In v0.4.3, 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 | Win11 |
|---|
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmci.sys | Not Found | 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 | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmaudio.sys | Not Found | 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 | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmmemctl.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Present (v7.5.7.0) | Not Found | Present (v7.5.7.0) | Present (v7.5.7.0) |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmmouse.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Present (v12.5.12.0) | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmrawdsk.sys | Not Found | 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 | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmusbmouse.sys | Not Found | 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 | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vsock.sys | Not Found | 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 | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmxnet3.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vm3dmp-stats.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vm3dmp_loader.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vm3dmp-debug.sys | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
2. VMware Registry Keys
| Registry Key Path | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 | Win11 |
|---|
| All VMware registry keys (SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc., Services\vm3dmp*, Services\vmrawdsk, Services\vnetWFP, etc.) | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
3. VMware Folders
| Folder Path | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 | Win11 |
|---|
| C:\Program Files\VMware | Present | Not Found | Present | Not Found | Present | Present |
| C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\VMware | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| All other VMware folders (Program Files (x86), Common Files, ProgramData\VMware) | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
4. Startup Entries
| Startup Entry | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 | Win11 |
|---|
| vmtoolsd (HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run) | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
5. VMware Devices (Device Manager)
Devices with Error status indicate a missing driver for a residual device entry. Devices with Unknown status are VMware hypervisor hardware detected by Windows and are expected when running on a VMware hypervisor regardless of VMware Tools installation.
| Device Name | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 | Win11 |
|---|
| VMware VMCI Host Device | Error | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found |
| VMware VMCI Bus Device | Not Found | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| VMware Pointing Device | Error | Unknown | Error + Unknown | Unknown | Error + Unknown | Error + Unknown |
| VMware USB Pointing Device | Not Found | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| NECVMWar VMware SATA CD00 | Not Found | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| VMware SVGA 3D | Not Found | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| VMware Virtual disk SCSI Disk Device | Not Found | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown (×2) |
| VMware, Inc. VMware20,1 | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Not Found | Unknown | Unknown |
| Total devices found | 2 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
Note: The remaining artifacts (vmmemctl.sys, vmmouse.sys, residual C:\Program Files\VMware folder, and VMware devices with Error status) will be further addressed and cleaned up in upcoming releases.
