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VMDK Handbook
by
Ulli Hankeln
In emergencies visit Sickbay 
Introduction
about ...
Is this info trustworthy ?
What is a vmdk-file ?
How to identify the vmdk-type
Sparse and Flat - Thin and Thick
The different types of vmdks
vmdks used as standalone virtual disksvmdks used to access local physical disks
vmdks used for snapshots or redologs
Platform specifcs ...
Workstation , VMplayer 2 / 3 , VMserver 1 / 2 , Fusion , ESX and ESXiThe parameters used in a vmdk description
The syntax and valid optionsThe CID - parameters
How to change the adapter-type of an existing vmdk
How to calculate the disk-geometry
Examples
for regular vmdks , physical disks , snapshots , other typesFAQ and Howtos
How to restore a lost vmx-file from
a vmware.log
How to restore a lost vmx-file from a vmsn-file
How to restore a lost vmdk-description
from a vmware.log
How to safely edit embedded vmdk-descriptions
Read This !
How to fix a broken CID-chain
How to create a vmdk-description
for a dd-image
How to rewrite monolithicFlat to vmfs
format for easy exchange between ESX and Workstation
How to create a vmdk that can
be stored on a set of CDs ?
How to check if a snapshot is an
orphan ?
Whats better - one-piece
vmdks or split vmdks ?
What is the most portable vmdk-format ?
Should I defragment inside my guests ?
Error-messages
test.vmx is not a valid virtual machine configuration file.Snapshots are not allowed on this virtual machine.
The specified virtual disk needs repair.
Check for missing files failed. The file specified is not a virtual disk.
The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created.
The destination file system does not support large files
The version of the virtual disk is newer than the version supported by this program
The SVGA mode stored in the snapshot cannot be restored on this display ...
The suspended image contains a virtual machine that uses floating point features ...
Snapshots
Translating VMware-Snapshotmanager button-names to common sense ...How to fix a broken CID-chain
Can I recover data from an orphaned snapshot ?
Can I use ESX-snapshots in Workstation ?
Snapshots and linked clones ...
How to create a monolithicSparse - snapshot from scratch
How to check if a snapshot is an orphan
Experts
How can I scan for vmdk-files ?How to fake a basedisk ...
Tools
Create regular SPARSE vmdks : vmware-vdiskmanager vmkfstoolsCreate regular FLAT vmdks : vmware-vdiskmanager vmkfstools
Create vmdk descriptions for physical disks : vboxmanage the hard way
Create a snapshot for an existing vmdk : vmrun vdk the hard way
Mount a partition of a vmdk : vdk vdk64 vmware-mount imdisk winimage
Mount a partition of a vmdk on a remote host : vmware-mount
Extract data from a vmdk : dsfo dd
Inject data into a vmdk : dsfi dd
Manipulate the disk-layout of a FLAT vmdk : iscsi
Expand an existing vmdk : vmware-vdiskmanager vmkfstools fsz - the hard way
Tools to expand an existing snapshot : the hard way
Format Conversions : vmware-vdiskmanager , vmkfstools , Starwind V2V Converter
Commercial data-recovery tools that can handle vmdks
This list is very short - I only recommend tools that I have successfully used myself.UFS-explorer - you can download a trial before you buy it
Ontrack Easy Recovery - some older versions are freeware now
Commercial data-recovery companies that can handle VMFS-filesystem
Several companies will tell you that they can recover lost data from VMFS
- volumes
but as far as I know only Ontrack
is certified by VMware.
Their service is rather expensive - it often maybe cheaper to reproduce
the data.
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© Ulli Hankeln 2010