DEll EMC Unity: Datastore Space isnt reclaimed when a virtual disk is unmapped from VM (User Correctable)
Summary: Datastore Space isnt reclaimed when a virtual disk is unmapped from VM
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Symptoms
Customer removed a disk(vmdk) from a Virtual machine and does not see the space of that disk reclaimed by the datastore.
Cause
The vmdk is still considered valid data to the host. You would have to go to the datastore and manually delete the vmdk from the datastore in order to see the space reclaimed and reflected on the datastore itself.
Resolution
Check to see if the vmdk is still an active file on the datastore
if the vmdk still exists then data is still valid and the host will not free that space until the vmdk is deleted.
1. Check that the vmdk is removed as a disk from the VM (VM -> edit settings)
2. Navigate to the datastore in which the vmdk was build off of
3. browse the datastore to see if the vmdk still exists
2. Navigate to the datastore in which the vmdk was build off of
3. browse the datastore to see if the vmdk still exists
if the vmdk still exists then data is still valid and the host will not free that space until the vmdk is deleted.
Affected Products
Dell EMC Unity FamilyProducts
Dell EMC Unity FamilyArticle Properties
Article Number: 000065316
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 12 Dec 2025
Version: 4
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