The most reliable way to check VMware Tools operation is by examining the service status:

sudo systemctl status vmtoolsd

For older Ubuntu versions (pre-systemd):

sudo service vmware-tools status

1. Check running processes:

ps aux | grep vmtoolsd

2. Verify installed packages:

dpkg -l | grep open-vm-tools

3. Test basic functionality:

vmware-hgfsclient  # Should list shared folders
vmware-toolbox-cmd --version

If VMware Tools isn't running properly:

# Reinstall tools (open-vm-tools recommended)
sudo apt-get install --reinstall open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart vmtoolsd

For manual VMware Tools installations (not recommended):

# Check manual installation
ls /etc/init.d/vmware-tools
/usr/bin/vmware-config-tools.pl --help

When working with Ubuntu Server as a VMware guest OS, confirming VMware Tools operation is crucial for proper host-guest integration. Here are several methods to check its status:

# Method 1: Check running processes
ps aux | grep vmtoolsd

# Expected output if running:
root      1234  0.0  0.5  12345  6789 ?        Ssl  10:00   0:00 /usr/bin/vmtoolsd

On modern Ubuntu systems using systemd:

# Method 2: Check service status
systemctl status vmtoolsd.service

# Sample active output:
● vmtoolsd.service - Service for virtual machines hosted on VMware
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/vmtoolsd.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
   Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-05-10 10:00:00 UTC; 1h ago

For older Ubuntu versions or different VMware Tools installations:

# Method 3: Check open-vm-tools package
dpkg -l open-vm-tools

# Method 4: Verify tools version
vmware-toolbox-cmd -v

# Method 5: Check kernel modules
lsmod | grep vmw

• If tools aren't running, try: sudo systemctl start vmtoolsd
• For installation: sudo apt install open-vm-tools
• Check logs: journalctl -u vmtoolsd