Parallels, Video memory error, and windowserver.log

D

dereed999

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Setup:
I have two monitors. The "built in" on my MBP 15" (1440x900) and a flat panel 1600x1200 external. I almost always put Parallels into coherence mode on the "built in" screen but limit it to just that screen (so it's not trying to span both displays). If it matters, the screens are set to be "offset" in my OS X display preferences since the external sits higher up than the built in. (That way my mouse moves in a straight line between the two monitors.)

Problem:
I frequently (at least once a day) get an error in Parallels about not enough video memory, try increasing it. This only seems to happen when my screens go to sleep and then wake back up. The exact error is:
"The Screen resolution in the guest OS cannot be set because it is low on video memory. To increase the amount of video memory, shutdown the virtual machine, set new virtual machine video memory size (Edit Configuration -> Memory -> Video Memory)."

Observations:
When this happens, I notice that my /var/log/windowserver.log file starts filling with errors like:
Mar 05 09:46:34 [68] kCGErrorIllegalArgument: _CGXCacheMergeShmem: Invalid mergeShmemID (672)
Mar 05 09:48:11 [68] kCGErrorIllegalArgument: _CGXCacheMergeShmem: Invalid mergeShmemID (3950)

I have to leave coherence mode or those errors will continue to occur. Once I leave coherence mode they seem to stop. If I try to re-enter coherence mode, they come back.

Any suggestions on what I can try to fix the problem and/or when Parallels will actually work as advertised? :)
 
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Dear all,

Thank you for your reports. We can emphasize these key problems:

Video memory error message arises when working on Mac for a long time or leaving it for long / into sleep mode;

Coherence freezes Leopard when working for a long time;

Impossible to display windows in MSN (the same issue with ICQ - they have similar interfaces).

All these are known issues that are being investigated and will be fixed. We do remember about them. We are sorry for these problems.

Best regards,
Xenos
 
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Video Ram limitation at 64meg

is it just me or is this really infuriating? I've got a 512meg video card in my macbook pro and would expect to allocate at least 128meg of that to Windows XP virtual machine..

Any thoughts?
 
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On a related note, the VMWare Unity 2.0 Beta has true dual display support. I'm probably going to have to try it out because of Parallel's multiple display limitations and issues.
d
 
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Same here

While i don't have as fancy equipment as some on here, i have a 24" 2.8GHz with 2GB imac.

I can only get 64mb ram for the video, is there a way of getting more? Please don't tell me I spend $2000 for a computer with a cheap video card.

;-)
 
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I'm using 4.0 and have a windowserver.log full of:

[55569] kCGErrorIllegalArgument: _CGXCacheMergeShmem: Invalid mergeShmemID (101)

Multiple entries per minute at all times when running parallels in coherence. Originally I also had issues with cpu spikes and choppy video in VM, however alleviated these by deselecting 'Enable 3D Acceleration' and decreasing video ram to 16MB.
Now with the latter changes I get decent performance my only issue being the these errors.

However, it would also be nice to be able to enable 3D Acceleration in my VM and make use of the 9600GT in my new late 2008 MBP - as was advertised on the retail box for 4.0.

I'm currently running coherence on the MBP screen and not using an external, however have in the past and have not noticed a difference.

My Specs:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP51.0074.B01
SMC Version: 1.33f8
Serial Number: W88411GT1GA
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

Windows XP Pro VM:

2048MB RAM
16MB Video Mem
CPUs: 2
 
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