Verifying a VMware Tools build version

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
This article provides steps to determine the version of VMware Tools installed on a virtual machine and to check if the installed version corresponds to the version on the ESXi/ESX host.

Environment

VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware VirtualCenter 2.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.5.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable

Resolution

To determine the VMware Tool version:

Windows:

From the Console or an remote desktop session, open VMware Tools from the Task Bar and click About.
From the directory located at C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\, run the command:

VMwareToolboxCmd.exe -v

Linux:

From the Console, run the vmware-toolbox command from terminal and click About.
To determine the vmware-tools version, run the command:

vmware-toolbox-cmd -v

To compare the versions of the host build level is required. Fore more information, see Determining the build number of VMware ESX/ESXi and VMware vCenter Server (1022196).

If the VMware Tools version installed is a lower build number than the corresponding ESXi/ESX host build number then upgrade the VMware Tools to the latest version. For more information, see the Documentation Center.

Note: The Tools version can also be accessed from the ESXi/ESX command line by running the command:

grep toolbox /vmfs/volumes/datastore/vm_name/vmware.log

An alternative command to verify the tools version on an ESX/ESXi host is:

grep build- /vmfs/volumes/datastore/vm_name/vmware.log

Additional Information

Different VMware Tools status in Windows virtual machines running on ESXi/ESX host
How to install VMware Tools
Determining the build number of VMware ESX/ESXi and VMware vCenter Server
Managing virtual machines using PowerCLI
Installing and upgrading VMware Tools in vSphere
Verificar una versión de compilación de VMware Tools
Como verificar uma versão de compilação do VMware Tools
验证 VMware Tools 内部版本
VMware Tools のビルドバージョンの確認