If the .vmdk and -flat.vmdk are missing from ls , but the VMX file remains, the deletion is confirmed.
Time since deletion. Every new file creation, snapshot merge, or VM cloning writes to the datastore and may consume the sectors that held your VMDK. recover deleted vmdk from vmware datastore
| Scenario | Outcome | Next Step | |----------|---------|------------| | Datastore >90% full at time of deletion | High chance of overwrite | Abandon DIY; try professional lab | | Deleted via vmkfstools -U with zeroing | Irrecoverable | Restore from backup | | Thin-provisioned VMDK | Fragmented recovery possible but slow | Carve by file signature (e.g., MBR, NTFS boot sector) | | ESXi 7.0/8.0 with VMFS 6 | Metadata zeroing more aggressive | Act fast (minutes, not hours) | If the