Vmfs Partition Table Recovery May 2026

sudo apt-get install vmfs-tools Then scan:

Before you panic or reach for the latest backup (assuming you have one—and you should), take a breath. In many cases, the data on your VMFS datastore is still perfectly intact. The problem is often just the partition table —the map that tells ESXi where the VMFS volume starts and ends on the raw LUN or disk.

partedUtil get /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.6001234567890 If you see Unknown or an empty table, the partition table is missing. Use vmkfstools to scan for VMFS superblocks without relying on the partition table: vmfs partition table recovery

partedUtil restore /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.6001234567890 This command looks for the secondary GPT at the end of the disk and restores the primary. after a disk was mistakenly partitioned with a different tool. Method C: Using vgfs (Linux-based recovery) – For advanced users If ESXi tools fail, boot a Linux live CD (Ubuntu, SystemRescue) and install vmfs-tools :

This post is a deep dive into recovering a lost or corrupted VMFS partition table. I’ll cover theory, common causes, diagnostic tools, and step-by-step recovery procedures. A VMFS datastore lives inside a primary partition (type 0xFB for VMFS3 or 0xFC for VMFS5/6) on a disk or LUN. The partition table (usually GPT, sometimes MBR on older systems) sits at the very beginning of the disk (LBA 0) and contains a small entry pointing to the start sector and length of that VMFS partition. sudo apt-get install vmfs-tools Then scan: Before you

Good luck, and may your sector scans be clean. Have your own VMFS partition table horror story or recovery trick? Share it in the comments.

vmkfstools -V --config /scratch/config Or more directly: partedUtil get /vmfs/devices/disks/naa

partedUtil get /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.6001234567890 If it shows a table but complains about checksum, you may repair the primary from the backup (see recovery section). Method A: Restore partition table from a known backup (Best case) If you have a backup of your ESXi host configuration (e.g., from vicfg-cfgbackup ), you might have saved the partition layouts. Or if you have another identical datastore, compare.