This is the last version of VMWare Tools that is compatible for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 R1 guests.
Checksum (SHA 256):
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Reviews
Reviewer:
RescriptedDeveloper
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favorite —
September 9, 2023
Subject:
Doesn’t work
Just completely failed to work after installation, tried everything and just nothing happened.
Reviewer:
CallMeWilliam (Cujurd)
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite —
August 24, 2023
Subject:
Works Perfectly
Thanks so much for this, it just works wonderfully. I would’ve spent hours researching the web if it wasn’t for this, pretty much a lifesaver at this point. Like I said, works without any issues whatsoever, and in my opinion deserves the highest rating. Thank you for this blessing that probably saved me 2 hours of browsing on the deepest of Google’s sketchiest download.com websites.
Reviewer:
shawn888
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite —
March 26, 2023
Subject:
VMware Tools
I open in VMware and it’s Working!
Reviewer:
mirh
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February 22, 2023
Subject:
Info
If you were wondering, this is version 11.0.6.
For RTM, the last version you’d want is instead 10.2.5.
Reviewer:
ComputerGeek64
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite —
July 6, 2022
Subject:
Thanks so much
This is the only one I could find that works!
As of 12/11/2020, VMware no longer signs Tools for Windows Vista with SHA-1, so you need Windows 7 SP1 or later to use the latest version.
However, you can use an older version of VMware Tools, which is here: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/thepwrtank18/thepwrtank18/master/VMware%20Tools%20for%20Windows%207%20RTM%20and%20Vista.iso
Link is dead. Instead, here’s a full on guide.
Step 0: Foreword
This is an unsupported operating system, with unsupported drivers. Use this at your own risk.
Step 1: Preparation
You will need:
- Either a:
- x64 Windows Vista ISO
- x64 Windows Vista Disc + Reader
- VMware Workstation (Pro or Player) 15.x, or Pro 16.x and higher.
- An old version of the VMware Tools ISO (10.3.5 to be precise), from here
Step 2: Creation
Note: Do not let VMware scan your ISO or disc, Easy Install may use the wrong version of Windows, whether a wrong edition or architecture.
Make a VM. If you have Pro or Player 15.x, do what you normally do. If you have Pro 16.x, make sure compatibility is set to Workstation 15.x (in Custom settings). After that, customize the settings you want. (Player does not support custom settings, so you either need to get 15.x, which is what you need anyway, or Pro 16.x and higher.)
Step 3: Modification
Make sure you have your ISO or disc selected in the VM options. If there’s a floppy disc or extra DVD drive with «autoinst» or the like on it, remove that drive.
Step 4: Installation
Install as usual. When it tells you to create a user profile, don’t do that for now. Go to the VM settings, then put in the VMware Tools ISO you got earlier. Don’t install VMware Tools via VM>Install VMware Tools. After that, press Shift+F10 in the VM. Put in D:\setup64.exe.
Step 5: Initialization
Do the VMware Tools installation as usual. When it says if it wants to restart the machine, say «Yes», then go to VM>Power>Reset. When it reboots, do the setup as normal. Let it monitor your computer’s performance, as drivers are installed.
You can manually install VMware Tools on a windows virtual machine. The Guest operating systems that support VMware Tools are Windows 2000 and earlier, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and later versions.
Prerequisites
- Power on the virtual machine.
- Verify that the guest operating system is running.
- For vSphere virtual machines, determine whether you have the latest version of VMware Tools. In the vSphere Client inventory, select the virtual machine and click the Summary tab.
- For Workstation Player, Fusion, and Workstation Pro virtual machines, if you connected the virtual machine’s virtual CD/DVD drive to an ISO image file when you installed the operating system, change the setting so that the virtual CD/DVD drive is configured to autodetect a physical drive.
The autodetect setting enables the virtual machine’s first virtual CD/DVD drive to detect and connect to the VMware Tools ISO file for a VMware Tools installation. This ISO file looks like a physical CD to your guest operating system. Use the virtual machine settings editor to set the CD/DVD drive to autodetect a physical drive.
- Log in as an administrator unless you are using an older Windows operating system. Any user can install VMware Tools in a Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME guest operating system. For operating systems later than these, you must log in as an administrator.
- If you use vSphere and plan to install the Guest Introspection Thin Agent driver, see the system requirements listed in the vShield Quick Start Guide. The vShield component is not installed by default. You must perform a custom installation and include that component.
- The AppDefense component is not installed by default. You must perform a custom installation and include that component.
Procedure
- Select the menu command to mount the VMware Tools virtual disk on the guest operating system.
VMware Product Action vSphere Client Right-click the virtual machine and select Guest OS > Install VMware Tools… or Guest OS > Upgrade VMware Tools… Fusion Virtual Machine > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools Workstation Pro VM > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools Workstation Player Player > Manage > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools - If you are using vCenter Server and are performing an upgrade or reinstallation, in the Install/Upgrade VMware Tools dialog box, select Interactive Tools Installation or Interactive Tools Upgrade and click OK.
The process starts by mounting the VMware Tools virtual disc on the guest operating system.
- If you are installing VMware Tools for the first time, click OK on the Install VMware Tools information page.
If autorun is enabled for the CD-ROM drive on the guest operating system, the VMware Tools installation wizard starts.
To launch the wizard manually if autorun is not enabled, click
and enter
D:\setup.exe, where
D: is your first virtual CD-ROM drive. Use
D:\setup64.exe for 64-bit Windows guest operating system. - Follow the on-screen prompts.
If you use vSphere, to install nondefault components, such as the Guest Introspection Thin Agent driver, select the
Custom setup.Note: If NSX Guest Introspection (GI) drivers are installed and you are using ‘Custom’ installation option in the Tools installer for upgrade, ensure that all installed GI drivers are upgraded during upgrade.
- If the New Hardware wizard appears, follow the prompts and accept the defaults.
Note: If you are installing a beta or RC version of VMware Tools and you see a warning that a package or driver is not signed, click
Install Anyway to complete the installation. - When prompted, reboot the virtual machine.
Results
If you are using vCenter Server, the VMware Tools label on the Summary tab changes to OK.
What to do next
If you upgraded VMware Tools as part of a vSphere upgrade, next determine whether to upgrade the virtual machines in your environment. To review and compare the hardware available for different compatibility levels, see the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration documentation.
You can manually install VMware Tools on a windows virtual machine. The Guest operating systems that support VMware Tools are Windows 2000 and earlier, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and later versions. Power on the virtual machine. Verify that the guest operating system is running.
VMware Server is the perfect place to test Microsoft Windows Vista. That is because VMware Server is free to download and you don’t want to install Vista over your existing operating system. Vista is a significant upgrade to Windows XP and there are so many changes. In the perfect world, installing Vista under VMware would be without issue.
For details, refer to the following VMware Knowledge Base article 75163. For VMware Tools version 11.1 or later, releases will no longer support Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2.
You may be wondering “Which versions of windows are supported by VMware Tools?”
For VMware Tools version 11.1 or later, releases will no longer support Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. Note: The oldest supported versions of Windows for these releases of tools is now Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1).
Why use VMware to test Windows Vista?
Using VMware to test Windows Vista is a very smart solution. Vista is a complex product. Testing and learning about it inside a virtual environment protects your production desktop and network (if you choose to isolate it from your network).
You may be wondering “What are the system requirements to run VMware Tools on Windows?”
This program requires that you have Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or greater installed in this virtual machine. For details, refer to the following VMware Knowledge Base article 75163. For VMware Tools version 11.1 or later, releases will no longer support Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2.
How to install Windows Vista on a virtual machine?
Run the Oracle VM VBox program and click the New button below to create a new virtual machine. When the virtual Step 2. For a virtual machine, it would be sufficient to specify a 2 GB (2048) RAM size. To, or after setting the virtual step 3 are a couple extra items to examine.
To enable the virtualization feature for the Vista VM to work more efficiently, select Processors from the Device section and tick all the options in the Virtualization Engine tab on the right. By increasing the graphics memory of the virtual computer, you can get more efficiency from the programs you will use on the VM.
Then, how to create a virtual computer for Windows Vista?
Some believe that after installing VMware Pro on your computer, open the program and follow the steps below to create a new virtual computer for the Vista virtual system. After creating and preparing the VM, all you need is an ISO image file.
Also, why install Windows Vista in VirtualBox from Oracle?
Here is what we researched. installing Windows Vista in Virtual, box virtual Box from Oracle makes it very easy to install multiple guest operating systems running various versions of Windows (including Vista), different flavors of Linux, or different Unix-based operating systems all on a single PC or Mac.
Why do I need to install VMware Tools after installation?
After installing the operating systems of Windows or other platforms with VMware, VMware Tools must be installed in order to use the screen resolution, file sharing, and the host’s devices.
Can I run Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit on a VM?
Since Windows Vista Ultimate 64 Bit is an old operating system, you can use the Workstation program to install and run it on the VM without installing this system on your physical computer. If you have not installed the VMware software program on your Windows computer before, you can click here to browse the related article.
Sometimes decommissioning old system is not easy as it looks, as this has a lots of dependency on business as well as on end users. As Microsoft had already made the announcement few years back about the End of Support for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 as well as some other old traditional legacy EUC OS. Microsoft Product Life Cycle . As last few weeks back at one of my customer site we got to know that one of the machine they had recently migrated from physical to Virtual (VMware vSphere 6.7U1) and are facing trouble to install the VMware Tools. Later at the time of troubleshooting I found out the machine is Windows 2003 which they need to up and running for at least 2 quarters as they are coming up with new solution for that particular project. Once the migration was done from physical to virtual which was successful one for the support teams once they trying to install the VMware tools they were getting errors stating that ” The required VMware Tools ISO image does not exist or is inaccessible.”
Installing and Using VMware Tools. As VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of the virtual machine’s guest operating system and improves management of the virtual machine. Although the guest operating system can run without VMware Tools, you would lose important functionality and convenience. Whenever I design or deploy/implement VMware solution I generally go through the release notes of the product which is very important at the time of every vSphere Major Release VMware announces the release of Latest VMware tools,
These Notes clear stats that there is no iso or packages has been released for Windows 2003 or earlier OS. The list of the OS which support these latest VMware tools are below.
Windows OS level prerequisites
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows 10
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Windows 8.1
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows 8
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
- Windows 7 SP1
- Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2)
- Windows Vista SP2
- Windows Server 2012 R2 with Microsoft update KB2919355
- Windows 8.1 with Microsoft update KB2919355
But As we all know VMware tools comes with drivers and some other important metrics which will be helpful in future for troubleshooting and managing and planning the resources accordingly with the behavior of a virtual machine. As this newly migrated VM was running on vSphere 6.7 U1 and after several tries and getting the above mentioned error, I come up with an idea that lets install the Older Version of VMware tools which I downloaded from VMware, but that also resulted in a failure. After reading the release notes of vSphere 6.5 I found out that the VMware Tools Version 10.0.12 and after going through the release notes I found out that this contains a winprevista.iso “Bingo” here you go, I was fortunate enough that in one of my lab environment I was running vSphere 6.5U1 and now I need to extract the Winprevista.iso file from this host to my machine and need to extract using WinZip or 7Zip program. To get this file you can use the any SFTP client which works over port number 22, then you need to login to your host using root credentials and password, navigate to the location /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/ and look for the desired mentioned image download it and extract it using the tools which you are comfortable with I used the 7zip program for this.
Now you will be thinking why I didn’t copied this iso file directly to the host where my newly migrated VM was residing, So when we install the VMware tools a mount has been initiated and to get the mount we need to have the supportive Windows 2003 CD ROM driver on that machine which we didn’t had, So now I had Copy all the content to a folder in my machine for that first I used the WinSCP client to copy that iso than mount it using the default mount options which we are getting in Windows 2012 Servers. Copy all the content to your local media or other NTFS drive.
As the machine neither had the CD ROM driver nor has the network connectivity, then I utilized the VMware Edit Virtual Machine Feature, for that.
Hope this have been informative for you. See you in the another blog post.
Published by sajag007
Experienced Delivery Lead with a demonstrated history of working in the IT industry. Strong operations professional skilled in IT Infrastructure Specially within Private Cloud Servers & Network Architecture, Engagement Management and Program Management.
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