Virtual environments fail at two levels — the datastore beneath, and the machine inside it — and you cannot address the second until the first is readable. So the work usually begins as array reconstruction and continues into snapshot chains, thin-provisioned disks and the guest file system itself.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/vmfs → Host: VMware ESXi · VMFS · VMDK → Status: VM DELETED — removed from inventory → Client: confidential · Oxford OX2 $ bdr engineer-working → Datastore: scanned · blocks intact → VMDK: rebuilt from datastore → Guest: NTFS mounted · files back $ bdr verify → ✓ virtual machine — 1.4 TB → ✓ SQL databases — restored → ✓ VM recovered — data back
Snapshot consolidation rewrites disk chains and, on a damaged datastore, can destroy the very chain a recovery would reassemble. If a VM will not start and the storage is suspect, stop — leave the snapshots exactly as they are.
Virtual environments fail at two levels, and the distinction determines the whole approach.
You cannot fix the guest before you can read the datastore.
Where the storage has failed, the underlying array is imaged and reconstructed first — exactly as for any RAID or SAN — and the VMFS or NTFS datastore rebuilt on top of the assembled volume. Only then are the virtual disks visible.
From there the work moves inside: snapshot chains are reassembled in the correct parent order, thin-provisioned VMDK or VHDX metadata is walked to locate real extents, and the guest file system is repaired within the virtual disk. Recovered machines can be returned as bootable disk images, or their contents extracted as ordinary files where you would rather rebuild the VM cleanly.
Including environments nobody documented.
VMFS datastores, VMDK flat and delta files, snapshot chains and thin-provisioned disks.
VHD and VHDX files, differencing disks, checkpoints and Cluster Shared Volumes.
QCOW2 and raw images, LVM-backed guests and ZFS datasets.
Where the recovery begins as a RAID or SAN job and continues into the virtual layer.
Deleted files, damaged file systems and corrupt databases inside an otherwise healthy VM.
Priced above array work because the recovery continues past the datastore.
Virtual machine recovery starts from £800 +VAT, confirmed after a free 48-hour diagnostic. Where the underlying array or SAN must be reconstructed first, that work is quoted alongside — RAID and server from £500 +VAT, enterprise SAN from £1,250 +VAT. A 50% deposit applies where physical drive-level work is required.
Tell us the hypervisor and version, how many machines are affected, whether snapshots were in use, and what has already been attempted — particularly any consolidation. NDAs are standard and invoicing is available.
Send the virtual disk files in for a free diagnostic with the hypervisor, format and what happened; an engineer assesses them and confirms the exact quote in writing before any work starts.
Getting your data back starts with getting the virtual disk files — or the failed storage holding them — to us. Send them safely, tell us the hypervisor and format, and once we've run the free diagnostic we confirm your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Need a scoped quote first? Describe the hypervisor, disk format and fault on the form and an engineer will assess it and reply with a tailored quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01865 593000.
The questions we’re asked most about recovering virtual machines.
Usually. Where the underlying array has failed it is imaged and reconstructed first, then the VMFS datastore rebuilt on the assembled volume so the virtual disks become visible again. Every VM on that datastore is recovered together.
Frequently, provided nothing further has been written. Delta files orphaned from their parents can be reassembled in the correct order. What makes it unrecoverable is running a consolidation on a datastore that is already faulty.
Yes. Once the virtual disk is readable, the guest file system is treated like any other — deleted files, damaged file systems and corrupt databases inside the VM are all recoverable in the usual way.
Either as bootable disk images you can attach directly, or as extracted files where you would rather rebuild the machine cleanly. We’ll ask which suits before the work completes.
Yes — VHD and VHDX with differencing disks and checkpoints, and QCOW2 or raw images on Proxmox, XenServer and KVM, including LVM-backed guests and ZFS datasets.
From £800 plus VAT, quoted in writing after a free 48-hour diagnostic. Where the underlying array or SAN must be rebuilt first, that is quoted alongside — from £500 plus VAT for RAID and servers, from £1,250 plus VAT for enterprise SAN.
Free to diagnose, priced on a tier from £800, and no fix no fee on the majority of jobs — every virtual machine recovered disk and data, VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox and beyond. Get your recovery moving today.