fdisk -l MyDisk-flat.vmdk
Rename the new descriptor to match your original disk: mv temp.vmdk originalname.vmdk . Delete the temporary flat file: rm temp-flat.vmdk . restore flat vmdk file
Restoring a flat VMDK file can be tricky because a .vmdk file is usually just a text descriptor, while the actual data sits inside the -flat.vmdk file. If you only have the flat file, the virtual machine software (VMware) often won't recognize it because the "instructions" on how to read it are missing. fdisk -l MyDisk-flat
Restoring a "Flat" VMDK File: A Recovery Guide In VMware environments, a virtual disk typically consists of two files: a small descriptor file ( .vmdk ) and the actual data container ( -flat.vmdk ). If the descriptor file is missing or corrupted, the virtual machine (VM) will fail to power on, often throwing an "unsupported or invalid disk type" error. If you only have the flat file, the
# Extent description # Format: RW [Sectors] FLAT [FileName] [Offset] # Calculate sectors: (Size in Bytes) / 512 RW 20971546 FLAT "MyDisk-flat.vmdk" 0
To ensure the link is healthy, run a disk chain check: vmkfstools -e original_name.vmdk
Navigate to the VM directory: cd /vmfs/volumes/your-datastore/your-vm/ Run the command: ls -l *-flat.vmdk (e.g., 42949672960 for a 40GB disk). 2. Determine the Disk Controller Type