| 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. |
If you have already moved the .vmdk files to a Windows drive and just need to "mount" them to see the data inside the virtual disk itself, use VMware Workstation . Go to File > Map Virtual Disks and select your .vmdk file. mount vmfs 6 windows hot
: A common choice for mounting VMFS volumes to recover VMDK files or browse data directly within Windows. VMFS Recovery Tool | Expectation | Reality | |-------------|---------| | Free