Restore Vmdk From Flat !link! -

qemu-img convert -f raw -O vmdk original-flat.vmdk recovered.vmdk

vmkfstools -i <path_to_flat_file> <new_vmdk_name>.vmdk restore vmdk from flat

For more advanced users or scenarios:

: You must be able to log in to the ESXi host command line as root . qemu-img convert -f raw -O vmdk original-flat

After attaching the disk: