Kbvmware S Article 78708 Free |verified| Official

The keyword in your query, "free," might also relate to VMware's Free ESXi Hypervisor. Broadcom, which now owns VMware, discontinued the free version of ESXi in February 2024, moving to subscription-based licensing. However, the KB 78708 article and its solution are . The updates required to fix the VMware Tools installation are free downloads from Microsoft. These updates are also applicable to virtual machines running on any VMware product, including the free VMware Workstation Player and the (now-discontinued) free ESXi, as long as the guest operating system is Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

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On your hypervisor menu platform (such as vSphere Client or VMware Workstation), click > Guest OS > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools .

How to Fix VMware Tools Installation Failures on Legacy Windows (KB 78708) kbvmware s article 78708 free

The resolution, as detailed in , involves updating your Windows 7/2008 R2 environment to support SHA-2. This process is free and requires installing specific Microsoft patches. Step-by-Step Resolution

The fundamental cause of this issue lies in a significant change Microsoft implemented in Windows driver signing practices. Starting , Microsoft began exclusively using the SHA-2 algorithm for driver signatures.

To enhance security, Microsoft announced a significant change to its driver signing policy. As of , Microsoft began exclusively using the SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) algorithm for Windows driver signing, effectively phasing out the older, less secure SHA-1 algorithm. The keyword in your query, "free," might also

The setup wizard will now pass the driver verification phase smoothly, installing vmxnet3, pvscsi, and SVGA drivers without warning prompts. Alternative Solutions: Frozen Tools Packages

: Because modern versions of VMware Tools (including versions 12.x.x and 13.x.x) use updated, secure drivers, unpatched legacy guest operating systems immediately reject the installation payload. Symptoms of a Failed Installation

If the installer still fails, ensure all service packs are current and you have installed the KB4490628 patch (Servicing stack update for Windows 7) along with KB4474419. Why You Need This Patch The updates required to fix the VMware Tools

This staged approach is particularly useful when network connectivity or file transfer limitations make it difficult to install Windows updates first.

You could try installing an older version of VMware Tools (e.g., version 11.0.6 or earlier) which may still use SHA-1 signed drivers. However, using older versions is not recommended as they may lack important security fixes and features. Installing the updates is the proper, long-term solution.