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General VMware Tools installation instructions (1014294)

Purpose

This article provides general steps to install VMware Tools in most VMware products.
 
Note: For an overview of VMware Tools and a list of product documentation that contains information about installing VMware Tools on VMware products, see Overview of VMware Tools (340) or Installing and Configuring VMware Tools. For information related to vSphere 5.0, Installing VMware Tools in vSphere (2004754).
 
Other products:

Resolution

Installing VMware Tools
 
The following are general steps used to start the VMware Tools installation in most VMware products. Certain guest operating systems may require different steps, but these steps work for most operating systems. Links to more detailed steps for different operating systems are included in this article. Make sure to review the VMware documentation for the product you are using.
 
To install VMware Tools in most VMware products:
  1. Power on the virtual machine.
  2. Log in to the virtual machine using an account with Administrator or root privileges.
  3. Wait for the desktop to load and be ready.
  4. Click Install/Upgrade VMware Tools. There are two places to find this option:

    • Right-click on the running virtual machine object and choose Install/Upgrade VMware Tools.
    • Right-click on the running virtual machine object and click Open Console. In the Console menu click VM and click Install/Upgrade VMware Tools.

      Note: In ESX/ESXi 4.x, navigate to VM > Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools.       In Workstation, navigate to VM > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools.

  5. Based on the operating system you specified when creating the virtual machine, the correct ISO CD-ROM image containing VMware Tools is mounted to the virtual CD-ROM of the virtual machine.

    To verify the operating system you have selected, perform one of the following:

    • Right-click the running virtual machine object and choose Edit Settings > Options > General Options > Guest Operating System and Version.
    • Right-click the running virtual machine object and click Open Console. In the Console menu click VM > Edit Settings > Options> General Options > Guest Operating System and Version.

  6. Install VMware Tools from the CD-ROM inside of your guest operating system:
Supported Guest Operating Systems
Guest operating system support varies by product and version. VMware Tools is designed to install smoothly on supported guests. Unsupported guests may require further steps to complete the VMware Tools installation outlined in Installing VMware Tools in a Linux virtual machine using Compiler (1018414). For a list of supported guest operating systems, see the VMware Compatibility Guide.

Additional Information

With VMware Workstation 7, you have the option of downloading updated VMware Tools by going to Help > Check for Updates on the Web.
 
If the VMware Tools were never downloaded for VMware Workstation 7, when clicking Install/Upgrade VMware Tools, you are prompted to download VMware Tools.
 
If you experience issues when installing VMware Tools, see the following articles for troubleshooting information:

Tags

install-tools  install-vmware-tools  tools-install  upgrade-vmware-tools  vmware-tools

See Also

This Article Replaces

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Update History

03/02/2011 - Updated VMware Player information 09/14/2011 - Added link to Installing and Configuring VMware Tools 02/24/2012 - Added Workstation step

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