If the goal is to access data from a VMFS 6 datastore, directly mounting it on Windows is often unnecessary and risky (due to potential metadata corruption).
How to Access VMFS Datastore from Linux, ESXi host or Windows
While mounting a volume directly on a Windows machine for read/write access is a complex task without a native solution, the free Open Source VMFS Driver provides a reliable, read-only pathway for emergency data recovery. It’s a powerful tool for quickly "hot" mounting a drive from a failed server to copy critical virtual machines. mount vmfs 6 windows hot
If your goal is simply to access the files on a VMFS 6 volume without risk of data corruption, the safest method is always to let an actual VMware ESXi host manage the storage. If you have a spare or existing ESXi host: Connect the storage to the ESXi host. Go to .
VMware Workstation allows a Windows host to run a nested instance of VMware ESXi. Step 2: Pass the Physical Disk to the VM Open VMware Workstation as . If the goal is to access data from
Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) is a file system used by VMware ESXi to store virtual machines. VMFS 6 is the latest version of this file system, introduced in VMware ESXi 6.5. While VMFS 6 is optimized for use with ESXi, there are situations where you may need to mount a VMFS 6 datastore on a Windows system. This can be particularly useful for data recovery, backup, or migration purposes. In this article, we'll explore the process of mounting VMFS 6 on Windows, and discuss some of the tools and techniques you can use to achieve this.
: If the disk was part of an active RAID or is currently being accessed by another host, ensure you mount it as Read-Only (standard for third-party tools) to prevent data corruption. If your goal is simply to access the
For enterprise environments and those comfortable with command-line tools, VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) provides a legitimate VMware-sanctioned approach.
Only mount a VMFS6 volume on Windows if it is disconnected from the ESXi host (cold) or presented as a Read-Only clone to the Windows server. Methods to Mount VMFS6 on Windows 1. Using Third-Party Drivers (Best for Direct Read/Write)
