Recover Deleted Files from Virtual Machine Fight Data Loss & Corruption Factors

Virtualization
Since the technology of virtualization has become more powerful, Virtual machines have become the most reliable solution for business enterprises. Virtual machines have a number of advantages as compared to physical machines, such as

You can install multiple operating systems (isolated from each other) on the same machine.
It provides an instruction set architecture (ISA) which is different from the one used by a real computer.
It’s easy to maintain Virtual machines. Also, the recovery is convenient and effortless when a data loss event takes place.

Corruption and Data Loss in VMs

And if we talk about the disadvantages, there are a few vulnerabilities in the Virtual machines which include file system corruption and data loss. Have you ever faced any such problem like corruption or data loss? Corruption is inevitable, i.e. something certain to happen. And if you don’t fix the corruption in time, it may result in data loss. The most common reasons for corruption in Virtual machines are

Virus Infection

There’s nothing more harmful than a computer virus. It’s a malicious software that can modify the software programs and files by inserting its own code. In this way, the files become corrupted. Virtual machine stores all its content into a virtual disk called VMDK or virtual machine disk file. By using the VMware software, you can access it as a physical hard disk. Just like any other computer file, a VMDK file is also prone to corruption.

Storage Media Failure

Being a virtual hard disk file, the VMDK file is stored on the physical hard disk of your computer. So whenever any sort of issue or error occurs in the main hard disk, it may put all your data including the VMDK file at high risk of corruption.

Software Malfunction

It refers to a situation where a computer program starts producing an incorrect or unexpected result. Most probably the internal bugs are the prime reason behind software malfunction. The VMware software also has internal bugs just like any other software program. Software malfunction in the virtual machine may result in VMDK file corruption.

Sudden Power Failure

A computer system should always be properly turned off. Because if it shuts down improperly due to sudden power failure, it may put all your data at high risk. Abruptly system shut down can also damage the hardware devices. If the computer turns off unexpectedly while you’re working on a virtual machine, it may damage the VMDK file.

Data loss in a virtual machine is also caused due to accidental deletion. Sometimes it may happen that you delete some of the important files accidentally. If it’s a temporary deletion, you can restore the deleted files from the Recycle Bin. But you delete the files permanently, then the files don’t go to the Recycle Bin.

Is it possible to recover deleted files from Virtual machine?

In such a situation, you can use the backup to restore your data which you’ve lost due to corruption or accidental deletion. Make sure you always take the backup of your computer data and update it regularly. A valid backup file helps you prevent data loss situation. But if you don’t have any backup, how would you recover deleted files from Virtual machine?

The deleted files can only be recovered from the hard disk drive before it gets overwritten. A virtual hard disk stores the files in the same way as the physical hard disk does. An operating system uses the file system or pointer to keep track of files stored on the hard disk. Each file has a pointer that informs the system where the file is located. And whenever you delete a file from the virtual machine disk file, the operating system removes file information from the pointer. Also, it marks the sectors as available which were previously occupied by the file. Generally, whenever a file gets deleted, it’s no longer available, i.e. you can’t read or write it. However, you can still recover deleted files before any new data can overwrite the sectors which were previously occupied by the deleted data.

Professional VMDK Recovery Tool

There are many vendors in the online marketplace which provide VMware data recovery software. The VMDK Recovery tool provided by SysInfoTools is considered one of the best solutions to recover deleted files from Virtual machine. It also permits to restore VMDK file in VMware ESXi without any hassle.

It can successfully recover your data from the corrupt/damaged VMDK files. Below are the key features of this VMware data recovery tool:

• Support Fixed and Dynamic disk types
• Support split, sparse, flat, and descriptor VMDK files
• Two different scanning modes: Standard & Advance
• Support both GPT and MBR partition tables.
• Support recovery from various file systems like FAT, FAT16/32/64, NTFS, HFS+, and EXTX
• Three different recovery modes: Standard, Advanced, and Deep
• Smart RAW Recovery mode to achieve better recovery results

Most Recommended: Before purchasing the VMDK Recovery software, download the demo version for free evaluation to check the preview of your recoverable data prior to saving. And if satisfied with the results, then only purchase the software.

About The Author:

Simran Bhatia

Simran Bhatia is a technical content writer engaged in writing clear, concise, and SEO-optimized content. With a background in computer science and a passion for writing, I thrive to deliver complex technical content in simple layman terms.