I just ran across this problem myself.
I P2V'd a live Windows 2003 Server running AD. The conversion went fine.
However, we use redirected documents folders and of course I didn't set an exclusion (or just deny apply privileges) for administrator accounts.
I removed the NICs for the VM, added a new Intel e1000e compatible nic, burned the Intel Pro/1000 driver to CD and used that to install the Intel drivers manually. After that the network came up and I was able to install the VMware tools package.
It'd be easier if they just allowed you to download the driver packs separately so we didn't run across an issue like this one. Although I found a workaround, it did take a lot of trial and error.