Oh, I figured out the problem with the CD/DVD (SATA) device.
I've found the entries in the VM config:
sata0:1.autoDetect = "TRUE"
sata0:1.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
sata0:1.fileName = "auto detect"
sata0:1.present = "TRUE"
sata0:1.startConnected = "FALSE"
sata0:1.connectionStatus = "4"
The issue has been solved by simply removing the entries.
One step closer 
But, the automatically attached VMware Tools is for Windows:
This instruction is about how to install from tgz: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1022525
Where can I find the ISO for Ubuntu?