Unable to install NIC driver on a Windows Server 2008 VM

[BrianPaul]

We are running VI3.5 and I have a Windows Server 2008 VM that did not automatically install a VMware network adapter. I read that if you install VMware tools, the driver will then be installed, but I have the tools install and still I can't seem to get a VMware NIC driver to install. Any suggestions?

[BrianPaul]

I tried to install the nic driver by browsing to...

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\Drivers\vmxnet

But instead, I found that the drivers that VMware tools loaded are 32 bit and located at...

C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Tools\Drivers\vmxnet

Would there be a 64 bit version of VMware tools and how can I get the 64 bit version to install?

[BrianPaul]

Ok, I think I know where the problem resides. This VM started as a Linux server and then later I decided to use it for a Windows 2008 server. In the options, I changed the Guest OS to Windows Server 2008 (64 bit), but when I try to add a nic, I only get the choice if E1000. All my Windows servers have the "Flexible" nic installed. How can I fix this without recreating VM?

[BrianPaul]

Recreated the VM from scratch instead of reusing the old Linux VM. Now the nic driver installed automatically after installing VMware tools.