VMware Tools installation fails on Windows Server 2025 with "VCRUNTIME140.dll not found" or "VGAuthService failed to start
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VMware Tools installation fails on Windows Server 2025 with "VCRUNTIME140.dll not found" or "VGAuthService failed to start

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Article ID: 428273

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

  • VMware Tools installer wizard, he installation wizard performs a rollback, stating that the "Wizard was interrupted. it fails with an error "Service 'VMware Alias Manager and Ticket Service' (VGAuthService) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services."

  • Service 'VMware Alias Manager and Ticket Service' (VGAuthService) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services. In the Application event it shows  "Event 7009, Service Control Manager : A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the VMware Alias Manager and Ticket Service service to connect."

  • The code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem. Execute "VGAuthService.exe" it shows an error - " The code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem."

  • The underlying C++ runtime libraries required by VMware Tools services are missing on the Windows Server 2025 instance.

Environment

  • ESXi 7.x
  • ESXi 8.x
  • ESX 9.x

Cause

This issue is caused by a missing or corrupted dependency on the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable package. Windows Server 2025 may not include the required C++ runtime libraries (such as VCRUNTIME140.dll) in Windows\System32 by default.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, ensure the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime environment is correctly registered before running the VMware Tools installer.

 

Method 1: Repair existing redistributables

If the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable is already listed in the installed programs but the error persists, the DLL registration is likely corrupted.

  1. Log in to the Guest OS as an Administrator.
  2. Navigate to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.
  3. Locate Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64).
  4. Click the menu (three dots) > Modify.
  5. Select Repair.
  6. Repeat steps 3-5 for the (x86) version if present.
  7. Reboot the Guest OS.
  8. Retry the VMware Tools installation.

Method 2: Steps to extract Microsoft runtime from VMware Tools

  1. Download the VMware Tools package for Windows from the Broadcom Support Portal.
  2. Mount the VMwareTools.iso file.
  3. Execute the setup.exe (or setup64.exe) file.
  4. When the installation wizard appears, do not click "Next" The installer has now extracted the necessary temporary files.
  5. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to: C:\ProgramData\Package Cache.
  6. Search for folders containing "VC" or "Redistributable" to find the vc_redist.x64.exe and vc_redist.x86.exe files.
  7. Copy the required installers to a different directory.
  8. Run and install both vc_redist.x64.exe and vc_redist.x86.exe.
  9. Return to the VMware Tools wizard and click Next to complete the installation.

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