: Virtual machines listed in the inventory but disconnected from their underlying configuration files.
Understanding and Resolving VMFS Metadata Corruption VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) metadata corruption is a critical failure where the internal structures that track file locations, block maps, and heartbeats are damaged. While VMFS is designed for high resilience, this type of corruption can lead to orphaned virtual machines, inaccessible data, and even ESXi host crashes like the "Purple Screen of Death" (PSOD). Common Symptoms Inaccessible VMs vmfs metadata corruption