Download VMware Tools for Windows Vista (and Windows 7 RTM)

vista.md

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.

Hello, unsure about Windows 7 RTM, but for Windows Vista SP2 you can apply a KB4474419 update for Server 2008 which adds SHA2 support. VMware Tools installer also checks for Windows 7 and certain components depend on Windows 7 API. Some time ago I modified an early version of VMware Tools 11.x and added own 7+ stubs to make it fully working on Vista. D3D11 and OpenGL 4.1 acceleration was working fine in Vista guest.

If anyone is interested I might try that again with latest VMware Tools at some point.

Can you send a link to the modified VMware Tools?

It is here: https://openfire-ros.duckdns.org/nextcloud/index.php/s/9oHzZNdoKLmYX84/download
Keep in mind that it will work fully only on extended Vista. On vanilla Vista SP2 some features won't work (eg. accelerated OpenGL).

In my case, after setting up a Windows 7 RTM (no SP1) VM I've noticed that vmware tools 10.3.5 requires SP1 to work, so here is a link to the last one working for 7 RTM (10.2.5) https://packages.vmware.com/tools/releases/10.2.5/windows/VMware-tools-windows-10.2.5-8068406.iso

thanks. it worked and installed
vm using: windows vista x64 sp2 edition

Wow, this is a lifesaver gist. Thank you so much!

Is there a reason you link to 10.3.5 instead of 11.0.6? I have the latter installed, and it worked fine.

Though I have had one time where the display driver crashed when I tried to resize the screen. Is 10.3.5 more stable?

10.3.5 is much more stable in Vista. In my experience, the performance tanks with anything higher, and when it's fine, Windows forces itself back to the Home Basic theme.

Hello, unsure about Windows 7 RTM, but for Windows Vista SP2 you can apply a KB4474419 update for Server 2008 which adds SHA2 support. VMware Tools installer also checks for Windows 7 and certain components depend on Windows 7 API. Some time ago I modified an early version of VMware Tools 11.x and added own 7+ stubs to make it fully working on Vista. D3D11 and OpenGL 4.1 acceleration was working fine in Vista guest. If anyone is interested I might try that again with latest VMware Tools at some point.

Is it possible to repost the link? It doesn't work anymore...

Is it possible to repost the link? It doesn't work anymore...

https://mega.nz/folder/5LoC1ToZ#n7PLcTJAxsMX4cOpZYanww

Is it possible to repost the link? It doesn't work anymore...

https://mega.nz/folder/5LoC1ToZ#n7PLcTJAxsMX4cOpZYanww

I tried it just now and it didnt seem to make a difference. It still has performance issues for me just like when installing vmware tools 11.0.6 on Vista and then grabbing the unmodified vm3d driver from 11.2.6 and manually installing it for directx 11 functionality.

Are you sure this is the version that you modified for Vista for proper d3d11 and opengl acceleration? Or did I do something wrong?

I tried it just now and it didnt seem to make a difference. It still has performance issues for me just like when installing vmware tools 11.0.6 on Vista and then grabbing the unmodified vm3d driver from 11.2.6 and manually installing it for directx 11 functionality.

Are you sure this is the version that you modified for Vista for proper d3d11 and opengl acceleration? Or did I do something wrong?

It is just a modified installer from what I remember, on vanilla Vista only D3D11 would work as I mentioned before. For OpenGL ICD to work you had to either use extended Vista or patch in the required Win7 APIs.

It is just a modified installer from what I remember, on vanilla Vista only D3D11 would work as I mentioned before. For OpenGL ICD to work you had to either use extended Vista or patch in the required Win7 APIs.

I am using extended kernel v10192022 (which i modified to make some games work on it), but the performance is the same as in vanilla Vista. Also do you have a discord or something? Thought it would be better to talk there..

I am using extended kernel v10192022 (which i modified to make some games work on it), but the performance is the same as in vanilla Vista.

The extended Vista is not going to affect 3D performance, it just makes OpenGL working.

Also do you have a discord or something? Thought it would be better to talk there..

Well, I don't have much else to say, I don't even use VMware anymore. I don't really know what causes the performance issues for you, sorry. VMware doesn't have a great performance in general, is it really that much worse than Windows 7 guest?

Well, I don't have much else to say, I don't even use VMware anymore. I don't really know what causes the performance issues for you, sorry. VMware doesn't have a great performance in general, is it really that much worse than Windows 7 guest?

Well you see, the vm3d driver is broken on Vista and it only works properly on Windows 7 and later. The performance is really bad. Idk exactly what causes it. Maybe some Windows 7 APIs required by the driver or idk. Windows 7 and later work great with the same driver. And you can test games without performance issues.

In Vista, it's like this: If you're using VMware 16.x or later compatibility, you have to use the vm3d driver from vmware tools 10.3.x to solve performance issues, which that driver only supports Direct3D 9Ex. If you use the driver from tools 11.1.x on 16.x or later, you will have d3d11 but the OS will be very laggy / have performance issues. If I use the driver from vmware tools 11.1-11.2.6 and then set the vm compatibility to VMware 15.x, it will fix the performance, but it's still a deal-breaker because VMware 15 and lower don't support Direct3D 11