Installing vSphere Client 5.1 fails with the error: Failed to install hcmon

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Installing vSphere Client 5.1 fails.
• You see the error:
  
  Failed to install hcmon
  
  
• The vminst.log file (located in the %TEMP% folder) contains entries similar to:
  
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:InstallDriver: Installing hcmon driver
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:InstallDriver: Copying files, so stopping any pre-existing service
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 E1:VNLStopService: Could not query service 'hcmon' status: 0x00000003
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:VNLCopyFileToSystemDir: Copying 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VMware\USB\hcmon.sys' to 'C:\Windows\system32\drivers\hcmon.sys'
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:VNLInstallService: Stopping any pre-existing instances of service
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 E1:VNLStopService: Could not query service 'hcmon' status: 0x00000003
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 E1:VNLInstallService: Service 'hcmon' already exists: 0x00000431
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 XX:VNLInstallService: reconfigured existing service
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:InstallDriver: Installed driver hcmon, now starting
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 E1:VNLStartService: Service 'hcmon' could not be started: 0x000000a1
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 E1:VNL_InstallHcmon: Failed to create service for hcmon driver.
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:ParseCommand: operation: successful
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:VNLSpawn64BitVnetlibTask: Done waiting for process, code 0
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:VNLSpawn64BitVnetlibTask: process was not successful
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 I1:InstallDriver: Launched 64-bit process, result FALSE
  inst-build-1060398 : MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 E1:VNL_InstallHcmon: Failed to create service for hcmon driver.
  USBDeviceInstUtil-build-1060398: MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 ERROR: Failed calling VNL_InstallHcmon()
  USBDeviceInstUtil-build-1060398: MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 Freeing library: 1669922816
  USBDeviceInstUtil-build-1060398: MM/DD/YY 14:25:10 ERROR: Failed to install hcmon
  
  Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

This issue occurs, if the machine in which you want to install vSphere Client 5.1 does not have Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 installed or if the feature is not turned on.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 Service Pack 1 and turn the feature on.

To install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 Service Pack 1, download the package from the Microsoft Download Center and install it.

Note: The preceding link was correct as of August 8, 2013. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

To turn on the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 Service Pack 1 feature:

1. On your machine, click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows Features on or off.
2. Select Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1.
3. Click OK.
4. Reboot the machine.
   
   Note: Do not skip this step.
   
   
5. Install vSphere Client.

Additional Information

This is also seen with end point software, you need to disable or remove it prior to installation.
Installing vSphere Client fails with the error: Failed to create service for hcmon driver
vSphere Client 5.1 のインストールが次のエラーで失敗する： hcmon のインストールに失敗しました
安装 vSphere Client 5.1 失败，并显示以下错误：无法安装 hcmon