The user did not accept the license agreement by passing EULAS_AGREED=1 on the command line

[Jae An]

I have been using a licensed VMware Workstation Pro 16.2.5, and I recently wanted to upgrade it to version 17.6.4.

Somehow I was keep encountering "The user did not accept the license agreement by passing EULAS_AGREED=1 on the command line" error message during upgrade.  I have tried and followed all suggestions available from the Broadcom community discussion forums, but none of them worked for me.  As a next step, I wanted to uninstall my existing 16.2.5 version so that I can re-try installing 17.6.4 (instead of upgrading).  However, now I am encountering the same error message "The user did not accept the license agreement by passing EULAS_AGREED=1 on the command line" when I tried uninstalling my existing 16.2.5 version.  Now I am stuck with broken 16.2.5 version, and I cannot even uninstall it.  Has anyone encountered a similar problem before?

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[Jae An]

@Dhairya Tomar,

I have uploaded vminst.log file as you requested.

It appears that the problem with upgrade had caused this problem (unable to uninstall licensed old version).

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Attachment(s)

vminst.log   2.20 MB 1 version

[Dhairya Tomar]

Jae An Thanks for sharing the information.

Requesting you to try uninstalling WS from any of the below commands in powershell launched in Admin mode-

1) Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Product -Filter "Name='VMware Workstation'" | Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName Uninstall.

2) Get-Package -Name "VMware Workstation" | Uninstall-Package.

3) Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product -Filter "Name='VMware Workstation'" | ForEach-Object {    $_.Uninstall()}

Please try the next command from the list I shared above in case any of the command doesn't work.

Please update if the issue still persists.

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[Jae An]

Hi Dhairya,

I tried all three suggestions above, but none of them worked.  

Here are the results from above commands:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Install the latest PowerShell for new features and improvements! https://aka.ms/PSWindows

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Product -Filter "Name='VMware Workstation'" | Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName Uninstall

ReturnValue PSComputerName
----------- --------------
       1603

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-Package -Name "VMware Workstation" | Uninstall-Package
Get-Package : No package found for 'VMware Workstation'.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-Package -Name "VMware Workstation" | Uninstall-Package
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Microsoft.Power...lets.GetPackage:GetPackage) [Get-Package], Exception
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : NoMatchFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.PackageManagement.Cmdlets.GetPackage

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product -Filter "Name='VMware Workstation'" | ForEach-Object {    $_.Uninstall()}

__GENUS          : 2
__CLASS          : __PARAMETERS
__SUPERCLASS     :
__DYNASTY        : __PARAMETERS
__RELPATH        :
__PROPERTY_COUNT : 1
__DERIVATION     : {}
__SERVER         :
__NAMESPACE      :
__PATH           :
ReturnValue      : 1603
PSComputerName   :

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[Jae An]

Hi Dhairya,

I uploaded my most recent installation log for your reference.  You will see that "EULAS_AGREED=1" value was registered in the installation process - even before and after installation was aborted.  There is a terrible bug in the license agreement validation process.  

Uninstall process is failing with a message indicating "EULAS_AGREED=1" was missing -- even though this value was already present in the environment during uninstall.  

Installation/upgrade is also failing with the same error message indicating "EULAS_AGREED=1" was missing -- even though this value was already in the installation environment.  Please see the attached log file.

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Attachment(s)

inst.log   507 KB 1 version

[Shen88]

@Jae An,

I understand the situation, here are some workarounds you may try:

1. **Uninstall via Command Line with EULA Flag**

Try running the uninstaller manually with the required flag:

```bash

VMware-workstation-16.2.5.exe EULAS_AGREED=1 /uninstall

```

Make sure you're running this from an elevated Command Prompt (Run as Administrator).

2. **Use the Modify Option in Windows Settings**

If the uninstall button is grayed out or fails:

- Go to **Settings > Apps > Installed Apps**

- Find **VMware Workstation Pro**

- Click the three-dot menu → **Modify**

- Choose **Remove**, and ensure you check the box to remove product configuration and license info[43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054](https://geekermag.com/fix-cant-uninstall-vmware-workstation-windows-11-10/?citationMarker=43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054 "2")

#### 3. **Microsoft Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter**

Microsoft offers a tool that can forcibly remove broken installations:

- Download from [Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17588/windows-fix-problems-that-block-programs-being-installed-or-removed)

- Run it and select VMware Workstation Pro from the list

#### 4. **VMware Registry Cleanup**

If all else fails:

- Use VMware's registry cleaner script (available for older versions but may still help)

- Or manually clean registry entries and leftover files (only recommended if you're comfortable with regedit)

#### 5. **Third-Party Uninstaller Tools**

Tools like **Revo Uninstaller** or **Geek Uninstaller** can often remove stubborn programs completely, including registry traces and leftover files[43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054](https://www.vladan.fr/how-to-uninstall-completeley-a-vmware-product-if-the-uninstall-process-fails/?citationMarker=43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054 "3")

Once you've successfully removed 16.2.5, when installing 17.6.4, make sure to run the installer with:

VMware-workstation-17.6.4.exe EULAS_AGREED=1

And again, use an elevated Command Prompt.

------------------------------
If you find this answer right, please 'Recommend' this post.

Thank you!

Regards,
Shen
------------------------------

[Jae An]

Hi Shen,

Thanks for your suggestions.

Here are the results after following your suggestions:

1. **Uninstall via Command Line with EULA Flag**

VMware-workstation-16.2.5.exe EULAS_AGREED=1 /uninstall  

**** there is no /uninstall option available for the Windows version

**** Besides, the installation log clearly indicated that EULAS_AGREED=1 value was received by the installation package software, but the software simply rejected/aborted process after validating  user license acceptance.  The installation package also did not have any option of uninstalling already-installed software.  

2. Use the Modify Option in Windows Settings

3. Microsoft Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter

**** Both options still failed with error message indicating that EULAS_AGREED=1 was missing.

Once you've successfully removed 16.2.5, when installing 17.6.4, make sure to run the installer with:

VMware-workstation-17.6.4.exe EULAS_AGREED=1

The problem is that installation log clearly indicated that EULAS_AGREED=1 value was already included/registered in the installation process -- log output showed that there was EULAS_AGREED=1 value.  However, installation is still failing.  

Here a few excerpts from installation log:

MSI (c) (58:F0) [20:26:55:456]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding LicenseAccepted property. Its value is '1'.
MSI (c) (58:F0) [20:26:56:565]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding EULAS_AGREED property. Its value is '1'.
MSI (c) (58:F0) [20:26:56:565]: Doing action: VM_QueryOptFeatures

...

...

MSI (s) (F0:E8) [20:27:01:137]: Doing action: VM_ValidateEULAAccepted
Action 20:27:01: VM_ValidateEULAAccepted. 
Action start 20:27:01: VM_ValidateEULAAccepted.
The user did not accept the license agreement by passing EULAS_AGREED=1 on the command line.
MSI (s) (F0:E8) [20:27:02:249]: Product: VMware Workstation -- The user did not accept the license agreement by passing EULAS_AGREED=1 on the command line.

Action ended 20:27:02: VM_ValidateEULAAccepted. Return value 3.
Action ended 20:27:02: INSTALL. Return value 3.
Property(N): UpgradeCode = {14F539F3-C4A4-4597-A29D-8C1D753ACC93}
Property(N): ADDVKDTOPATH = 1

...

...

Property(S): WIX_DIR_RESOURCES = C:\WINDOWS\resources
Property(S): ROOTDRIVE = C:\
Property(S): INSTALLLEVEL = 1
Property(S): INI_FOUND = 1
Property(S): EULAS_AGREED = 1
Property(S): ADDLOCAL = UI,Core,VIX64,VIX,Network64,Networking,USB
Property(S): MsiSystemRebootPending = 1

I think there is a terrible bug in the installation software, which also caused my current installation to be corrupted. 

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[Dhairya Tomar]

Jae An Ticket has been raised internally, relevant team is looking into the same

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[Jae An]

Hi Dairya,

I hope you are doing well.

Any updates regarding the internal ticket on this issue?

I simply want to uninstall the VMware software so that I can reinstall it, but I am currently unable to even uninstall the VMware software due to "EULAS_AGREED=1" error.  The uninstallation software would not let me uninstall it - with the same error message.  

This problem started immediately after I had encountered the "EULAS_AGREED=1" error while trying to upgrade software.

Please help!

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