Opening VMDK Files

The VMDK file type is primarily associated with VMware Workstation.

VMDK	File extension: VMDK
	File type:	virtual disk image

What is a VMDK file?

VMDK files mostly belong to VMware Workstation by Vmware. A VMDK file is a disk image (or disk descriptor) created by VMware Workstation, VMware Workstation Player, or VMware Server system emulation software. It contains one or more virtual partitions used to store the operating system and user data of a virtual machine. When accessed from within a virtual machine, a VMDK image emulates a physical disk mounted on the computer. VMDK format was developed by VMware. The storage capacity for a disk image saved in this format is 2 Terabytes. Third-party virtualization programs like QEMU, VirtualBox, and SUSE Studio also support VMDK format.

How to open VMDK files

You need a suitable software like VMware Workstation from Vmware to open a VMDK file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your VMDK file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a VMDK file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online VMDK File Viewer

Choose your .vmdk file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to extract texts from VMDK files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

1. To do so, click the "Choose your .vmdk file to view" button above.
2. After your file is opened in browser,
3. click "Save as..." in the menu.
4. Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
5. Download the converted file.

VMDK file extension format:

The file format, which is the arrangement and type of data in a file, determines which program can open the file. Each file format has a unique extension and almost always a unique signature. For example, Microsoft Word documents have the extension .docx and the signature (usually the first 3 characters in this file) PK. However, different programs can use the same file extension. Furthermore, a file extension can be renamed incorrectly and double-clicking on it will then display an error when it is opened. Knowledge is power - this also applies when dealing with unknown or faulty files. Our analysis of the VMDK files produces the following result:

The VMDK file extension is quite common and is mainly used by one program with a specific format. The following file formats are most commonly found in VMDK files:

• 85% of all VMDK files are VMware 4 Virtual Disk files. These files are binary files, so they do not contain text, but only cryptic characters. VMDK files are between 29 MB and 14 GB in size. The file type was created 10 years ago, but is still used today. The following keywords are characteristic: KDMV. Files like these have the following tags: disk, windows, virtual, macos, geekrar, metasploitable, android, linux and kali.
• 9% of all VMDK files are associated with VMware 4 Virtual Disk description for split disks. The contents of these files are easily readable with a text editor. The files are often between 550 bytes and 1 KB in size. The following keywords are characteristic: # Disk DescriptorFile, # Extent description, version=1, parentCID=ffffffff, createType="twoGbMaxExtentSparse", vmdk, encoding="windows-1252", 8323072 SPARSE, RW 8323072 SPARSE and isNativeSnapshot="no". Files like these are sometimes connected to vmware.

All the rest of the VMDK files (6%) have different formats. The category is mojave, ubuntu, image, memu, machine, server, joker or flat. Drag & drop your file here to see the file format and a preview of your VMDK file!