If you are installing VMware Tools in multiple virtual machines with Windows guest operating systems, you can automate its installation and specify options for the components to include or exclude.

Prerequisites

  • Power on the virtual machine.
  • Log in to the guest operating system as an administrator.
  • If you plan to use the setup.exe command at the command line to run the VMware Tools installation, edit the virtual machine settings to connect the virtual CD/DVD drive to the VMware Tools ISO image. In VMware Workstation Pro and Workstation Player, the windows.iso file is on the host in the directory where you installed Workstation Pro or Workstation Player.
  • If you plan to use MSI arguments to specify options regarding the silent installation, go to the Windows Installer page on the MSDN Web site to familiarize yourself with the syntax. You can use these arguments with the setup.exe command or place them in the vCenter Server dialog box for automatic installations and upgrades.
  • To prevent some VMware Tools components from being installed, familiarize yourself with the VMware Tools component names so that you can specify which components to exclude. See Names of VMware Tools Features Used in Silent Installations.
  • If you are installing VMware Tools from a beta or release candidate of a VMware product, suppress prompts about unsigned drivers. See Suppress Prompts About Unsigned Drivers on Windows Operating Systems Before Vista and Add VMware as a Trusted Publisher to Suppress Driver Prompts.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Web Client inventory, select the host, cluster, or datacenter and click the Virtual Machines tab.
  2. Select the virtual machines, right-click and select Guest OS > Install VMware Tools.
  3. Provide the installation or upgrade configuration information.