VMware Tools Upgrade for Windows Guest Cannot Continue

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Virtual machines running the Microsoft Windows guest operating system might display the following message while upgrading VMware Tools:

A later version of VMware Tools is already installed on this machine. The setup cannot continue.

This message appears when upgrading VMware Tools from ESX Server 3i version 3.5 Installable GA release to any Update 1 version (ESX Server, ESX Server 3i Embedded, or ESX Server 3i Installable version 3.5 Update 1), even though a later version of VMware Tools is not already installed on the virtual machine.

Environment

VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x

Resolution

This issue has been resolved in ESX Server 3i version 3.5 Installable Update 2 and higher.

To work around this issue, perform the following steps:

1. Remove VMware Tools from the Windows virtual machine.
   1. From the Start menu, choose Settings > Control Panel> Add or Remove Programs.
   2. Choose VMware Tools and click Uninstall or Remove.
2. In the Remote Console of the virtual machine, choose VM >Install/Upgrade VMware Tools to re-install VMware Tools.
3. Reboot the virtual machine.