VPG disks lose recovery volume location after a protected VM is restored in place by a backup product

VPG disks lose recovery volume location after a protected VM is restored in place by a backup product

Machine-distilled from a resolved support ticket on 2026-09-28. Source ref: 505b595b137f. Verify before relying on it.

Applies to: Zerto on vSphere, where a protected VM is restored in place (same VM name and identity) by a backup product while it is still protected. Version not confirmed.

Symptom: After a protected VM is restored over its original location by a third party backup or restore tool, the VPG reports that a disk on the protected VM has a disk size of zero and the VPG cannot be saved with this VM. The system may also start a force sync, and several disks fail to register to the VPG. When editing the VPG, the Storage step shows each disk of the affected VM with a blank Recovery Volume Location, highlighted in red.

Cause: During the in place restore the VM's disks are temporarily removed or replaced, so Zerto sees disks with zero size or missing disks. This causes the recovery volume location information for the VM's disks to be lost from the VPG configuration.

Resolution: 1. Wait until the restore of the protected VM has fully completed at the source and the VM is confirmed to be in its final state. 2. Edit the VPG and go to the Storage step. 3. For each disk of the affected VM showing a blank Recovery Volume Location, edit the disk and set the recovery volume location again (for example, matching the settings used for the other disks and VPGs). 4. Save the VPG and run a force sync, then confirm the VPG returns to a healthy state. 5. If the wizard does not allow the recovery volume location to be reset, remove and recreate the VPG with the same settings. 6. Optionally run a test failover or boot test to confirm the replica powers on. Prevention: pause the VPG before running a full restore of a protected VM, then resume it and force a sync once the restore has completed. This reduces, but does not guarantee to eliminate, the risk of the issue.