How to Mount a VMDK in Windows

VMDK files are virtual hard disks.

VMware virtual machines use Virtual Machine Disk, or VMDK, files as virtual disks. The virtual machine treats the VMDK file as a hard disk, formatting it with a file system and storing the virtual machine’s file on it. You can mount VMDK files in Windows using VMware Disk Mount and access them from Windows Explorer. VMware Disk Mount can only mount VMDK disks that use the NTFS or FAT file systems that Windows supports. VMware Disk Mount can’t mount VMDK files with a Linux file system such as ext3 or ext4.

Instructions

1. Shut down any VMware virtual machines using the VMDK file. VMware Disk Mount can only mount VMDK files that aren’t in-use.

2. Download and install the Virtual Disk Development Kit package from VMware’s website at VMware.com.

3. Open a command prompt window by clicking Start,” typing “Command Prompt” into the search box, right-clicking the “Command Prompt” shortcut that appears and selecting “Run as Administrator.” Click “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt window to continue.

4. Type “vmware-mount D: c:\Path\To\File.vmdk” at the command prompt, replacing “D:” with the drive letter to mount the VMDK file on and “c:\Path\To\File.vmdk” with the full path to the VMDK file on your system, and press “Enter.”

Tips & Warnings

• Access the contents of the VMDK file at the drive letter you mounted it at. You can use Windows Explorer or any other program to access the VMDK file; it behaves like a physical hard disk.

• Unmount the VMDK file before using the virtual machine it’s associated with. Use the command “vmware-mount /d E:” to unmount the file mounted at “E:”. Replace “E:” with the drive letter you want to unmount the VMDK file from.

References

• VMware: Disk Mount and Virtual Disk Manager User’s Guide

Resources

• VMware: Virtual Disk Development Kit