Note: Before proceeding with the steps, VMware recommends to create a restore point using System Restore tool which is inbuilt in Windows operating systems. The restore point contains information about the registry, you can use the restore point to undo changes to your system.
For more information, see:
Note: The preceding link was correct of April 26, 2016. If you find the link in broken provide a feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
To resolve this issue, restore point or backup of registry:
- Click Start > Run, type regedit, and click OK. The Registry Editor opens.
- Navigate to this directory
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\
- Within this folder, search ( Edit > Find ) for tools-winpre2k.msi and delete the folder that contains tools-winpre2k.msi as data value.
For Example:
In this case:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\7A26F0EA2A1AF704F9C48439B99DDAD8\Sourselist]
"PackageName"="tools-winPre2k.msi"
You must delete 7A26F0EA2A1AF704F9C48439B99DDAD8 folder.
After the folder is deleted, try installing VMware Workstation.
Note: In the same registry location (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products), you might find entries below:
tools-linux.msi
tools-netware.msi
tools-solaris.msi
tools-windows.msi
vmwareworkstation.msi
If the installer returns similar error for any of the missing msi files, repeat steps 1 through 3 for corresponding msi files.