[ubuntu] VMware Tools install problem and VM guest/host folder sharing

I'm trying to upgrade/reinstall VMware tools to get folder sharing working again, but I'm running into the issue in the listing below. Used to have a shared folder at /mnt/hgfs. Sharing folders between guest and host does depend on VMware tools, right? It appears I am unable to stop VMware services prior to actual configuration. Thoughts? Should I try stopping VMWare services manually first? If so, how do I do so?
x@ubuntu:~$ sudo /usr/bin/vmware-config-tools.pl
[sudo] password for x:
Initializing...

Making sure services for VMware Tools are stopped.

Stopping Thinprint services in the virtual machine:
Stopping Virtual Printing daemon: done
Stopping VMware Tools services in the virtual machine:
Guest operating system daemon: done
VMware User Agent (vmware-user): done
Blocking file system: done
Unmounting HGFS shares: done
Guest filesystem driver: done
VM communication interface socket family: done
VM communication interface: failed
Unable to stop services for VMware Tools

Execution aborted.
x@ubuntu:~$