I solved the problem. In my case vmdk file contained ntfs partition with some important files.
First:
- try this article https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/10051 - it does not work for me.
- consider using Per Incident Support - VMware - expensive, less risk;
Next steps (worked for me):
- disconnect locked vmdk from all VMs;
- unmount datastore that contains locked vmdk (read VMware Unmount LUN ). ;
- connect HDD that contains datastore to a physical Windows machine, OR connect it as RDM to a Windows virtual machine.
- use "UFS Explorer Professional Recovery" windows software to
- open vmfs partition
- read .vmdk file contents (ntfs partition in my case)
- copy files from ntfs partition to a safe place.
"UFS Explorer Professional Recovery" is a commercial software that is available for Windows, Mac, Linux.
I used windows version, other versions may help too.