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Article ID: 310607
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Updated On:
Products
VMware Desktop Hypervisor
VMware vSphere ESXi
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Environment
VMware Player 3.x (Linux) VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1 VMware Workstation 8.x (Windows) VMware Fusion 4.x VMware Workstation 10.x (Windows) VMware Player 6.x (Windows) VMware Player Pro 7.x (Linux) VMware Workstation Player 14.x (Windows) VMware Workstation Player 15.x (Linux) VMware Workstation Player 14.x (Linux) VMware Workstation Pro 15.x (Windows) VMware Player 4.x (Linux) VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable VMware Player 7.x (Linux) VMware Workstation Player 15.x (Windows) VMware Fusion Pro 8.x VMware Player Pro 7.x (Windows) VMware Player 7.x (Windows) VMware Player 5.x (Windows) VMware Player 4.x (Windows) VMware Fusion 3.x VMware Fusion 5.x VMware Workstation 11.x (for Linux) VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Windows) VMware Workstation Player 12.x (Linux) VMware Workstation Pro 15.x (Linux) VMware Player 5.x (Linux) VMware Player 3.x (Windows ) VMware Fusion 10.x VMware Workstation 9.x (Linux) VMware Player 6.x (Linux) VMware Workstation Player 12.x (Windows) VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Linux) VMware Workstation 8.x (Linux) VMware Fusion 6.x VMware Fusion Pro 10.x VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0 VMware Workstation 11.x (for Windows) VMware Workstation 7.x (Linux) VMware Fusion 8.x VMware Workstation 9.x (Windows) VMware Fusion 7.x VMware Workstation 10.x (Linux) VMware Workstation 7.x (Windows)
Cause
This issue occurs because, for security purposes, updating VMware Tools from within the guest is disabled by default.
Resolution
To resolve this issue, enable VMware Tools updates from within the guest by updating the virtual machine configuration file.
To update the virtual machine configuration file:
Shut down the virtual machine, if it is running. Open the virtual machine configuration file (.vmx
) using a text editor. For more information, see:
Add this line to the end of the file: isolation.tools.guestInitiatedUpgrade.disable = "FALSE"
Save and close the .vmx
file. Power on the virtual machine. Start the VMware Tools upgrade within the guest operating system.
Shut down the virtual machine, if it is running. Open the datastore browser and navigate to the virtual machine directory. Using the GUI option, download the .vmx
to your local desktop. Create a backup of the .vmx on your local workstation. Open the .vmx
file using a text editor and add this line to the end of the file: isolation.tools.guestInitiatedUpgrade.disable = "FALSE" Note : For more information, see Tips for editing a .vmx file (1714) . When saved, upload the file via the datastore browser GUI. Power on the virtual machine. Verify functionality before deleting the .vmx backup on your local workstation. Start the VMware Tools upgrade within the guest operating system.
Login to vCenter Server/Virtual Center using vSphere Client/Web Client. Right-click on virtual machine and click to shutdown or Power off the virtual machine. Right-click on virtual machine and click edit settings . Click the Options tab and select General under Advanced. Click Configuration Parameters and a new window opens. Click Add Row and type isolation.tools.guestInitiatedUpgrade.disable and FALSE under Value Click OK twice to close all the windows.
Shut down the virtual machine if it is running. Open an SSH session to a host. For more information, see Using ESXi Shell in ESXi 5.0 and 5.1 (2004746) or Using Tech Support Mode in ESXi 4.1 and ESXi 5.x (1017910) . Navigate to the virtual machine directory. Run this command to create a backup of the .vmx
file: cp .vmx .vmx.backup
Open the .vmx
file with a text editor and add this line to the end of the file: isolation.tools.guestInitiatedUpgrade.disable = "FALSE" Note : For more information, see Editing files on an ESX host using vi or nano (1020302) . Power on the virtual machine. Verify the virtual machine is functional before deleting the backup file. To delete the backup file, run the command: – rm .vmx.backup
Start the VMware Tools upgrade within the guest operating system.