VMWare – VMWare tools tools.conf missing

Problem

You are trying to work with vmware tools on Windows and find that the configuration file tools.conf is missing from path C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Tools\

Solution

Create a new empty file with the following lines

log=true
log.file=C:\temp\vmtools.log

Save this file to the C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Tools\ folder with the name tools.conf

Restart the VMTools service from the services management window (Administrative tools => Services)

Review the file and it should now look as follows:

[logging]
vmsvc.handler=file
vmsvc.level=debug
vmsvc.data=C:\\temp\\vmtools.log
vmusr.handler=file
vmusr.level=debug
vmusr.data=C:\\temp\\vmtools.log.user.${PID}
log.file=C:\\temp\\vmtools.log
log=true

Tested Platform

VMWare ESXi v5.1
Windows 2008 R2 Server

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