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GT500org
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DirectX 11 and VMware Tools for Workstation 16?

I just upgraded from VMware Workstation 15.5 to 16, and there was no update to VMware Tools with it (it's still using version 11.0.6 build 15940789 which only supports up to DirectX 10.1). When I select in VMware Workstation preferences to "Download All Components Now" it tells me "All downloadable components are up to date", and when I select to check for software updates it tells me "There are no software updates available at this time."

Since it looks like a version of VMware Tools that includes DirectX 11 support wasn't included with the release of VMware Workstation 16, may I ask when we should expect an updated version of VMware Tools that includes Direct X 11 support?

To verify the version of DirectX that VMware Tools supported I opened dxdiag (the DirectX Diagnostic Tool) by executing it in the Run dialog, then switched to the "Display" tab and checked the Direct3D DDI and Feature Levels under "Drivers". As you can see in the following screenshot, the highest level of DirectX support for the driver is 10.1.

pastedImage_1.png

Now with a video driver that supports newer versions of DirectX, it would look something like the following screenshot (note that the driver in this example supports DirectX 12, and I won't expect to see that in VMware Workstation until it is formally announced).

pastedImage_0.png

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GT500org
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bonnie201110141 it originally just said "Reinstall VMware Tools". I even tried reinstalling VMware Tools via that option in the VM menu, and it reinstalled the outdated version (11.0.6) that doesn't have DirectX 11 support. For some reason upgrading VMware Workstation from 15.5.x to 16.0 did not replace the copies of VMware Tools that were in the VMware Workstation folder, nor was VMware Workstation 16 able to find newer versions of VMware Tools for download.

I manually downloaded and extracted VMware Tools for Windows from anil2016's link (replacing the copy of windows.iso that was in the VMware Workstation folder), and after that I was able to use the Update VMware Tools option in the VM menu and confirmed it had DirectX 11 support.

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Samcro
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So i was right, there is no DirectX 11 support yet. thank you for bringing this up in-detail mate. I hope they bring an update to fix this soon.

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anil2016
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Samcro
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Does that apply to windows 10 pro ?

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Mikero
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That's incorrect. The issue with the user is that Tools wasn't updated for some reason.

There is absolutely DX11 support in WS16 (and Fusion 12)....

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Michael Roy - Product Marketing Engineer: VCF
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Mikero
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All OS's

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Michael Roy - Product Marketing Engineer: VCF
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GT500org
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Thanks for the link. I wonder why VMware Workstation 16 seems to think there are no updates to VMware Tools.

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DrakeofAvlee
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I can confirm issue. After upgrade from v15.5.6 to v16.0 VMware Tools haven't got updated.

Is this correct URL in VMware Player settings?

https://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds

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bonnie201110141
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Hello GT500org,

When power on the VM, does the menu show "VM > Upgrade VMware Tools"?

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bonnie201110141
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In VMware Workstation, VMware Tools is not automatically upgraded for the VM. You have to manually click VM > Upgrade VMware Tools and install the new tools in guest os.

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GT500org
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bonnie201110141 it originally just said "Reinstall VMware Tools". I even tried reinstalling VMware Tools via that option in the VM menu, and it reinstalled the outdated version (11.0.6) that doesn't have DirectX 11 support. For some reason upgrading VMware Workstation from 15.5.x to 16.0 did not replace the copies of VMware Tools that were in the VMware Workstation folder, nor was VMware Workstation 16 able to find newer versions of VMware Tools for download.

I manually downloaded and extracted VMware Tools for Windows from anil2016's link (replacing the copy of windows.iso that was in the VMware Workstation folder), and after that I was able to use the Update VMware Tools option in the VM menu and confirmed it had DirectX 11 support.

iDATUS
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Thanks for posting this and download links.

I am now able to run 3DMark which was saying I didnt have a directx 11 compatible GPU.

I can confirm that I built a brand new windows 10 machine from the latest builder and vmware tools was the old 11.0.6.

This is so cool. Thank you VMware for not dumping GPU users like your competitor did. F.them.

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bonnie201110141
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Hello, iDATUS, GT500Org,

Can you let me know how you installed VMware Workstation 16.0? Is it an upgrade from WS15.5.6? We are not able to reproduce the issue that VMware Tools was not updated and stayed at 11.0.6. Normally, if you upgrade from 15.5.6 to 16.0, VMware Tools at VMware Workstation installation directory was replaced to 11.1.5.

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GT500org
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bonnie201110141 in my case it was an upgrade from 15.5.x (presumably 15.5.6 as I had the latest version installed) to 16.0. Co-workers who upgraded from 15.5.x also had the same issue with outdated VMware Tools, however co-workers who did a fresh install had no such issues and had the latest version of VMware Tools.

Host OS = Windows 10 x64 (1909)

Anti-Virus = Emsisoft Anti-Malware (all VMware folders excluded)

The host OS install is only about 9 months old, and Win 10 1909 was installed from freshly created bootable media at the time. The partition on the drive at the time was deleted, and a new one was created and formatted before installing Windows, ensuring no leftover files. The latest version of VMware Workstation 15 available at the time was installed, and then upgraded as new versions came out.

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TimothyHuckabay
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None of the download links are working to download the latest version of VMware Tools for Workstation Pro 16 on Windows 10.  Can anyone point me to a working download link?  It is ridiculous that VMware failed to bundle the latest version of Tools with Workstation 16, and even more ridiculous that there is no functioning URI from which to download them!

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bonnie201110141
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Workstation 16.0 is bundling the latest tools. Currently we are not able to reproduce the issue. I think you can uninstall Workstation and install it again to workaround the issue.

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bonnie201110141
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Hello all,

We are still trying to reproduce this issue. Can you help us by answering below questions?

1. What host/guest operating system are you running in Workstation?

2. How did you do the upgrade to WS16.0?

3. Any special settings in your WS installation?

4. If uninstall WS16.0 and install it again, did it fix your issue?

Thanks very much!

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iDATUS
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it was from version 15 but not sure if it was 15.5 or 15.6, if I had to pin it down I would say 15.5

I dont use it on the device its stalled on as I use it for testing scenario's

My may PC has the pro and is 15.6. but not upgraded it yet.

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GT500org
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1. What host/guest operating system are you running in Workstation?

Host = Windows 10 x64 (2009)

Guests = Windows 7 (x86 and x64), Windows 8 (x86 and x64), Windows 8.1 (x86 and x64), and Windows 10 2004 (x86 and x64)

2. How did you do the upgrade to WS16.0?

I manually downloaded the installer from the VMware website, I manually downloaded and installed the latest version of the Visual C++ redist for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019, and then after a reboot I installed VMware Workstation 16.

3. Any special settings in your WS installation?

I have the Customer Experience Improvement Program disabled, I have the virtual printers disabled, and I have VM's saved in an alternate location (a folder on a secondary hard drive). I also use bridged networking rather than NAT.

4. If uninstall WS16.0 and install it again, did it fix your issue?

I haven't had a chance to test this, however as I already said co-workers who uninstalled VMware Workstation 15.x and did a fresh install of VMware Workstation 16 had the latest version of VMware Tools. It was only those of us who tried to do an upgrade from 15.x to 16 who had issues with outdated VMware Tools remaining after the upgrade.

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GT500org
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Sorry, host is Windows 10 1909, not 2009... That hasn't been officially released yet, and I am not using any of the preview builds of Windows.

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