Without third-party software, Windows cannot read, let alone hot mount , a VMFS 6 volume.
: Widely used for data recovery, it supports VMware's latest file systems and can handle complex RAID configurations often used with VMFS datastores.
: Open Disk Management ( diskmgmt.msc ), find your VMFS disk, right-click it, and select Offline so Windows doesn't lock it.
Because VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) is a proprietary, clustered filesystem designed specifically for VMware ESXi hosts, Windows lacks the built-in drivers to understand its structure. However, if you need to recover data, migrate VMDK files, or access files from a VMFS 6 drive using a Windows environment, you can use specialized third-party tools and workarounds to get the job done safely. Method 1: Use Specialized VMFS Recovery Software (Safest) mount vmfs 6 windows hot
Why? VMFS 6 uses a proprietary on-disk layout with features like:
The most reliable way to access VMFS 6 data on Windows without risking data corruption is through professional data recovery and file access utilities. These tools contain custom drivers that safely read the VMFS metadata.
For advanced users who prefer command-line execution without paying for premium licenses, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2) combined with vmfs-tools offers a workaround to mount VMFS volumes. Note that while older versions of vmfs-tools only supported VMFS 5, updated forks and compile guides allow partial VMFS 6 read accessibility. Step-by-Step Execution: Without third-party software, Windows cannot read, let alone
: While it cannot "mount" VMFS for file exploration, it is often used to manage the physical partition table if a drive appears incorrectly as MBR instead of GPT.
The Windows equivalent is ensuring your mounting tool explicitly supports VMFS 6.
What are you running?
UFS Explorer is another professional data access and recovery utility that features full, native support for the VMFS 6 file system layout. Install UFS Explorer on your Windows host. Connect the target VMFS 6 storage LUN or disk.
If the server is still running ("Hot") and you just need to access files, do not try to mount the datastore on Windows. Instead, access the datastore from ESXi.