Virtual machines become inaccessible due to unexpected file or directory deletion in the vSphere Client Datastore Browser

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Virtual machines suddenly appear as "Inaccessible" or "Orphaned" in the vCenter Server inventory.
• Critical virtual machine files (such as .vmx or .vmdk) or entire VM directories are missing from the datastore.
• This data loss typically occurs immediately after an administrator performs a deletion task in the vSphere Client Datastore Browser.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.0.x

Cause

This issue is caused by a residual selection behavior in the vSphere Client Datastore Browser UI.

When a user selects an object (file or folder) in a specific datastore path and then navigates to a different directory without clearing the selection, the UI retains a reference to the originally selected object in its background "Action Buffer."
If the user subsequently executes a Delete action in the new directory, the operation is applied to both the currently selected objects and the previously selected objects cached in the background, resulting in unintended deletion.

Resolution

• Clear Selections Manually:
  Always explicitly deselect all items in the current directory before navigating to a different datastore path.
• Refresh the UI:
  Click the Refresh icon in the Datastore Browser window before executing any deletion tasks to clear the background action buffer.
• Verify the Confirmation Prompt:
  Carefully inspect the "Confirm Delete" dialog box before clicking Yes. Ensure that only the intended files or folders are listed in the prompt for removal.