Installing VMWare Tools

[sambul12]

After upgrading to VMWare 7.1.2 I opened a WinXP Pro VM with WinXP Pro started from a USB drive, and followed the prompts to install VMWare Tools. The installer started and worked for a while deleting something, then on "Coping new files" a message pops-up: "Please insert the disk: 1". At this point Windows.iso file was already mounted inside the VM, and the installer run from it. I looked inside the ISO and copied scsi drivers from it to a VM Floppy, since the installer was checking the Floppy. No...it didn't eat the floppy, and keep asking for Disk 1. Since installations of VMWare are now done from .exe files, there is really no other .iso I can offer to the installer. I unpacked the VMWare .exe installer, and there is no ISO inside either. Of course, VMWare log says nothing about what the installer is looking for:

"FLOPPYLIB-LIB : Win32Ioctl: syserror The media in the drive may have changed."

I know it's traditional issue with various VMWare installers. No content log is offered, and various installers don't match each other. So, what seems to cause this here, and how to fix? Or, is there any other way to install VMWare Tools?

[sambul12]

I found the solution, which may be useful to others. If you can't install VMWare Tools due to the error message "Please insert the disk: 1", do this:

- mount located in Programs\VMWare directory file Windows.iso on a virtual CD-ROM inside your VM;

- copy all files from it to a new VMWare Tools folder on a different drive, visible in VM, preferably created in the above dir. with Windows.iso for future use;

- run Setup.exe or Setup64.exe depending on your guest OS version from that new folder.

The Tools will be installed without a glitch. If you don't plan to install the Tools on another VM, test if you can erase (rename) the installer's folder you made without affecting Tools work on the VM restart or when running Tools Update. You can Remove the CD-ROM with Windows.iso after stopping the VM.

[Morgantao]

I can't install tools on my XP VM, when it's trying to download I get th efollowing error:

Unrecognized data on the update server (4007). Try again later and if the problem persists, contact VMware Support or your system administrator.

You wouldn't happen to know how to solve this issue, do you?

Thanks!

[sambul12]

You may already have the Tools in your Programs/VMWare directory: look for Windows.iso there. Then follow the above drill. If its not there, one obvious way would be to manually download a full Workstation package with Tools from VMWare website. Install it again, then follow the drill. Not sure, how to fully unpack the downloaded .exe in Windows to get Windows.iso and avoid reinstall, but you may try to dig into it.

[continuum]

you can extract the WS-setup like this

VMware-workstation-full-7.1.2-301548 /e tempdir

but it does not help much - the tools then still apear as .exe file and can not be extracted with 7zip for example.

If you try it and rename the output to windows.iso the file can't be mounted

Best option is to download the full setupand uninstall the crippled one you have now.

And then once and for all disable all autoupdate "features"

This is a nice example for good intentions making matters worse

the new autoupdate features surely were meant to make installing the tools easier - but by obscuring the iso-files inside msi-packages wrapped in exe-files it is harder then ever to update the tools.

Just putting plain iso-files on the download server and posting the links would have been so easy ...




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VMX-parameters- WS FAQ -[ MOAcd|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VMDK-Handbook

[bothabar84]

There is no windows.iso in Vmware folder ( official installer of Workstation 7.1.2 md5sum:2e9715ec297dc3ca904ad2707d3e2614)

How to install vmware-tools on Win 2003 for example?

[WoodyZ]

There is no windows.iso in Vmware folder ( official installer of Workstation 7.1.2 md5sum:2e9715ec297dc3ca904ad2707d3e2614)

How to install vmware-tools on Win 2003 for example?

Other then uninstalling/reinstalling you have a few choices...

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Copy it from another install.

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Extract the contents of the VMware-workstation-full-7.1.2-301548.exe file and then execute the tools-windows-8.4.4.exe file.

Here is the syntax of the command used to extract the contents: tools-windows-8.4.4.exe /e <Folder_To_Extract_To>

Note the must previously exist.

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Or download the tools-windows-8.4.4.exe.tar file and then untar it and then execute the extracted tools-windows-8.4.4.exe file.