Installing VMware Tools manually from the ISO image

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• VMware Tools installation errors before completion.
• VMware Tools installation fails to complete.
• Unable to complete VMwareTools installation.
• VMware Tools installation is not responding.
• The following error is received:
  
  General system error occurred: Invalid fault.

Resolution

Table of Contents

• Installing VMware Tools on Windows guest operating systems from the ISO image on the datastore
• Installing VMware Tools on Linux guest operating systems from the ISO image on the datastore

Installing VMware Tools on Windows guest operating systems from the ISO image on the datastore

In a Windows guest operating system, the VMware Tools installation may fail to start after Install VMware Tools is chosen if the Autostart option is disabled.

 

To manually start the VMware Tools Installer:

1. Connect to the ESX Server host where the virtual machine resides on or connect to the VirtualCenter server with the VMware Infrastructure Client (VI Client).
2. Right-click the virtual machine that installation of VMware Tools is requested on in the inventory. Choose to cancel or end the VMware Tools installation.
3. Right-click the virtual machine that installation of VMware Tools is requested on in the inventory. Choose to install VMware Tools.
4. Click OK or Install when prompted.
5. If the installer does not start:
   1. Click Start > Run from the inside guest operating system.
   2. Type D:\setup.exe, where D: is the first CD-ROM drive configured for the virtual machine.
   3. Click OK to start installing VMware Tools.
       
6. If the setup fails to start as the ISO was not mounted to the CD-ROM drive:
   1. Right-click the virtual machine that VMware Tools has been chosen for installation. Choose Edit Settings.
   2. Select CD/DVD Drive.
   3. Ensure the Connected check box is selected.
   4. Choose Datastore ISO file > Browse > vmimages > tools-isoimages > windows.iso
   5. Complete step 5 again.
       

Installing VMware Tools on Linux guest operating systems from the ISO image on the datastore

In a Linux guest operating system, the VMware Tools installation may fail to start after Install VMware Tools is chosen if the Autorun or Automount option are not available.

 

To manually start the VMware Tools Installer:

1. Connect to the ESX host where the virtual machine resides on or connect to the VirtualCenter server with the VI Client.
2. Right-click the virtual machine that installation of VMware Tools is requested on in the inventory. Choose to cancel or end the VMware Tools installation.
3. Right-click the virtual machine that installation of VMware Tools is requested on in the inventory. Choose to install VMware Tools.
4. Log in to the virtual machine as root.
5. Mount the ISO as a CD-ROM:
   
   mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
   
   Note:  Use the instructions given in step 6 of the Windows section to mount the Linux.iso file.
    
6. Run this command to see a tarball and a Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) file under the CD-ROM directory:
   
   ls /mnt/cdrom
    
7. Run this command to install using the RPM:
   
   rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-<esx version>.i386.tar.rpm
    
8. Run this command to install using the tarball:
   
   cd /tmp
   tar -zxvf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-<esx version>.i386.tar.gz
    
9. Run this command to unmount the CD-ROM
   
   umount /mnt/cdrom
    
10. once the tarball is unpacked, run the VMware Tools installer.
    
    Change the directory to vmware-tools-distrib and run ./vmware-install.pl .
    
    It is normal for the console screen to go blank for a short time during the installation when the display size changes.
     
11. After the installation completes, restart the X session for any mouse or graphics changes to take effect. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del.
12. Run this command to start the tools running in the background during an X server session:
    
    /usr/bin/vmware-toolbox &
     
13. Run this command to delete the extracted directory created in step 8, after VMware Tools has finished installation:
    
    rm -rf /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib

Additional Information

• Log into support.broadcom.com first before navigating to the Vmware Tools download link.