Challenge
How to run a VM directly from a backup file if some of its disks are excluded from backup.
Solution
To run a VM directly from a backup file, make sure you select ‘Remove excluded disks from VM configuration’ option when excluding your disks from the backup:
More Information
If the ‘Remove excluded disks from VM configuration’ option is not enabled, the target VMX file needs to be edited manually and all excluded drives need to be removed from configuration of the Virtual Machine booted up in the isolated environment.