Since VMFS is a proprietary VMware clustered file system, Windows Disk Management will typically show these partitions as "Healthy (Primary Partition)" but without a drive letter or recognizable file system.

You must use third-party file system drivers or specialized data recovery software that can translate the VMFS 6 structure into a format Windows can read.

For a more manual, lower-cost approach, you can use WSL2 on Windows 11 to mount the physical drive and then use Linux-based tools like vmfs6-tools vmfs6-fuse

VMFS 6 introduced significant metadata changes from version 5, including and automatic space reclamation (UNMAP) . These changes make version 6 incompatible with many older "VMFS-tools" drivers originally built for VMFS 3 or 5. Max Capacity Block Size 1 MB (Unified) 4K Native Support Space Reclamation Automatic (Hot) Important Precautions

Enable a Samba (SMB) share on the Linux VM to instantly stream the files back to your host Windows environment. Critical Safety Protocol: Avoid Data Corruption

Run the software with elevated administrative privileges.

VMFS 6 is a highly optimized, cluster-aware filesystem developed by VMware for vSphere ESXi environments.

Solutions like Paragon VMFS for Windows are often the most reliable for mounting VMFS6. They allow you to mount the VMFS LUN directly to a Windows drive letter, providing Read-Only or Read-Write access. Steps: Map the VMFS LUN via iSCSI or FC to the Windows Server. Install the driver/software. Assign a drive letter via the software interface. 2. Using VMware Converter (For Extraction)

A robust commercial tool built specifically for VMFS 6. It maps the drive and reconstructs broken arrays.

What is your primary goal: , forensic auditing , or a planned data migration ? Share public link

Download and launch HFSExplorer with Administrative privileges. Click on > Load file system from device .