VMDK Recovery Tool of ESX 3.5 U3

Until now the one and only way to get deleted or corrupted VM´s back to life was to call VMware and let them use their magic little in-depth-disk-tricks. Well, with ESX3.5U3 VMware provides a first: The VMDK recovery tool (experimental). Just connect to your COS and enter 'vmfs-undelete'.

You are provided with a menu like that one here: 

[root@joergsesx1]# vmfs-undelete

########################################################
# VMFS Data Recovery and Backup #
# #
# This tool is NOT a replacement for regular backups #
# Please backup your data on a regular basis #
# There is absolutely no guarantee #
# Use at your own risk #
# #
# VMs with Raw Disks (virtual or physical) are #
# Not supported!!!! #
########################################################

--------------------------------------------------
Select [b]ackup, [r]estore [q] to quit: b

Now, believe it or not, this one will allow you to backup your blockfiles of one, many, or all your VM´s on a ESX 3.5U3 host. If you somehow kill your VM and you have the blockfile at your hand you can restore the deleted VM. Now be aware of the fact that this feature is experimental and in no way a replacement for any kind of backup.