How to recover deleted VMDK file
VMFS Recovery v4.12 and higher has a new recovery algorithm that is able to recover or unerase deleted VMDK files.
Please note that currently this new algorithm is limited to thick provisioned VMDK files only.
Also, it can recover VMDK files with NTFS and EXT file systems. We're expecting more file systems to be added in future versions.
The results are displayed on the root folder of the VMFS disk in the separate virtual directory called "Virtual volumes".
The recovered data is represented as a disk image, without original VMDK file names. Please sort and browse this folder according to the size of the lost VMDK file.
Mount recovered volume as a disk image in VMFS Recovery to check the integrity of the data inside. Use the built-in preview to check actual file contents inside of the mounted guest file system. A step-by-step guide is the same as described
here.