If you must access a "hot" (active) VMFS6 volume, do not map the raw LUN directly to Windows. Follow this workflow instead:
Open Command Prompt as Administrator and utilize Java-based VMFS tools to access \\.\PhysicalDriveX . mount vmfs 6 windows hot
This is one of the few tools that explicitly supports VMFS 6 on Windows 10 and 11. It can mount the datastore as a virtual drive or allow you to browse it in a "Recovery" mode to copy files. If you must access a "hot" (active) VMFS6
Enable a Samba (SMB) share on the Linux VM to instantly stream the files back to your host Windows environment. Critical Safety Protocol: Avoid Data Corruption It can mount the datastore as a virtual
VMFS is a cluster file system. When ESXi uses a volume, it locks files to prevent data corruption. If Windows tries to mount this volume, it will break those locks, leading to immediate VM corruption or data loss .
Right-click the required .vmdk files or configurations and select Save/Copy . Transfer them to a native Windows NTFS or ReFS volume.
To extract files from an ESXi datastore drive on a Windows machine, you must use software that acts as a translator.