VMware's Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) is a high-performance clustered file system designed specifically for ESXi hosts. While it excels within the VMware ecosystem, Windows, Linux, and macOS do not include native drivers for it. Common operating systems by default won't see data on a VMFS partition because they lack the necessary VMFS driver.
To mount a datastore on Windows —often required when a host is down and you need to "hot-plug" the drive to recover files—you generally need third-party tools because Windows cannot natively read this VMware proprietary file system. Best Methods for VMFS 6 on Windows
However, remember the golden rule of VMware storage: ESXi is the owner. As long as you mount as read-only, you remain safe. Pushing for read-write hot access is an expert-only move that requires removing the datastore from production.
files, and even mount them as local drive letters in read-only mode. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) mount vmfs 6 windows hot
Select the detected VMFS 6 partition. The software bypasses Windows limitations and displays the directory tree, including your .vmdk , .vmx , and log files.
If you map raw SAN LUNs to a Windows backup server, use the Windows SAN policy to keep newly discovered disks offline by default. Run diskpart , type san policy=OfflineAll , and press Enter.
Open Hyper-V Manager or VMware Workstation on your Windows host. Attach Raw Hardware: Go to your Linux Virtual Machine settings. Add a new Hard Disk. Select Physical Disk / Raw Disk Pass-through . Choose the offline VMFS 6 disk. VMware's Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) is a
How to Access VMFS Datastore from Linux, ESXi host or Windows
The Windows equivalent is ensuring your mounting tool explicitly supports VMFS 6.
: The safest method is connecting the storage to an ESXi host, which natively supports VMFS 6, and accessing files through the Datastore Browser Implementation Guide: Mounting via Linux-Bridge To mount a datastore on Windows —often required
: Inside the WSL2 terminal (e.g., Ubuntu), install the necessary drivers: sudo apt-get install vmfs6-tools .
: Use PowerShell or Disk Management to find the physical drive number (e.g., \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 ).
: Use the following command to share the disk via the WebDAV protocol: java -jar fvmfs.jar \\.\PhysicalDrive1 webdav Access Files
Download and install VMFS Recovery from DiskInternals.
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 .