Coherence Issues

T

twynne

Hunter
I'm having a number of issues with my Parallels installation since upgrading to the latest beta and just wanted to pass them along. The worst of these is that certain Mac applications started opening in very small windows with no scroll bars or ability to resize. This happened with Chicken of the VNC and also Firefox (2.x) windows. I've no way to be sure this was caused by Parallels, but it never occurred prior to installing this latest version.

After that started I took Parallels out of Coherence mode (which didn't resolve the issue), and now can't get coherence to work again. I can select it from the menu, but my Parallels VM just 'disappears'. I can see it in the dock and can access the menu to switch back to windowed mode (after which it's fine) but no coherence. I've also tried restarted Parallels completely and it still fails.

If there is any further information I can provide please let me know. Also if you have any suggestions on getting coherence back they'd be much appreciated. Definitely like the new features so far, just needs a bit of tweaking. :D

Cheers,

Tom
 
Having simular issues with Coherence.

Running 3036, on a Mac Pro 2.6, using Windows XP.

If I run in Coherence mode, its fine the first time until a Windows restart, then I get the blue screen at startup... Windows dumps me to the screen wanting to run in Safe Mode or a last good known startup. Safe Mode will be the only way to get back to the Windows desktop. If I uninstall Parallel tools I can boot normally. If I resinstall Parallel tools I'm back to where I started. So If I run Coherence mode again, I'm fine until a restart.

Looks like a bug.

The new features just rock. I'd love to see a way to hide Windows visually even more and maybe have a way to use aliases for the Windows apps or files you want runing in Windows from the Mac desktop or dock. Kinda like "Crossover". Parallels is such a great product.
 
Last edited:
aderium said:
It would be nice if in cohearence mode we could hide the windows taskbar
Click to expand...

I think you can. For the short time I was using it, it seems to disapperar on its own after a while.
 
I'm seeing this same bug where I get a blue screen. It seems for me that it blue screens if you restart while in coherence mode, but if you get out of coherence mode and restart, it is fine. Good thing I have backups of my image, anyway.

Minor nitpick: I'd prefer coherence mode not to compensate for the dock and take the full resolution of the primary display.
 
chych said:
I'm seeing this same bug where I get a blue screen. It seems for me that it blue screens if you restart while in coherence mode, but if you get out of coherence mode and restart, it is fine. Good thing I have backups of my image, anyway.

Minor nitpick: I'd prefer coherence mode not to compensate for the dock and take the full resolution of the primary display.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

It would be very cool if you could just have your Windows shortcuts in the OS X dock. Forget the Windows Quick Launch Bar.
 
Incidentally after closing down Parallels, the applications that were opening small scrollbar-less windows have returned to working properly. On that basis I'd say it's a fair assumption that Parallels is the problem.

I'm also finding that when starting Parallels and launching the VM (now in windowed mode) that my entire display goes white, then I get the animation, then everything jumps back to normal.

I still love the idea of coherence - it's something I had asked for ages ago and I was pleasantly surprised to see it implemented. I love the idea people have of the Windows start menu launching from the dock icon (and hiding the taskbar altogether).

One other small thing I've noticed with coherence... some applications (namely Digiguide I've noticed so far) leaves small square corners around the application window (presumably showing the Windows desktop graphic) rather than the rounded corners of the application. I'll see if I can get a screen grab at some point as this may make more sense.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Well my VM is now completely screwed. When I start Parallels in windowed mode the VM launches in a small window (see attached screen shot) and won't resize (although the window appears resizeable). I've tried switching it into fullscreen mode and it still appears in a small window on my OSX desktop. I've had to shut it down altogether so it doesn't affect other Mac apps.

If anyone has a fix to get the VM back to normal I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks all,

Tom
 
Forgot to attach the screen shot, but when I went to view it first I found it shows only part of the Windows desktop rather than the full Parallels window. As such I don't think it will be of much use...
 
KMyers said:
Agreed.

It would be very cool if you could just have your Windows shortcuts in the OS X dock. Forget the Windows Quick Launch Bar.
Click to expand...

Indeed; as I recall, Virtual PC had something like this where gui processes in Windows appeared in the Dock. This would be very useful for Parallels.
 
Can anyone advise how to go about downgrading? I've tried uninstalling Parallels Tools 3036, but without being able to see the full desktop on the VM it's near impossible. I've tried running the installation again from the Parallels menu, and fortunately it does prompt whether to uninstall. After I click Yes (or try to click it!) the VM appears to hang. I can't switch to fullscreen or coherence mode at all.

What will happen if I just reinstall build 1970 over 3036 without having removed the tools?
 
Alright I've noticed some cases where coherence mode results in a blue screen at startup and when it doesn't; here are my control and test cases:

Condition 1: Will NOT result in blue screen
1. Parallels open in regular OS window mode.
2. Start->Shut down->Restart

Condition 2: Will NOT result in blue screen
1. Parallels open in regular OS window mode.
2. Resolution is set to something smaller than mac native (1280x1024 in parallels, monitor is 1920x1200 for me).
3. Go into coherence mode (sucessful).
4. Start->Shut down->Restart

Condition 2: Will result in blue screen
1. Parallels open in regular OS window mode.
2. Open up display settings and set screen resolution to mac's (1920x1200 for me); though it doesn't actually go to this.
3. Go into coherence mode (sucessful).
4. Start->Shut down->Restart

Therefore I believe this is some sort of video/monitor resolution problem in coherence mode. Can anyone else recreate these results?
 
I get a bluescreen every time I resume in Coherence mode...

If I resume in windowed mode (full screen or whatever), I get no problems...
 
chych said:
Alright I've noticed some cases where coherence mode results in a blue screen at startup and when it doesn't; here are my control and test cases:

Condition 1: Will NOT result in blue screen...
Condition 2: Will NOT result in blue screen...
Condition 3: Will result in blue screen...

Therefore I believe this is some sort of video/monitor resolution problem in coherence mode. Can anyone else recreate these results?
Click to expand...
The above is reproducible for me as well. The bluescreens would also automatically trigger a reboot so I was stuck in an endless loop for a while there. It took a rollback to a previous system restore point to get out of it.

I am using a Mac Mini w/ a 23" Apple Cinema HD Display, Mac resolution is 1920x1200.
 
Coherence Mode and 30" Display Issues

May or may not be related to the Apple 30" dispay.
Mac Pro 2.66, 2GB RAM, ATI Video Card, Windows XP Pro, SP2...

After installing the latest beta build, a lot worked, then had LOTS of display problems in full screen mode and Coherence mode. Then lowered the color depth to 24 bit.

Everything ran fine - for a while. Then while compacting in Outlook 2003, the whole Parallels process hung. Had to force quit, then the blue screen etc. Finally gave up, de-installed and reverted to build 1970 which is rock stable, and where I'll stay until Parallels will:

PLEASE test with the Apple 30" and hopefully the ATI video card and release the final version...
 
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