# Recover and reuse VMware vSphere data: Repave OS disks or attach disks

You can recover and reuse VMware vSphere VM data by restoring disks and attaching them to existing VMs, or by restoring a VM with a repaved operating system disk. These options help you recover applications or data without performing a full VM restore.

Recover a VM with a repaved OS disk

Use this option to restore a VM while replacing the operating system disk.

When to use a repaved OS disk:

- The operating system is corrupted or compromised

- You want to retain application data disks but replace the OS

- You're recovering from ransomware or malware that affects the OS

To recover a VM with a repaved OS disk, follow these steps:

1. From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtual machines.

2. On the Virtual machines tab, click the VM.

3. In the Recovery points tile, click the date of the backup to use, and then click Repave.

4. In the Repave view, verify the VM, and then select the disks to restore:

   - The OS disk is identified in the OS disk column.

   - Select the disks you want to restore.

5. Click Restore.

6. In the Repave options dialog box, for Restore as, select the destination platform.

   Destination platforms

   - Azure Resource Manager (default): Restore the VM to Azure.

   - Amazon Web Services: Restore the VM to AWS for migration, disaster recovery, or testing.

7. Configure the required settings for the destination environment.

   - Provide values for required settings such as the VM name.

   - Select the destination compute, storage, and network settings.

8. (Optional) Configure additional settings. For more information, see Common settings for virtual machine protection.

9. Click Submit.

Attach OS and data disks to a VM

Use this option to restore disks from a backup and attach them to an existing VM for recovery, testing, or data extraction.

When to attach disks instead of restoring a full VM:

- You need to recover specific data without restoring the full VM

- You want to analyze or validate disk contents

- You're migrating or reusing data across VMs

To attach OS and data disks to a VM, follow these steps:

1. From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtual machines.

2. On the Virtual machines tab, click the VM.

3. In the Recovery points tile, click the date of the backup to use, and then click Restore.

4. Click Virtual machine files.

5. Browse the VM file structure to select the OS disk or data disks to restore.

6. Click Restore.

7. On the Restore options page, configure restore settings.

8. After the restore completes, attach the restored disks to the target VM using your hypervisor or cloud platform tools.

9. (Optional) Configure additional settings. For more information, see Common settings for virtual machine protection.

10. Click Submit.

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