VMware Tools 13.0.10 upgrade fails with Microsoft Runtime DLL installer error

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When upgrading or reinstalling VMware Tools 13.0.10 on Windows guest operating systems, the installation fails. In vSphere, the virtual machine status shows VMware Tools as not installed, and the VMTools service fails to start on the guest OS.

Symtoms: 

 

• VMware Tools status displays as Not Installed or Not Running in the vSphere Client.

• Attempting to start the VMware Tools service (VMTools) manually fails with: Error 1067: The process terminated unexpectedly.

• Interactive or silent VMware Tools installer fails with the popup error: Setup cannot continue. The Microsoft Runtime DLL installer failed to complete installation.

 

Environment

 

VMware vSphere / ESXi

 

Cause

The embedded Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package installer bundled within VMware Tools 13.0.10 cannot complete due to locked system files, pending OS reboot operations, corrupted C++ runtime dependencies, or a missing Microsoft Visual C++ 2015–2022 Redistributable build (minimum build 14.40.33816 or higher required by vmtoolsd.exe).

Resolution

 

• Clear Pending System Operations:

  • Reboot the affected Windows Virtual Machine to release file locks or finish pending Windows Update operations.

  • Verify that the registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations is cleared.

• Manually Install or Repair Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable:

  • Download the latest supported Microsoft Visual C++ 2015–2022 Redistributable (both x86 and x64 architectures) directly from Microsoft.

  • Install or execute a Repair via Control Panel > Programs and Features. Ensure the version installed is 14.40.33816 or higher.

• Re-execute VMware Tools Installation:

  • Run the VMware Tools 13.0.10 setup executable as an Administrator.

  • (Optional Workaround) If the wrapper executable continues to fail, extract the installer package manually by executing setup.exe /x via Command Prompt to bypass the installer wrapper and run the .msi directly.

• Verify Service Status:

  • Open an administrative Command Prompt and start the service:
     
    net start VMTools

• Confirm the service starts cleanly and vSphere reports VMware Tools status as Running / Up to date.

 

Additional Information

 

• Error: "The Microsoft Runtime DLL installer failed to complete installation" when attempting upgrade VMware Tools

• VMware Tools installation fails with error "Setup cannot continue. The Microsoft Runtime DLL installer failed to complete installation"

• VMtools not running and service will not start (Error 1067)