ls -lh /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/YourVM/ Look for *-flat.vmdk . If it exists but the small .vmdk is missing or zero bytes, recovery is possible. You have three reliable methods. Method A: Use vmkfstools (ESXi command line) This is the safest and fastest method.
Critical: The extent size must match the flat file size in sectors. Compute: recover virtual machine from flat vmdk
The descriptor points to the flat file. Without it, VMware has no way to interpret the raw data. Check the file size. A flat VMDK should be exactly the provisioned size of the disk (e.g., 40 GB). Use the datastore browser or command line: ls -lh /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/YourVM/ Look for *-flat