After deleting a VM, the VMDK file remains without being deleted

search cancel

book

calendar_today

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

When deleting a VM by right-clicking it and selecting ‘Delete from Disk’, not all VMDK files are deleted.

There are several scenarios where a VMDK file may remain on the datastore after a virtual machine is deleted:

Prior Device Removal: The virtual disk was previously removed from the VM configuration, but the underlying file was not explicitly deleted from storage at that time.
Unrecognized File Association: The VMDK file is no longer recognized by the inventory as actively associated with the target VM during deletion.
Active File Locks or Shared Access: The file is currently in use or locked by another process.
For example, it may be configured as a shared disk with another VM or remain attached to a backup proxy appliance.

Verify that the VMDK file is no longer in use, then delete it manually.
Zombie files and Leftover VM on Datastore

thumb_up Yes

thumb_down No