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istaines123
Contributor
Contributor
‎02-16-2009 09:21 AM

Unable to upgrade vmware tools

Since upgrading to VMware workstation 6.5.0 (from 6.x?) all of my images exhibit the same problem when trying to update VMware tools.

When trying to update I get the message "A previous version of VMware Tools is already installed, Setup will uninstall the previous version before proceeding with the installation." I click OK, and then I get the message "Setup cannot uninstall VMware Tools. Uninstall the application using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel and retry the installation."

If I then attempt to follow the instructions to remove VMware tools in Control Panel then I get the message "The feature you are trying to use is on a CD-ROM or other removable disk that is not available. In the drop down box for the source drive it defaults to a directory called "1", which is obviously bogus. If I browse to the "E:\VMware Tools.msi" file directly I then get the message "The file "E:\VMware Tolls.msi" is not a valid installation package for the product VMware Tools.

This is quite the frustrating loop of failures, and seems to occur for every snapshot in every VMware image I have and that is hundreds of images.

Also in this update it appears you must upgrade VMware tools to retain some of the features such as drag/drop copy to the images.

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6 Replies
oreeh
Immortal
Immortal
‎02-16-2009 09:24 AM

I suggest to use WS 6.5.1 ...

Try attaching the VMware Tools ISO image manually to the VM before starting the uninstall.

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RDPetruska
Leadership
Leadership
‎02-16-2009 09:28 AM

You can use the VMware Cleaner (in knowledgebase article 1308) inside a guest to clean up/uninstall the VMware Tools package.

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istaines123
Contributor
Contributor
‎02-17-2009 03:27 PM

I tried updating to Workstation 6.5.1, but no change.

I tried to run the cleanup script from within the guest, but it did not uninstall the old version, and appeared to cause a problem that prevented control panel from launching on this guest.

I also tried mounting the windows iso as the CD-ROM before launching the image, and this made no difference.

My guests seem to mount the CD-ROM as the F: drive (in autodetect mode) so that I have a single hard drive on C: and a single CD-ROM on F:. That sounds a bit odd, I would have expected it to use the next available drive letter such as D:. I any case the manifest file for the uninstall is still missing so it cannot uninstall.

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praveenm
Contributor
Contributor
‎02-17-2009 11:01 PM

I don't know if this might help, but do try:

To manually remove VM Tools:

  1. Start the virtual machine and log on as the Administrator.

  2. Run the VMware Cleanup utility. For more information, see Cleaning Up After Incomplete Uninstallation on a Windows Host (1308). The download link is at the bottom of the article.

  3. Restart the virtual machine from the guest operating system.

  4. Log in as the Administrator.

  5. Open the Windows Registry editor. Click Start > Run.

  6. Type regedit press Enter.

  7. Browse to HKLM \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\uninstall. Search for the branch with a key named DisplayName and has a value of VMware Tools . Delete the branch associated with that entry. Do not delete the entire uninstall branch.

  8. Browse to HKLM\Software\Classes\Installer\Products . Search for the branch with the key named ProductName and has a value of VMware Tools . Delete the branch associated with that entry.

  9. Browse to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products . Search for the branch with the key named ProductName and has a value of VMware Tools . Delete the branch associated with that entry.

  10. Browse to HKLM \Software\VMware. Delete the branch called VMware Tools .

  11. Ensure the folder located in %ProgramFiles%\VMware\VMware Tools is deleted.

  12. Attempt to install the new version of VMware Tools, if applicable.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=1001354&sl...

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istaines123
Contributor
Contributor
‎02-25-2009 03:58 PM

I was able to install the tools by following the tip in this thread http://communities.vmware.com/thread/78665 to delete the registry key at

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Installer\Products\8E24D35BB278E034284D0860A513CF1E

This does work, but it is a pain. I probably have 200 or so snapshots that have to be updated. I even moved all of my images to a new machine with a new install of VMware and they still exhibit this unfortunate behavior. I just hope this does not occur with each upgrade. :smileyangry:

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changlinn
Contributor
Contributor
‎10-26-2011 04:31 AM

I know this is an old thread, but praveenm suggestions worked for me on a stubborn guest.

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