These tools install a kernel-level filter driver that interprets VMFS structures and presents them as a disk device or a mounted folder. For write access, they must handle VMware’s distributed locking — a complex task. That’s why read/write tools are expensive and not open-source.
Inside your WSL terminal (e.g., Ubuntu), install the tools: sudo apt install vmfs6-tools . mount vmfs 6 windows hot
: Using a Linux environment (like Ubuntu via WSL2 or a VM) allows you to use vmfs6-tools These tools install a kernel-level filter driver that
Believe it or not, (versions 22.00 and newer) includes a VMFS parser in user mode – no kernel driver required. This is the only truly reboot-free method. Inside your WSL terminal (e
If you need a free way to access the data without specialized recovery software, you can use on Windows:
| Expectation | Reality | |-------------|---------| | Free native solution | None. Windows has no VMFS driver. | | Hot, writable mount | Possible only with expensive tools (e.g., UFS Explorer), but extremely risky if the volume is live on ESXi. | | Read-only hot mount | Yes, with tools like DiskInternals VMFS Recovery or OSFMount (partial v6 support). | | Safe production use | Detach the datastore from ESXi first, then mount as read-only on Windows. |