VMwareToolsUpgrader.exe has initiated the restart of computer on behalf of user

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

VMware tools may not have crashed, but according to the system event log, it did terminate unexpectedly.
VMwareToolsUpgrader.exe has initiated the restart of computer on behalf of user
The VM's vmware.log may show:

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.787Z| vmx| I125: GuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox timed out.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.057Z| vcpu-0| I125: Tools: Tools heartbeat timeout.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.057Z| vcpu-0| I125: Tools: Running status rpc handler: 1 => 0.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.057Z| vcpu-0| I125: Tools: Changing running status: 1 => 0.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.790Z| vmx| I125: GuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox timed out.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.790Z| vmx| I125: GuestRpc: app toolbox's second ping timeout; assuming app is down
...
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.510Z| vmx| I125: Guest: toolbox: Version: 10.3.10.10540 (build-12406962)
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.513Z| vcpu-0| I125: VMXNET3 user: Ethernet0 RSS fields requested by vmx: 3
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.513Z| vcpu-0| I125: Checkpoint_Unstun: vm stopped for 9718 us
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.513Z| vcpu-0| I125: CPU reset: hard (mode 0)
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.513Z| vcpu-1| I125: CPU reset: hard (mode 0)
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.513Z| vcpu-7| I125: CPU reset: hard (mode 0)
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.513Z| vcpu-3| I125: CPU reset: hard (mode 0)
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.513Z| vcpu-6| I125: CPU reset: hard (mode 0)

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.877Z| vcpu-0| A100: ConfigDB: Setting virtualHW.scheduledUpgrade.poweredOffNeedsPowerOn = "TRUE"
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.881Z| vcpu-0| I125: VM reset: virtual hardware upgrade requested. Power off for client power on.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.881Z| vmx| I125: Stopping VCPU threads...

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.963Z| vmx| I125: TOOLS INSTALL User requested VMware Tools installation reminder
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.963Z| vmx| A100: ConfigDB: Setting tools.remindInstall = "TRUE"

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.929Z| vmx| I125+ The VMware Tools package is not running in this virtual machine. The package might be necessary for the guest operating system to run at resolutions higher than 640x480 with 16 colors. The package provides significant performance benefits as well. To install it, choose VM > Install VMware Tools… after the guest operating system starts.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.929Z| vmx| I125+ VMware ESX can remind you to install the VMware Tools package when you power on the VM. Select OK to enable the reminder.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.929Z| vmx| I125+ ---------------------------------------
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.986Z| vmx| I125: Vix: [mainDispatch.c:1180]: VMAutomationPowerOff: Powering off.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

This KB is applicable when one or more below mention factors are true.

Windows guest OS
Running VMware tools with version less than 11
tools.upgrade policy is set to upgradeAtpowerCycle
Guest is running on a host which has a newer version of VMTools available than is running on the guest
The guest has been up for longer than 49.7 days
VMware Tools stops for any reason and is restarted

Resolution

The issue occurs under the circumstances described under cause. VMware is aware of this issue and is specific to VMware Tools version 10.x version.

This has been addressed in VMware Tools 11.

Workaround
For VMware Tools >= 10.3.5, installation of NSX Guest Introspection Drivers may cause tools to crash, which in turn could trigger this issue. Please refer to VMware Tools >= 10.3.5 crashes where NSX Guest Introspection driver are installed for information on that issue.

One way to prevent the problem is to set tools.upgrade.policy to manual for any guests running a version of tools earlier than 11.