: You cannot download a VMDK while the VM is running or if the file is locked.
Alex remembered a faster route. ESXi hosts have an SSH daemon (Secure Shell) built-in, though often disabled by default.
This is the most common method for manual, one-off downloads.
: Log in to your VMware Host Client or vCenter and go to the Storage tab.
| Method | Best For | Command / Action | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Files < 1 GB | Storage > Datastore > Download | | SCP (SSH) | Large VMDKs, reliable transfers | scp root@host:"/vmfs/volumes/..." . | | PowerCLI | Automation & scripting | Copy-DatastoreItem | | USB Pass-through | No network available | Attach USB drive directly to ESXi physical host |
scp root@192.168.1.200:"/vmfs/volumes/Datastore_SSD_01/Corp-ERP/Corp-ERP-flat.vmdk" D:\Recovery\
Always shut down the VM or take a snapshot before downloading a VMDK. Copying a live VMDK can result in a crash-consistent (corrupted) file, just like yanking a hard drive out of a running PC.
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