Unable to uninstall VMware Tools from Windows on 3rd party hypervisor
Article ID: 414772
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
- Unable to uninstall VMware Tools from a Windows OS running on 3rd party hypervisor(e.g. Hyper-V, KVM) or cloud infrastructure
- Uninstalling VMware Tools from [Control Panel] -> [Programs] -> [Uninstall a Program] shows no errors or messages
- However, VMware Tools reports an unrecoverable error every time after rebooting Windows OS
- VMware Tools remains in [Control Panel] -> [Programs] -> [Programs and Features]
- Uninstalling VMware Tools from a Windows VM fails after migration to AWS EC2, Azure, or other non-vSphere environments.
- Uninstallation fails via "Apps & Features," PowerShell, or Command Line.
- MSI logs (vminst.log) show the following error:
- CustomAction VM_CheckRequirements returned actual error code 1603
The above error may be displayed as below
VMware Tools Error
VMware Tools unrecoverable error: (host-3632)
Exception 0xc0000096 has occurred.
You can request support.
To collect data to submit to VMware technical support, run "vm-support.vbs"
in the VMware Tools installation directory.
We will respond on the basis of your support entitlement.
Environment
AWS EC2
Cause
VMware Tools itself and its installer detect which hypervisor is used and are not designed to run on 3rd party hypervisor.
The VMware Tools uninstaller performs a hardware validation check (VM_CheckRequirements) to ensure it is running on a VMware hypervisor. When the VM is hosted on AWS (EC2) or other 3rd party platforms, this check fails, causing the MSI installer to roll back with error 1603.
Resolution
VMware Tools must be uninstalled prior to migration. If the VM has already been migrated:
- Microsoft Troubleshooter: Download and run the to force-remove the VMware Tools registry entries.
- OS/Cloud Vendor Engagement: Contact AWS Support or Microsoft for official "cleanup" utilities designed to remove legacy virtualization drivers from the Guest OS.
- Manual Cleanup: If the above fails, refer to . Note that manual registry editing is not officially supported and should be performed only after a full backup/snapshot of the instance.
Workaround 1: Uninstall VMware Tools manually
Additional Information
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