Unable to install VMware Tools. An error occurred while trying to access image file /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/linux.iso needed to install VMware Tools: No such file or directory. If your product shipped with the VMware Tools package, reinstall VMware ESX, then try again to install the VMware Tools package in the virtual machine.
To resolve this issue, ensure to use a supported guest operating system.
ls -la /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/
ls: /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/: No such file or directory
cd /
mv locker /tmp
find . -iname vmtools
find / -iname vmtools
/vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/packages/6.0.0/vmtools
/vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/packages/6.0.0/
esxcli system maintenanceMode set --enable true
rm /productLocker
ln -s /vmfs/volumes/<volumeName>/<extracted directory> /productLocker
Example: find / -iname vmtools
esxcli system maintenanceMode set --enable false
Note: If the host is running with ESXi 6.5 up to the version before 6.5U1, not putting the host in maintenance mode may lead to VM crashes due to the host security policy when VMs try to access the new /productLocker link
ESXi 6.5 Update 1 provides a tool 'updateProductLockerPolicy'to avoid the need for putting host in maintenance mode. It can be used as in the steps below.
Note: For 6.5 U1 and later, ESXi does not require a reboot as the changes take immediately.
rm /productLocker
ln -s /vmfs/volumes/<volumeName>/<extracted directory> /productLocker
updateProductLockerPolicy <old-symlink-target-from-command-above> /vmfs/volumes/<volumeName>/<extracted directory>