Can I delete "windows.iso" in guestOS AFTER installation?

[mattad]

After the successful installation of VmWare tools in Win 7 guestOS I observed that the file

C:\Program files (x86)\VmWare\tools-windows\windows.iso

is NOT removed automatically.

Can I remove this file or is it accessed/needed later (again)?

I want to reduce as much *.vmdk hard disc space as possible.

Matt

[Linjo · Accepted solution]

It should not be removed automatically.

You can remove it if you do not need to resinstall the VMware tools or if you do not plan to install any new virtual machines.

I would recommend keeping it though because sometimes you need to reinstall the VMware tools after an os-modification or to resolve a driver problem.

// Linjo

[WoodyZ]

You said "I want to reduce as much *.vmdk hard disc space as possible.", well deleting the windows.iso file from the Host will not have any direct impact on the size of the virtual hard disk file and considering its size if it's an issue you have bigger problems then keeping it.  I'd keep it as suggested by Linjo.

If you want to minimize the impact of the size of the .vmdk then assuming it's not pre-allocated you should be able shrink it as necessary.

The following information is from a VMware KB for a different product however it should still be applicable to VMware Tools in a Windows VM under VMware Player.  (Normally I'd test this information before posting however I'm not at a system I can check it at the moment.)

Shrinking the virtual disk in a Windows virtual machine

To shrink the virtual disk in a Windows virtual machine:

1. Power on the Windows virtual machine.
2. Open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
3. Run these commands:
   
   cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools
   
   C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools> VMwareToolboxCmd help disk
   
   This displays a list of options that are available for shrinking.