How to Recover Data From a Non-Operational UTM Virtual Machine – The Ultimate Rescue Guide! 2025

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Watch how to recover data from a non-working UTM virtual machine on macOS. Learn how to create and configure a virtual machine, what to do if it becomes corrupted or won’t start, and how to restore its functionality.
UTM is a free and open-source emulator and virtualizer for macOS, built on QEMU. It allows you to run various operating systems — from Windows to Linux — inside macOS.
In this video, you will learn:
How to find and open the .qcow2 file from a .utm package, how to recover documents and files from a disk image, how to create a new virtual machine in UTM, and how to avoid data loss in the future.

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👉How to Recover Data From a Non-Operational UTM Virtual Machine -
https://hetmanrecovery.com/recovery_news/how-to-recover-data-from-a-broken-utm-virtual-machine.htm

📚 Content:
00:00 - Intro
00:55 - Why data can be lost
02:04 - Searching for a virtual disk file
02:57 - How to retrieve files from a non-operational UTM virtual machine
07:28 - How to restore .qcow2 virtual disk files
08:49 - Configuring a new UTM virtual machine
10:13 - How to recover files with Time Machine
12:01 - How to avoid data loss in the future
12:41 - Conclusion

🍏How To Recover Data From MacOS (APFS, HFS/HFS+, 4Kn drives, etc.) MacOS Backup. - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWfvrWYvsWiLYieq1nY3RB7032fsVl3-W

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Closed Caption:

Hello everybody. Watch this video to
find out how to recover data from a
nonoperational UTM virtual machine on
MacOss. How to create and configure a
virtual machine. What to do if it's
damaged or won't start, and how to
restore its operability.
[music]
UTM is a free and open-source emulator
and virtualization tool for MacOss which
is based on QMU. It allows users to run
various Windows and Linux operating
systems inside MacOss. UTM doesn't
require any drivers to be installed. It
works in the user's environment and
supports both Intel and Apple silicon
CPUs. Thanks to a most convenient
interface, even novice users can create
a virtual machine without effort.
[music] Within a few minutes, we'll
explore how to create and configure a
Windows virtual machine. Why data can be
lost. For starters, let's explore why
access to virtual machine data could
ever be lost. The first thing that may
occur is accidental removal of your
files. Most of the time, it happens when
a file is accidentally sent to the
recycle bin or when the recycle bin is
emptied in the virtual operating system.
Another cause of data loss is when the
virtual disc gets damaged or deleted. A
virtual hard disk of the UTM hypervisor
is a file with the extension UTM or
QCO2.
When the file is damaged, the virtual
machine will not boot. One more thing to
cause trouble is various failures when
installing apps, drivers or updates. In
its turn, such situation may corrupt the
data structure. An unexpected shutdown
of the virtual machine can also affect
your data. For example, if your Mac OS
freezes, you choose to restart the
computer and this is why the virtual
disc may be overwritten with some
errors. Finally, system failures inside
UTM itself or Mac OS internal issues
might also case a bit of trouble. After
you have identified the root of the
problem, you can select an appropriate
recovery method. Searching for a virtual
disc file. Before we get down to
recovery, let's check the location of
the virtual disc file. What if it was
deleted by mistake? By default, UTM
virtual machines are stored in the
documents folder. If the default path
was modified during initial setup, go to
the previously specified folder. You can
see it in the virtual machine settings.
Search the folder for a file with the
extension.
This file is the container for the whole
virtual machine.
Right click on it and select show
package contents. Inside it, you should
see a file with the extension. QCO2
which is the actual virtual disk file.
It is from that file that we are going
to retrieve the important files stored
on your virtual machine. How to retrieve
files from a non-operational UTM virtual
machine. If your virtual machine won't
boot, a special data recovery tool
called Hetman partition recovery will
help you retrieve important files. This
utility supports all popular file
systems as well as most hypervisor apps
including the virtualization solution by
UTM. Go to its website hetmanreovery.com
and download the tool.
Choose the version for MacOss.
Now install it just like any other app
and drag the shortcut to the folder
containing your programs.
The utility needs full access to hard
disks to work properly. Do it by opening
the settings and granting the utility
with full access to disk.
Start the utility.
Remember to type the administrator
password.
As a result, you'll see a list of all
connected drives. However, to retrieve
files from the virtual disc, you need to
mount it in the recovery tool. To do it,
click on tools, mount disk. From the
list, select virtual machine files with
the extension. QCO2
and then give the path to the virtual
disk image. And earlier in this video,
we have already found its storage
directory.
when the full path to such folder is
ready, click okay.
The disc will appear in the main window.
To scan the disc, right click on it and
choose open. Then select the scan type,
fast scan or full analysis. To begin
with, we recommend running a fast scan
first. It will take less time and help
you find the files in most scenarios
involving data loss.
If the fast scan can't find the required
files, then go for full analysis. A full
analysis will take longer since it makes
use of more complicated search
algorithm. To run it, go back to the
main menu.
Right click on the disk.
Analyze again.
Full analysis. Select the file system.
Next.
When the scan is over, open the folder
where the lost files used to be.
For your convenience, there's a preview
feature to see the file contents.
Select the files you need. Click
recovery.
Give the path to save the files
and click recovery again.
As a result, you will find the recovered
files in the folder you have chosen.
This way, even if the virtual machine is
damaged and it won't boot, you'll be
able to retrieve its data directly. How
to restore Qcow 2 virtual disc files.
Also, you can use Hetman partition
recovery to restore accidentally deleted
Qcow 2 virtual disc files. If the
virtual disc files were stored on a
removable disc and you accidentally
deleted them or erased the [music] disc,
this recovery tool can retrieve them
easily, thus restoring the
operationality of the virtual machine.
Scan the removable disc. Right click on
it, open, and choose the scan type.
Find the virtual disc file and recover
it.
Select the necessary items, recovery,
and select the folder to save the files
to. After recovery, you'll be able to
restore operationality of your virtual
machine by placing the virtual disc file
to its original location or using it to
replace the damaged virtual machine.
Configuring a new UTM virtual machine.
Before you move on to the next recovery
method, you need to understand how to
create and configure a new virtual
machine in UTM. For starters, let's
install UTM. Visit its official website
and download the app. After that,
install it just like any other program.
Then, open UTM and click here to create
a new virtual machine.
Select virtualization type. When
choosing the operating system, go for
Windows or Linux if necessary.
When configuring the disk, choose boot
ISO image and select the previously
saved HQ 2 file.
Assign a certain amount of RAM, for
example, four or 8 GB depending on your
computer's hardware. Make sure that you
have enabled support for USB, network,
and other components. Hit save.
Now you can start the virtual machine.
If the hard disk won't boot, don't
worry. You'll be able to retrieve its
information with a good data recovery
tool.
How to recover files with Time Machine.
If you back up your virtual machine
regularly with Time Machine, you'll be
able to recover accidentally deleted
files and restore operationality of the
virtual machine within a few minutes.
Open Time Machine and go to the folder
where your virtual machine used to be
stored.
Now select a backup with the date when
your virtual disc files still existed.
and click restore.
After this operation is over, the
virtual machine should start working
just like before. If the virtual machine
won't run, try connecting it manually.
I've already shown how to do it.
How to avoid data loss in the future? To
make sure such situations won't happen
again, here is some advice to help you
avoid data loss. First of all, back up
your virtual machines on a regular
basis. Just copy the UTM file to a cloud
storage or an external drive. Second, do
not force the virtual machine to shut
down. Always shut down the guest
operating system first and then power
off the UTM so you can avoid damaging
the operating system or the virtual
disc. Third, you shouldn't store very
important files only inside the virtual
machine. use synchronization with Mac OS
or cloud services. Summing up, we have
explored several ways of restoring
access to the files of a non-operational
QMUbased UTM virtual machine. To avoid
similar issues in the future, remember
to back up important data to an external
drive or a cloud storage. Also, it's not
worth running a virtual machine after a
loss of data occurs. and avoid copying
large files to the machine so that the
deleted data will not be overwritten.
That is all for now. I hope this video
helps you fix the problem. Remember to
click the like button and subscribe to
our channel. Leave your comments under
the video. Thank you for watching and
good luck.
>> [music]