Troubleshooting a failed VMware Tools installation in a Guest Operating System

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article guides you through troubleshooting the installation of VMware Tools on guest operating systems.

Symptoms:

VMware Tools installation errors before completion.
VMware Tools installation fails to complete.
Unable to complete VMware Tools for Windows and/or Linux installations.
VMware Tools hangs when installing or-reinstalling.
while unmounting and restarting vmware tool it says job failed. see journalctl -xe for more detail
You may receive one or more of these errors:

An error occurred during the move data process: -623 File name is.
The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation
The Windows installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running windows in safe mode, or if windows installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance
Error 1316 A network error occurred while attempting to read the file.
Error 1706. Setup cannot find the required files
Error 1714 The older version of VMware Tools cannot be removed.
Error 1722: There is a problem with Windows Installer Package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected. Contact your support personnel or package vendor.
The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation
Failed dependencies: glibc-common

In the vminst.log file located at %TEMP%, you see an error similar to:
tools-build-493255: YY/DD/MM HH:MM:SS Attempting to launch "printui.exe /ia /f "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\Virtual Printer\TPOGPS\OEMPRINT.INF" /r "TPVM:" /m "TP Output Gateway PS" /Y /K /h3"

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.0

Resolution

Please validate that each troubleshooting step below is true for your environment. Each step will provide instructions or a link to a document, in order to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Do not skip a step.

Verify that the guest operating system you are trying to install VMware Tools in is fully certified. See the VMware Compatibility Guide for an outline of which guest operating systems are certified for each version of ESX/ESXi. If your guest operating system is not listed, the following steps may help to install VMware Tools, but be aware that installation is not always possible in an uncertified guest operating system.
Verify that the correct guest operating system is selected. For more information, see Ensuring the correct Guest Operating System is selected (1003912).
Verify that the correct ISO image is being loaded. For more information, see Installing VMware Tools manually from the ISO image (1003910).
Verify that the VMware Tools ISO image has not been corrupted. For more information, see Determining if your VMware Tools ISO image is corrupt on an ESX/ESXi host (1004820).
If installing on a Windows operating system, ensure that you are not experiencing any issues with your Windows registry. For more information on troubleshooting registry issues with VMware Tools, see Unable to upgrade existing VMware Tools (1001354).
If installing on a 64-bit Linux guest operating system, ensure that there are no dependencies missing. For more information, see VMware Tools installation fails to start the guest operating system daemon on 64-bit Linux Guest Operating Systems with the 32-bit glibc-common package installed (1023185).

Note: If your problem still exists after trying the steps in this article:

Gather the VMware Support Script Data. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information in a VMware Virtual Infrastructure Environment (1003689).
File a support request with VMware Support and note this KB Article ID (1003908) in the problem description. For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request.

Additional Information

For related troubleshooting information, see General VMware Tools installation instructions (1014294).

Note: If the VMware Tools installation fails, verify if running a custom installation, rather than a typical or complete installation, addresses the issue. Also, disable the ThinPrint component.

In addition, see these articles for further assistance troubleshooting specific issues with VMware Tools:

Unable to upgrade existing VMware Tools
Collecting diagnostic information in a VMware Virtual Infrastructure Environment
Installing VMware Tools manually from the ISO image
Ensuring the correct Guest Operating System is selected
Troubleshooting failed VMware Tools upgrade in a virtual machine on an ESX/ESXi host
Determining if your VMware Tools ISO image is corrupt on an ESX/ESXi host
VMware Tools installation fails with Error 1722
VMware Tools may not install on a Windows guest operating system after upgrading to a newer version of ESX/ESXi
How to install VMware Tools
Installing VMware Tools on a Windows guest fails with the error: The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation
VMware Tools installation fails to start the guest operating system daemon on 64-bit Linux Guest Operating Systems with the 32-bit glibc-common package installed
VMware Tools installation fails with the error: Error 1719 - The Windows installer service could not be accessed