When you mess around in VMware ESXI like us, you are bound to find a bug or two sooner or later. Recently we ran into the “VMware Tools not installed on this Virtual Machine” error after a fresh installation of Windows Server 2016. We were stumped to see this error and tried reinstalling VMware Tools a few times without any luck. You may see this error in Windows Server 2019 installations, and it is a bit tricky to resolve. Specifically, we ran into this error on VMware ESXI 6.5 (Build 4887370).
VMware Tools Not Installed on this Virtual Machine Error
When we first received this error, we’ve Googled it and were unable to find an answer quickly and without much searching; therefore decided to write this article. If you have found the resolution helpful, please leave us a comment below.
First, we would like to mention again that you will not fix the error by simply reinstalling VMware Tools. The installation will complete successfully, and you will still see the VMware Tools not installed error message.
VMware Tools Not Installed Fix
First, you will need to uninstall VMware Tools from the Virtual Machine completely. The built-in Microsoft Windows Uninstaller will do the job.
Second, Mount the VMware Tools ISO to your Virtual Machine as follows. In your case, it may just say “Install VMware Tools.”
Third, Browse to “This PC,” then right-click on the VMware Tools ISO Mount as shown below, then click to open the folder.
Right-click on the setup64.exe file and then click on “Run as Administrator.”
After installation, reboot your Virtual Machine. VMware will now mark VMware Tools installation as successful and running on your Virtual Machine.
After a successful installation of VMware Tools, you can verify the status under the General Information section of the Virtual Machine, as shown below.
I hope this short article helped you resolve the VMware Tools Not Installed on this Virtual Machine error. If you are interested in installing VMware Tools on a Linux Virtual Machine, please see our article VMware Tools on Linux.
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