In v0.4.1, the following artifacts remain on the windows vms after selecting “Remove VMware Tools” option:
1. VMware Driver Files
| Driver File Path | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 |
|---|
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmci.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vm3dmp.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmaudio.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmhgfs.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmmemctl.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Present | Not Found | Present |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmmouse.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Present | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmrawdsk.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmtools.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmusbmouse.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmvss.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vsock.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmx_svga.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmxnet3.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vm3dmp-stats.sys | Present | Not Found | Present | Present | Present |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vm3dmp_loader.sys | Present | Not Found | Present | Present | Present |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vm3dmp-debug.sys | Present | Not Found | Present | Present | Present |
2. VMware Registry Keys
| Registry Key Path | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 |
|---|
| HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vm3dmp_loader | Present | Present | Present | Present | Present |
| HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vm3dmp-debug | Present | Present | Present | Present | Present |
| HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vm3dmp-stats | Present | Present | Present | Present | Present |
| HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vmrawdsk | Present | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vnetWFP | Present | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| All other VMware registry keys (VMware, Inc., vmci, vm3dmp, etc.) | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
3. VMware Folders
| Folder Path | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 |
|---|
| C:\Program Files\VMware | Present | Present | Present | Not Found | Present |
| C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\VMware | Present | Present | Present | Not Found | Present |
| All other VMware folders (Program Files (x86), Common Files, ProgramData\VMware) | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
4. Startup Entries
| Startup Entry | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 |
|---|
| vmtoolsd (HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run) | Present | Not Found | Present | Not Found | Present |
5. VMware Devices (Device Manager)
| Device Name | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 |
|---|
| VMware VMCI Host Device | Error | Error | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| VMware Pointing Device | Error | Error | Error | Not Found | Error |
