Vmdk than open download program. VMDK - how to open a file. Close, but not quite

Fast:

VMware vSphere / ESX users sometimes have a situation when they need to look at a VMFS volume and its contents from the system administrator’s Windows machine (for example, this may happen when your only VMware ESX server has broken down, and the contents of the VMFS volume need to be copied). In addition, it can be very useful to access the file system of a VMDK disk to extract the necessary information from it without running it as part of a virtual machine.

Open Source VMFS Driver

In the first case, to view the contents and copy data from a VMFS volume version 3.x (VMware vSphere 4.0 currently runs on version 3.33), we will need the Open Source VMFS Driver utility from Fluid Operations. It is released as a package for the Windows or Linux operating system (running in Java) and allows you to mount actively running VMFS volumes from which virtual machines are running in read only mode. In fact, this is not a driver, but a regular application that allows you to view and copy the contents of VMFS volumes to the administrator's workstation. It is important to know that this development is not officially supported by VMware, and the developers did not have VMFS specifications to write the utility. By the way, thin disks are already supported.

To start using VMFS Driver, type on the command line (you must have Java installed):

VMware Disk Mount

In the second case, to view the contents of the VMDK disk, you will need the Virtual Disk Development Kit, which includes the VMware Disk Mount utility (vmware-mount.exe or vmware-mount.pl). This program allows you to mount a VMDK virtual disk in Windows or Linux and view its contents as if it were a regular disk connected to your computer. Please note that the latest version of the Virtual Disk Development Kit was released on May 21, 2009 (the same day as VMware vSphere), which means that not only the VMware Workstation virtual disk format is supported, but also VMware ESX 3.x/4 .x (including vSphere virtual machines). This CLI utility is very easy to use; in addition, several years ago various GUI add-ons were written for it, which can probably still be used today.

Using VMware Disk Mount is very simple - open cmd and run the command (where e: is the letter of the mounted drive):

vmware-mount e: "C:\alex\vms\vm1\vm1.vmdk"

In this material we will talk about the VMDK extension. How to open materials of this type will also be discussed in detail below. We are talking about a disk file. The developer of this solution is VMware.

Description

The VMDK file gets its name from the phrase Virtual Machine Disk. This element is intended for use in virtual machines as a disk image. The one we are interested in is documented and open. It is similar in content and structure to a hard drive. Virtual media can consist of a single or several files of the format we are interested in. You can, for example, specify that the virtual disk should be divided into parts with a capacity of 1 GB. In this case, the number of files directly depends on the size of the media. The file we are interested in may contain data about disk partitions.

Basic solution

So, we have a file in VMDK format. The VMware Workstation application will help you figure out how to open it. We are talking about a tool that allows you to run several operating systems simultaneously on one personal computer. To do this, the application emulates a separate PC. As a result, it becomes possible to perform almost any action with it that is accessible to a regular computer. In particular, we are talking about installing applications and operating systems.

This software allows you to test a variety of solutions running any available OS. In this case, you will not have to disrupt the operation of the main platform already installed on your computer. It is possible to run applications simultaneously on different operating systems without rebooting the computer. You can test and also fix new programs in a special environment.

The tool allows you to demonstrate the compatibility of the application with various platforms. It is possible to create a reference architecture before deploying it to production environments. The tool allows you to consolidate virtual computers. Current versions of this application support 64-bit platforms. A separate tool has been created for the MacOS operating system called VMware Fusion. We are talking about software created to allow the X environment to run programs created for other platforms.

The application significantly expands the capabilities of the Mac operating system. You can optimize the performance of programs created for third-party platforms as much as possible. A simple interface makes work convenient and fast. You can also take advantage of the unique features of the Mavericks environment available on Windows. In particular, a Mac user can operate multiple monitors that are connected to the computer. The described tool allows you to enjoy the capabilities of Windows. The program successfully uses the computing power of processors and optimized modules. Thus, Windows applications work reliably in conjunction with Mac programs.

Other options

Let's continue the conversation about the VMDK format. You already know how to open files of this type, but the solution described above is not the only one. One of the following applications can also help us: VMware Player, WinMount, Sun xVM, VMware Server, Suse studio, QEMU, Oracle VirtualBox, Parallels Workstation, Gilles Vollant WinImage. Now you know what VMDK is, how to open it was also discussed.

If you have a VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) file that contains one or more VMware virtual machine partitions, you can mount it as a disk in the Windows operating system. There are several ways to connect a vmdk disk in Window.

Connecting vmdk file in Windows Explorer

The Windows operating system has built-in support for VMDK files. If you are using Windows 7 or higher operating system, you can mount the VMDK file directly through Windows Explorer.

To do this, you need to go to the directory where the VMDK file is stored. In Windows Explorer, right-click the file and select "Map Virtual Disk".

In the “Map Virtual Disk” window, select the letter that will be assigned to the disk and click “OK”.

To disconnect a virtual disk, right-click on the disk and select “Disconnect Virtual Disk”.

VMware Workstation is desktop virtualization software from VMware. It has a built-in function for connecting vmdk images - “Map Virtual Disks”, with which you can also mount and open a VMDK file. If you can’t open the VMDK file using the first method we described (Windows Explorer), then you can definitely do it using VMware Workstation.

It's quite simple, go to the "File" menu and select "Map Virtual Disks..." from the drop-down list.

Mounting the VMDK using the vSphere Disk Development Kit

VMware-mount is a console utility that you can use to mount VMDK disks without using a GUI. This utility is included in the development package vSphere Disk Development Kit, so to use it you will need to install it.

To mount the VMDK file (saved in the C:\temp directory) in read-only mode, use the following command:

vmware-mount.exe X: “C:\Temp\TestVM.vmdk”

If the VMDK file contains more than one partition, you can use the /v:x option to mount other volumes:

vmware-mount.exe /v:2 X: “C:\Temp\TestVM.vmdk”

If you need write capability, use the "/m:w" option. This can be used, for example, if you need to replace a damaged system file.

vmware-mount.exe /m:w X: “C:\Temp\TestVM.vmdk”

If you want to display all connected virtual disks, you must use the option /L:

vmware-mount.exe /L

The command line is very easy to use and quite functional.

Using OSFMount to mount vmdk

OSFMount is a free third-party utility that mounts not only ISO image files, but also VMDK files. It works on almost all versions of Windows.

This utility is quite easy to use. Just click the “Mount new...” button located at the bottom of the window, select the vmdk file and specify the connection parameters.

VMDK File Summary

The VMDK file extension includes one of the main file types and can be opened with VMware Workstation(developer - VMware). In total, there are only four software(s) associated with this format. Most often they have the format type Virtual Machine Disk File. VMDK files are most often classified as Disk Image Files.

The VMDK file extension can be viewed on Windows, Linux, and Mac. They are supported primarily on desktop computers and some mobile platforms. VMDK files have a Low popularity rating. This means they are not common on most devices.

For detailed information about VMDK files and the programs that open them, see below. Additionally, the following also provides easy troubleshooting steps to help you open your VMDK file.

Popularity of file types

File Rank

Activity

This file type is still relevant and is actively used by developers and application software. Although the original software of this file type may be overshadowed by a newer version (eg Excel 97 vs Office 365), this file type is still actively supported by the current version of the software. This process of interacting with an old operating system or outdated version of software is also known as " backward compatibility».

File status

Page Last updated

VMDK file types

VMDK Master File Association

VMDK

A VMDK file extension represents the files associated with the virtual disk files and is created and used by the VMware program to run in the virtual machine. The VMDK files increase in size to a maximum of 2 GB, since the data is added to the virtual disk. The .dsk extension is an early version of files created using VMware software.

Software that opens Virtual Machine Disk File:

Compatible with:

Compatible with:

Compatible with:

Compatible with:

Try a universal file viewer

In addition to the products listed above, we suggest you try a universal file viewer like FileViewPro. The tool can open over 200 different file types, providing editing functionality for most of them.

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Troubleshooting problems opening VMDK files

Common problems opening VMDK files

VMware Workstation is not installed

By double clicking on the VMDK file you can see a system dialog box telling you "This file type cannot be opened". In this case, it is usually due to the fact that VMware Workstation for %%os%% is not installed on your computer. Since your operating system doesn't know what to do with this file, you won't be able to open it by double-clicking on it.

Advice: If you know of another program that can open the VMDK file, you can try opening the file by selecting that application from the list of possible programs.

The wrong version of VMware Workstation is installed

In some cases, you may have a newer (or older) version of the Virtual Machine Disk File. not supported by the installed version of the application. If you do not have the correct version of VMware Workstation software (or any of the other programs listed above), you may need to download a different version of the software or one of the other software applications listed above. This problem most often occurs when working in an older version of the application software With file created in a newer version, which the old version cannot recognize.

Advice: Sometimes you can get a general idea of ​​the version of a VMDK file by right-clicking the file and then choosing Properties (Windows) or Get Info (Mac OSX).

Summary: In any case, most problems that occur while opening VMDK files are due to not having the correct application software installed on your computer.

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Other causes of problems opening VMDK files

Even if you already have VMware Workstation or other VMDK-related software installed on your computer, you may still encounter problems while opening Virtual Machine Disk Files. If you are still having problems opening VMDK files, it may be due to other problems preventing these files from being opened. Such problems include (presented in order from most to least common):

• Invalid links to VMDK files in the Windows registry (“phone book” of the Windows operating system)
• Accidental deletion of description VMDK file in the Windows registry
• Incomplete or incorrect installation application software associated with the VMDK format
• File corruption VMDK (problems with the Virtual Machine Disk File itself)
• VMDK infection malware
• Damaged or outdated device drivers hardware associated with the VMDK file
• Lack of sufficient system resources on the computer to open the Virtual Machine Disk File format

Quiz: What type of image file is the most popular format used on websites?

Right!

Close, but not quite...

PNGs are only slightly more popular than JPEG files (74.5% vs. 72.8% of websites using them) according to usage data from W3Techs.com.

Best PC Operating Systems

Event of the day

While obsolete, the XBM file extension can still be seen in use today. XBM files are bitmap graphics files that are read by a C compiler rather than by graphics software. Interestingly, XBM files are text files that are displayed as images. XBM images can be saved in any other popular image format.

How to fix problems opening VMDK files

If you have installed on your computer antivirus program Can scan all files on your computer, as well as each file individually. You can scan any file by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate option to scan the file for viruses.

For example, in this figure it is highlighted file my-file.vmdk, then you need to right-click on this file and select the option in the file menu "scan with AVG". When you select this option, AVG Antivirus will open and scan the file for viruses.

Sometimes an error may occur as a result incorrect software installation, which may be due to a problem encountered during the installation process. This may interfere with your operating system associate your VMDK file with the correct application tool, influencing the so-called "file extension associations".

Sometimes simple reinstalling VMware Workstation can solve your problem by linking VMDK correctly with VMware Workstation. In other cases, problems with file associations may result from bad software programming developer and you may need to contact the developer for further assistance.

Advice: Try updating VMware Workstation to the latest version to ensure you have the latest patches and updates.

This may seem too obvious, but often The VMDK file itself may be causing the problem. If you received a file via an email attachment or downloaded it from a website and the download process was interrupted (such as a power outage or other reason), the file may become damaged. If possible, try getting a new copy of the VMDK file and try opening it again.

Carefully: A damaged file can cause collateral damage to previous or existing malware on your PC, so it is important to keep your computer up-to-date with an up-to-date antivirus.

If your VMDK file related to the hardware on your computer to open the file you may need update device drivers associated with this equipment.

This problem usually associated with media file types, which depend on successfully opening the hardware inside the computer, e.g. sound card or video card. For example, if you are trying to open an audio file but cannot open it, you may need to update sound card drivers.

Advice: If when you try to open a VMDK file you receive .SYS file error message, the problem could probably be associated with corrupted or outdated device drivers that need to be updated. This process can be made easier by using driver update software such as DriverDoc.

If the steps do not solve the problem and you are still having problems opening VMDK files, this may be due to lack of available system resources. Some versions of VMDK files may require a significant amount of resources (e.g. memory/RAM, processing power) to properly open on your computer. This problem is quite common if you are using fairly old computer hardware and at the same time a much newer operating system.

This problem can occur when the computer is having trouble keeping up with a task because the operating system (and other services running in the background) may consume too many resources to open the VMDK file. Try closing all applications on your PC before opening Virtual Machine Disk File. Freeing up all available resources on your computer will provide the best conditions for attempting to open the VMDK file.

If you completed all the steps described above and your VMDK file still won't open, you may need to run equipment update. In most cases, even when using older versions of hardware, the processing power can still be more than sufficient for most user applications (unless you're doing a lot of CPU-intensive work, such as 3D rendering, financial/scientific modeling, or intensive multimedia work) . Thus, it is likely that your computer does not have enough memory(commonly called "RAM" or random access memory) to perform the task of opening a file.

Try refreshing your memory to see if this helps you open the VMDK file. Today, memory upgrades are quite affordable and very easy to install, even for the average computer user. As a bonus, you you'll probably see a nice performance boost while your computer performs other tasks.

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What kind of file is this - VMDK?

Files with the .VMDK extension contain data in the form of a virtual disk that represents the contents of the hard disk of a VMware virtual machine. The VMDK disk can be accessed in the same way as a physical disk can be accessed using virtualization software. Disk configuration, such as fixed or growing capacity, can be done using the Virtual Disk Manager utility. Earlier versions of the software used the .DSK extension.

Naming VMDK files can be tricky. The main disk file is simply name.vmdk, but it can be saved in parts, where each part of the file is named -s [

Program(s) that can open a file .VMDK

Windows

MacOS

Linux

How to open VMDK files

If a situation arises in which you cannot open the VMDK file on your computer, there may be several reasons. The first and at the same time the most important (most often encountered) is the absence of a corresponding application serving the VMDK among those installed on your computer.

The easiest way to solve this problem is to find and download the appropriate application. The first part of the task has already been completed - programs for servicing the VMDK file can be found below. Now you just need to download and install the appropriate application.

In the remainder of this page, you will find other possible reasons causing problems with VMDK files.

Possible problems with files in the VMDK format

The inability to open and work with the VMDK file should not mean at all that we do not have the appropriate software installed on our computer. There may be other problems that also block our ability to work with the VMware Virtual Disk Format file. Below is a list of possible problems.

• The VMDK file which is being opened has been corrupted.
• Incorrect VMDK file associations in registry entries.
• Accidental deletion of the VMDK extension description from the Windows registry
• Incomplete installation of an application that supports the VMDK format
• The VMDK file which is being opened is infected with undesirable malware.
• There is too little space on your computer to open the VMDK file.
• Drivers of the equipment used by the computer to open the VMDK file are out of date.

If you are sure that all of the above reasons are not present in your case (or have already been ruled out), the VMDK file should work with your programs without any problems. If the problem with the VMDK file is still not resolved, this may mean that in this case there is another, rare problem with the VMDK file. In this case, the only thing left is the help of a specialist.