diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 028f485..a80340d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -533,6 +533,8 @@ target hosts visible to the operator who creates or edits them.
 
 VMware vCenter import uses the effective Config / Integrations values (`vcenter_*` settings or the `VCENTER_*` environment variables). The backend creates a vCenter REST session with `POST /api/session`, lists VMs from `/api/vcenter/vm`, and then best-effort enriches each candidate from guest identity/networking endpoints. FQDN and IP discovery depends on VMware Tools data; when guest data is unavailable, the import falls back to the VM name as the host address and records the limitation in host notes.
 
+For `field: "name"` filters, the API scans the full VM summary list returned by vCenter before guest enrichment, so large inventories are not accidentally missed by the preview limit. The preview response includes `diagnostics` with `totalFromVCenter`, `summaryMatched`, `scanned`, `resultLimit`, and `sampleNames`; the wizard displays those values when troubleshooting a no-result preview.
+
 Preview payload:
 
 ```json
diff --git a/client/src/App.vue b/client/src/App.vue
index 3c7a24b..8cb0e2b 100644
--- a/client/src/App.vue
+++ b/client/src/App.vue
@@ -425,6 +425,7 @@
           :loading="vcenterImportLoading"
           :error="vcenterImportError"
           :status="vcenterImportStatus"
+          :diagnostics="vcenterImportDiagnostics"
           @close="vcenterImportOpen = false"
           @preview="previewVCenterImport"
           @import="importVCenterHosts"
@@ -980,6 +981,7 @@ const vcenterImportLoading = ref(false);
 const vcenterImportError = ref('');
 const vcenterPreviewRows = ref([]);
 const vcenterImportStatus = ref(null);
+const vcenterImportDiagnostics = ref(null);
 const credentialModalOpen = ref(false);
 const runPlanModalOpen = ref(false);
 const variableModalOpen = ref(false);
@@ -2349,6 +2351,7 @@ async function saveHost() {
 async function openVCenterImport() {
   vcenterImportOpen.value = true;
   vcenterImportError.value = '';
+  vcenterImportDiagnostics.value = null;
   try {
     vcenterImportStatus.value = await api.get('/api/hosts/import/vcenter/status');
   } catch (err) {
@@ -2362,8 +2365,9 @@ async function previewVCenterImport(payload) {
   try {
     const result = await api.post('/api/hosts/import/vcenter/preview', payload);
     vcenterImportStatus.value = result.status;
+    vcenterImportDiagnostics.value = result.diagnostics || null;
     vcenterPreviewRows.value = result.candidates || [];
-    notify(`Found ${result.count || 0} vCenter host candidate(s)`);
+    notify(`Found ${result.count || 0} vCenter host candidate(s) from ${result.diagnostics?.totalFromVCenter ?? 'unknown'} VM(s)`);
   } catch (err) {
     vcenterImportError.value = err.message;
     notify(err.message, 'error');
@@ -2379,6 +2383,7 @@ async function importVCenterHosts(payload) {
     const result = await api.post('/api/hosts/import/vcenter', payload);
     await refreshAll();
     vcenterPreviewRows.value = [];
+    vcenterImportDiagnostics.value = null;
     vcenterImportOpen.value = false;
     const skipped = result.skipped?.length || 0;
     notify(`Imported ${result.imported?.length || 0} host(s)${skipped ? `, skipped ${skipped} duplicate(s)` : ''}`);
diff --git a/client/src/components/hosts/VCenterImportModal.vue b/client/src/components/hosts/VCenterImportModal.vue
index 7b02118..d3e2e47 100644
--- a/client/src/components/hosts/VCenterImportModal.vue
+++ b/client/src/components/hosts/VCenterImportModal.vue
@@ -115,6 +115,13 @@
           </div>
         </div>
         <div v-if="error" class="inline-error">{{ error }}</div>
+        <div v-if="diagnostics" class="vcenter-diagnostics">
+          <strong>Preview diagnostics</strong>
+          <span>{{ diagnostics.totalFromVCenter }} VM(s) returned by vCenter</span>
+          <span>{{ diagnostics.summaryMatched }} VM(s) matched before guest enrichment</span>
+          <span>{{ diagnostics.scanned }} VM(s) scanned for guest FQDN/IP details</span>
+          <small v-if="diagnostics.sampleNames?.length">Sample inventory names: {{ diagnostics.sampleNames.join(', ') }}</small>
+        </div>
         <div class="preview-toolbar">
           <button class="ghost-button compact" type="button" :disabled="!previewRows.length" @click="toggleAll">
             <CheckSquare :size="15" />{{ allSelected ? 'Clear selection' : 'Select all' }}
@@ -177,7 +184,8 @@ const props = defineProps({
   groups: { type: Array, default: () => [] },
   loading: Boolean,
   error: { type: String, default: '' },
-  status: { type: Object, default: null }
+  status: { type: Object, default: null },
+  diagnostics: { type: Object, default: null }
 });
 
 const emit = defineEmits(['close', 'preview', 'import']);
diff --git a/client/src/style.css b/client/src/style.css
index 53e600d..f6826b2 100644
--- a/client/src/style.css
+++ b/client/src/style.css
@@ -6981,6 +6981,40 @@ input:read-only {
   margin-bottom: 12px;
 }
 
+.vcenter-diagnostics {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  gap: 8px;
+  align-items: center;
+  margin-bottom: 12px;
+  padding: 10px 12px;
+  border: 1px solid rgba(117, 216, 255, .16);
+  border-radius: 14px;
+  color: rgba(219, 227, 255, .7);
+  background: rgba(88, 221, 255, .055);
+}
+
+.vcenter-diagnostics strong {
+  color: rgba(255, 255, 255, .9);
+}
+
+.vcenter-diagnostics span {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  min-height: 24px;
+  padding: 4px 8px;
+  border-radius: 999px;
+  border: 1px solid rgba(139, 224, 255, .14);
+  background: rgba(3, 8, 18, .35);
+  font-size: .76rem;
+}
+
+.vcenter-diagnostics small {
+  flex-basis: 100%;
+  color: rgba(219, 227, 255, .52);
+  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
+}
+
 .vcenter-preview-table {
   position: relative;
   overflow: auto;
diff --git a/server/services/vcenterService.js b/server/services/vcenterService.js
index 964aa1f..8caa22f 100644
--- a/server/services/vcenterService.js
+++ b/server/services/vcenterService.js
@@ -146,6 +146,22 @@ export function normalizeVCenterVm(vm, identity = null, interfacesPayload = null
   };
 }
 
+function normalizeVCenterSummaryVm(vm) {
+  return {
+    id: vm.vm || vm.id,
+    name: vm.name || vm.vm || vm.id || '',
+    fqdn: '',
+    address: vm.name || vm.vm || vm.id || '',
+    ipAddress: '',
+    ipAddresses: [],
+    powerState: vm.power_state || vm.powerState || '',
+    osFamily: 'windows',
+    guestFullName: '',
+    toolsAvailable: false,
+    source: 'vcenter'
+  };
+}
+
 export function vmMatchesFilter(candidate, filter = {}) {
   const operator = filter.operator || 'contains';
   const needle = String(filter.value || '').trim().toLowerCase();
@@ -172,6 +188,11 @@ export function vmMatchesFilter(candidate, filter = {}) {
   return value.includes(needle);
 }
 
+export function filterSummaryVms(vms = [], filter = {}) {
+  if ((filter?.field || 'hostname') !== 'name') return vms;
+  return vms.filter((vm) => vmMatchesFilter(normalizeVCenterSummaryVm(vm), filter));
+}
+
 export function buildHostPayloadFromVm(candidate, options = {}) {
   const tags = [...new Set(['vmware', 'vcenter', `vcenter:${candidate.id}`, ...(options.tags || [])].filter(Boolean))];
   return {
@@ -199,12 +220,22 @@ export async function previewVCenterHosts(options = {}) {
   assertConfigured(settings);
   const sessionId = await createSession(settings);
   const vmPayload = await vcenterFetch(settings, '/api/vcenter/vm', { sessionId });
-  const vms = unwrapList(vmPayload).slice(0, Math.max(options.limit || 100, 1) * 4);
+  const allVms = unwrapList(vmPayload);
+  const vms = filterSummaryVms(allVms, options.filter);
   const candidates = [];
+  const diagnostics = {
+    totalFromVCenter: allVms.length,
+    scanned: 0,
+    summaryMatched: vms.length,
+    resultLimit: options.limit || 100,
+    sampleNames: allVms.slice(0, 12).map((vm) => vm.name || vm.vm || vm.id).filter(Boolean),
+    filter: options.filter || {}
+  };
 
   for (const vm of vms) {
     const vmId = vm.vm || vm.id;
     if (!vmId) continue;
+    diagnostics.scanned += 1;
     const identity = await optionalVCenterFetch(settings, `/api/vcenter/vm/${encodeURIComponent(vmId)}/guest/identity`, sessionId);
     const interfaces = await optionalVCenterFetch(settings, `/api/vcenter/vm/${encodeURIComponent(vmId)}/guest/networking/interfaces`, sessionId);
     const candidate = normalizeVCenterVm(vm, identity?.unavailable ? null : identity, interfaces?.unavailable ? null : interfaces);
@@ -216,6 +247,7 @@ export async function previewVCenterHosts(options = {}) {
     status: vcenterStatus(),
     filter: options.filter || {},
     count: candidates.length,
+    diagnostics,
     candidates
   };
 }
diff --git a/server/test/vcenter.test.mjs b/server/test/vcenter.test.mjs
index d5b4777..992c2b6 100644
--- a/server/test/vcenter.test.mjs
+++ b/server/test/vcenter.test.mjs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { load } from './setup.mjs';
 
 const {
   buildHostPayloadFromVm,
+  filterSummaryVms,
   normalizeBaseUrl,
   normalizeVCenterVm,
   vmMatchesFilter
@@ -37,6 +38,17 @@ test('vmMatchesFilter supports hostname contains and IP equals matching', () =>
   assert.equal(vmMatchesFilter(candidate, { field: 'fqdn', operator: 'startsWith', value: 'db' }), false);
 });
 
+test('filterSummaryVms scans the full VM summary list for VM-name filters', () => {
+  const vms = [
+    ...Array.from({ length: 900 }, (_, index) => ({ vm: `vm-${index}`, name: `ZZZ-${index}` })),
+    { vm: 'vm-901', name: 'MCS-WIN-APP01' }
+  ];
+  const matched = filterSummaryVms(vms, { field: 'name', operator: 'contains', value: 'MCS' });
+
+  assert.equal(matched.length, 1);
+  assert.equal(matched[0].name, 'MCS-WIN-APP01');
+});
+
 test('buildHostPayloadFromVm attaches credential, tags, transport, and import notes', () => {
   const payload = buildHostPayloadFromVm(
     {