By following the guidance in KB 78708, administrators can quickly restore functionality to their vSphere environment without needing to redeploy the entire management server. Always ensure you are viewing the most recent version of the article on the official VMware (Broadcom) Support portal for the latest script updates.
Once the VM has restarted, run the VMware Tools installation again. It should now complete successfully. Frequently Asked Questions Is the fix for KB 78708 free?
Installation logs showing (Service marked for deletion) or setup termination. kbvmware s article 78708 free
A Windows Security warning stating: "Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software".
Backup verification is the unsung hero of IT. If your VCSA backup is failing silently, you are one power outage away from a very bad day. By following the guidance in KB 78708, administrators
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.
Fatal rollbacks during the VSock or WDDM driver compilation stages. Prerequisite Checklist It should now complete successfully
In late 2019, Microsoft deprecated the legacy, less secure SHA-1 hashing algorithm for signing Windows binaries and drivers. Starting December 3, 2019, Microsoft migrated exclusively to . Why VMware Tools Fails
If the main link still prompts for a login, you can try using "text mode" or "textise" web applications. These tools fetch the raw content of a page, often bypassing redirects and scripts. To use this: