 support). | | Safe production use | Detach the datastore from ESXi first, then mount as read-only on Windows. | mount vmfs 6 windows hot
Create a mount point and mount it: sudo vmfs6-fuse /dev/sdX /mnt/vmfs .
Are you trying to from a crashed host, or access a VMDK from a running one?
Believe it or not, (versions 22.00 and newer) includes a VMFS parser in user mode – no kernel driver required. This is the only truly reboot-free method.
VMFS 6 is the latest major version, introduced with vSphere 6.5 and used by default in modern versions of ESXi. It features larger block sizes and improved handling of large-capacity drives compared to its predecessors, VMFS 3 and 5. Unfortunately, because it is newer, many free tools and older documentation are focused on VMFS 3 or 5, making the task of mounting VMFS 6 on Windows uniquely challenging. : Unless using a high-end forensic tool, always
Download and launch HFSExplorer with Administrative privileges. Click on > Load file system from device .
: Using a Linux environment (like Ubuntu via WSL2 or a VM) allows you to use vmfs6-tools
In the end, your choice depends on your environment, your technical comfort level, and whether you need read-only or full read-write access. The "hot" aspect of this operation is best realized through the in a functioning VMware environment, which allows for seamless, non-disruptive access to virtual disks. For simple disaster recovery, the physical mounting of disks to a secondary ESXi host remains the most direct and dependable path.
Operating systems rely on specific file system drivers to interpret how data is organized on a disk. Windows natively understands formats like NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and increasingly ReFS. Linux has open-source, read-only tools for VMFS (like
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VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) is a file system used by VMware to store virtual machines (VMs) on a datastore. VMFS 6 is the latest version of this file system, introduced with VMware vSphere 6.5. It's designed to provide high-performance storage for VMs, with features like thin provisioning, deduplication, and compression.
Connect the VMFS 6 drive to your Windows machine via SATA, NVMe, or a hot-swap SAS controller. Step 2: Download and launch DiskInternals VMFS Recovery .
VMware’s Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) is a clustered, high-performance file system designed for block storage. VMFS 6 introduced: