VMDK disk file of a Virtual Machine is not healthy and corrupted

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• VMDK disk contains errors affecting Virtual Machine power-on and disk operations.

 

Environment

ESXi 7.x

ESXi 8.x

Cause

The VMDK is not healthy and corrupted.

Resolution

Check the health of the VMDK file:

esx# vmkfstools -x check /vmfs/volumes/datastore/VM_Folder/VirtualMachine.vmdk


• If the disk is healthy, the output will be: Disk is error free

If the disk requires attention, the output will be: Disk needs repair

Repair VMDK (If Necessary):

• If the check indicates that the disk needs repair, ensure that there is a current backup of the VMDK file before proceeding.
• To initiate the repair process, run this command:
  
  esx# vmkfstools -x repair /vmfs/volumes/datastore/VM_Folder/VirtualMachine.vmdk

A successful repair will result in the output: Disk was successfully repaired

Additional Information

Use the vmkfstools command to check or repair a virtual disk if it gets corrupted.