X error after parallels tools install on Fedora 6

Discussion in 'Linux Virtual Machine' started by EricS, Jul 26, 2007.

  1. EricS

    EricS Junior Member

    Messages:
    10
    I just tried to install the Linux parallels tools on my Fedora 6 image under Parallels 3 on my Mac Pro, but it's giving me trouble with the Xorg part of the tools. First off, I ran the installer, and got:

    I checked out the xorg.conf file, and it had been updated with the parallels video driver, etc. However, after doing a gdm-restart and having it abort three times, I found these errors in my Xorg log:

    The tools are working great on my Parallels/Fedora image on my MacBook, but I'm not sure what would be different within Fedora.

    Has anyone seen this error? What can I do?
    Thanks!
     
  2. EricS

    EricS Junior Member

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    10
    This is still happening in the latest Parallels build (5120). Has anyone successfully installed the tools on Fedora Core 6?
     
  3. BarryP13@mac.com

    BarryP13@mac.com Member

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    I have Fedora 7 running in MBP. I did have 6 before however.
     
  4. EricS

    EricS Junior Member

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    ... and did you install the Parallels Tools successfully under FC6?
     
  5. MaximS

    MaximS Forum Maven

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    715
    EricS, don't forget that you use BETA version of Parallels. It can have some issues.
     
  6. EricS

    EricS Junior Member

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    I completely understand that there may be compatibility issues in this BETA software. I was simply inquiring whether anyone else had successfully solved this issue. If not, there's no problem, but if so, I'd like to hear about it. :)

    Thanks!
     
  7. hotblack

    hotblack Member

    Messages:
    45
    I'd have thought a more appropriate question from MaximS would be to (1) say it's a known issue and that it's being dealt with or (2) ask for more info to try to reproduce and fix it. Sorry to sound negative but I've seen little signs anyone from SWSoft wants to actually fix the problems we've been seeing running Linux under Parallels Desktop.
     
  8. MaximS

    MaximS Forum Maven

    Messages:
    715
    Please, show us your xorg config files /etc/X11/xorg.conf and /etc/X11/xorg.conf.prl-backup.

    You can put them here as attachements.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2007
  9. xperroni

    xperroni Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    Hacking my way to Parallels Tools

    Hello All,

    I am running Kurumin Linux (a Knoppix-based brazilian distro) over Parallels Desktop 3, build 4560. I also stumbled over the "Unable to get layout name" error, and since no one seemed to get a definite answer on what is it all about, I decided to try my hand solving it myself.

    I found that, when you run "sh parallels-tools.run", a temporary directory called "/tmp/selfgzXXXXXXXXX" -- where XXXXXXXXX is an arbitrary number -- is created, which contains the files used in the installation. Among them there is a script called "xserver-config.py": it is this script that fails to find the X Server layout name in the original X Server confguration file (though I don't know why; it all looks right to me), thus causing the installation to fail.

    From this, I devised the following walk-around to the "Unable to get layout name" error. All these steps must be executed from a root account.

    1 - Run "sh parallels-tools.run", but don't confirm the installation just yet;

    2 - Open the "/tmp/selfgzXXXXXXXXX/xserver-config.py" script file on a plain text editor. Change line 273 from

    layoutId = None

    to

    layoutId = "Default Layout"

    or any other name to your liking. Don't forget to save;

    3 - Confirm installation. Hopefully the script will now execute without errors;

    4 - Open "/etc/X11/xorg.conf" (or the equivalent X Server configuration file on your distro) and locate the "ServerLayout" Section. You'll notice there are two "Identifier" entries, consequence of the configuration script not telling apart its elbow from its ass... I mean, telling apart the "Identifier" entry on the original config file. This situation is bound to crash your X Server upon restart, so comment the original entry off. Also, if you'd like to make sure your pointer device will work properly, locate all "InputDevice" Sections with an "Identifier" value of "Parallels Mouse" and comment them off, save for one -- which one will depend on your system settings, but the entry with an "Option" value of "Device" "/dev/input/mice" is probably your best guess, if you aren't X Server savvy;

    5 - Restart your X Server, for example by hitting Ctrl + Alt + Backspace.

    After executing these steps, I found pointer integration as well as dynamic resolution resizing were working -- that is, until I restarted the virtual machine, and learned I would still have to add the "prluserd" service to the list of automatically started services. (Alternatively, I could start it by hand each time, by calling "prluserd" from a root terminal window, and then restart X. But I don't like to suffer that much.)

    I hope these steps work for others that are facing problems with Parallels Tools installation on Linux, though as usual I make no guarantees. Parallels Desktop is a wonderfully useful software, and with interface integration on, it enables a very pleasant virtualization experience.

    --
    Greetings,
    Helio
     
  10. hotblack

    hotblack Member

    Messages:
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    That's some brilliant feedback, I hope that this information can be used by Parallels to help fix the issue as well as fellow customers.
     
  11. xperroni

    xperroni Bit poster

    Messages:
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    By the way, I have posted this solution (in a slightly edited form) over at my blog. If anyone finds it useful, I would like to ask for a comment. Thank you!

    --
    Helio
     
  12. EricS

    EricS Junior Member

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    Great sleuthing! Given all of your information, I took the extra time to find out what was wrong with their xserver-config.py script. It turns out that the "idname" regular expression did not include a literal "." character in the quoted identifier expression, so it didn't like the layout identifier of "X.org Configured". Changing the regular expression allowed it to run perfectly.
     
  13. Nightwolf

    Nightwolf Member

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    27
    Thanks for this tipps. Now my gentoo is running parallels fine :)
     

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