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Installing VMware Workstation or VMware Tools fails with the error: 1327 or 1606 (1017886)

Symptoms

  • Installing VMware Workstation fails during this message:

    computing space requirements

  • Installing VMware Tools fails
  • You see one of these errors:

    • Error 1327: Invalid Drive (X)

      where X is a drive letter that is visibly not in use

    • Error 1606: Could Not Access Network Location \\<host>\users\administrator\my documents
    • Error cannot access //vmware/shared ../...., vmware-fusion

Cause

This issue can be caused by:

  • Disconnected network drives
  • Incorrect or nonexistent mapping of shell folders

Resolution

Ensure you are logged in to the virtual machine as the local administrator when attempting to install VMware Tools. If the issue persists, continue with the following information.
 
If the network drive in the error is disconnected, remove it or reconnect it to proceed with the installation. To remove the drive:
  1. Open My Computer.
  2. Right-click the network drive and select Remove.

Otherwise, the mapping of one or more shell folders is incorrect. To correct the mapping:

Note: This procedure modifies the Windows registry. Before making any registry modifications, ensure that you have a current and valid backup of the registry and the virtual machine. For more information on backing up and restoring the registry, see the Microsoft article 136393.

  1. Open the Registry Editor:
    • Windows XP: Go to Start > Run, type regedit, and click OK.
    • Windows Vista/7: Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Run, type regedit, and click OK.
    • Window 8: Keep the Windows Key pressed on the keyboard and then press R key to open Run prompt. Type regedit, and click OK

  2. Navigate to these two locations:

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

       
  3. Make sure that you see these values (among others). Update these entries, if they have a different data value:

    Windows XP / Server 2003
    Name Data value
    Desktop %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
    My Music %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Music
    My Pictures %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures
    Personal %USERPROFILE%\My Documents


    Windows Vista / 7 / Server 2008 / 8
    Name Data value
    Desktop %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
    My Music %USERPROFILE%\Music
    My Pictures %USERPROFILE%\Pictures
    Personal %USERPROFILE%\Documents

Additional Information

For more information, see Microsoft's Knowledge Base articles 886549 and 327763.

Note: The preceding links were correct as of September 20, 2010. If you find a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

Tags

cannot-install-tools install-tools install-vmware-tools install-vmware-tools-fails misconfigured-windows-registry registry-settings registry-settings-incorrect tools-install tools-install-hangs vmware-tools vmware-tools-install-doesnot-complete vmware-tools-install-fails install-vmware-tools-windows

This Article Replaces

1011717, 1006536 

Update History

08/16/2010 - Made step 4 explicit; added Fusion. 04/04/2011 - Minor symptoms, title adjustment 05/12/2011 - Added Vista/7 locations

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