PD8 + Windows 7, Cursor Bug, Possibly Retina Display Related

[DLudwig]

Hi all,

I recently upgraded my Parallels Desktop installation from 7 to 8, and got some cursor issues in the process. My VM is running Windows 7. The host OS is OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1, and is running on a Retina MacBook Pro. The problem is two-fold:

1. the cursor's shown position is off from where clicks occurs. It's always off along the horizontal axis, and by a factor of 2. Things are fine along the vertical axis.
2. the cursor will disappear when sliding to the right half of the screen, or when the cursor is brought into the Parallels window on the right side. Once the cursor disappears, it is difficult to get the cursor back on screen. Sliding the mouse very fast to the left will occasionally get it back. Sliding the mouse slowly to the left just has the cursor briefly appear, then disappear again.

I posted a video demonstration of the bug online at http://youtu.be/fNzfzLI9pZI

I get the bug in either Fullscreen mode or Windowed mode. If I am in Coherence mode, nothing works, as far as I can tell.

The system I get it on is usually a dual-monitor setup, with the main monitor being a non-Retina display, aligned to the left of the MacBook's display. The bug does occur regardless of whether or not I have the display connected or not.

I've tried upgrading to the latest version of Parallels 8 (Build 8.0.18101), however that did not fix the problem. Parallels Tools has upgraded itself after each update of Parallels, once when going from Parallels 7 to Parallels 8, then again when updating Parallels 8. The bug is still there.

Has anyone here run into anything similar? If so, were you able to find a fix/workaround?

Note to Parallels: I posted a problem report online. The ID is 17847879.

Cheers,
-- David L.

 

[serv]

David,

Can you post screen shots of Windows Display Settings (select it from popup after right clicking on the desktop) and Device Manager (run devmgmt.msc) with Mice devices branch expanded.

Also try setting SmartMouse off in VM Configuration > Options > Advanced to see if it helps.

 

[DLudwig]

Hi serv,

Attached are the screen shots you requested. When I went to retrieve the Windows Display Settings screenshot, after right-clicking on the desktop, I didn't see "Windows Display Settings", so I selected "Display Resolution" instead. If this isn't what you were looking for, or if you need any other screenshots, let me know.

Turning off SmartMouse makes the bug go away immediately (without reboot). It was originally at "Auto". Having it be explicitly "On" also makes the bug appear, and immediately at that.

 

[serv]

Have you tried resizing VM window? Does it affect mouse issue in any way?

 

[DLudwig]

Changing the size of the window doesn't seem to affect the bug, although doing so no longer affects the resolution that Windows is in. I can use OS X's window handles to resize the window fine, however the display settings in Windows no longer change. The window stays stretched, even if I leave Parallels alone and in the foreground for a few minutes. If I use Windows' display settings panel to try and change the resolution, the change will go through, however the Parallels window will stay the same size. If I reboot, the window's size gets adjusted to its correct size, which is whatever I last set via Windows' display settings panel. The bug will still be there (after the reboot) as well.

I did find out one other thing with regards to the cursor issue: if I change the display size via Windows' display settings panel, the attributes of the bug change a bit, but don't go away entirely. For example, if I set Windows to be at 1024x768 (which is what I used when making the video demonstration of the bug), the cursor only appears on the left-half of the Parallels window, and clicks get registered to the right of it. If I set Windows to be at 1280x960, the cursor now only appears on the right half of the screen (roughly, the actual area it can be in is a bit larger), disappearing whenever it goes to the left, and with clicks getting registered to the left (of the visible cursor). If I switch back to 1024x768, the cursor goes back to only appearing on the left side of the screen, and clicks being shift over to the right.

 

[serv]

If Windows no longer changes resolution when you change window size, that means Parallels Tools are not installed properly. I would completely uninstall the tools from Control Panel > Programs, then re-install them via Virtual Machine > Install Parallels Tools menu.

 

[AbrahamI]

bought upgrade to PD8 and now I can't use 2 mouse anymore, 1 for main and 2nd mouse for guest,
works but missing pointer on Windows 7 guest,

it was OK on PD7, resintall PT won't fix

 

[serv]

Abraham,

In PD8, guest mouse pointer is visible when the VM has input focus, try clicking with your main mouse in Parallels Desktop window. However, VM will grab your main mouse too. Can you explain why are you using 2 mice?

 

[AbrahamI]

Abraham,

In PD8, guest mouse pointer is visible when the VM has input focus, try clicking with your main mouse in Parallels Desktop window. However, VM will grab your main mouse too. Can you explain why are you using 2 mice?

Thanks for the prompt reply,
Im using 2 monitor so my partner can work independent on guest OS, that's why I need 2 mouse and 2 Keyboard
it was OK on PD7

when I completely uninstall PT, works, both pointer have independency but laggy, please fix this, I really need it
thanks

 

[DLudwig]

If Windows no longer changes resolution when you change window size, that means Parallels Tools are not installed properly. I would completely uninstall the tools from Control Panel > Programs, then re-install them via Virtual Machine > Install Parallels Tools menu.

This seems to work, ultimately at least. I did run into problems along the way: Parallels Tools' uninstaller would often hang mid-way through, and in some cases, would bring the system down with it. It would always remove the uninstaller from Windows' list of installed programs. When I reinstalled, the problems I had would come back. Eventually, I tried the following:

1. uninstalled Parallel Tools while in Safe Mode. This did lock up the system, and I had to reboot.
2. uninstalled another package I had on the system, a set of virtual display drivers associated with an iPad app called AirDisplay (http://avatron.com/apps/air-display). I installed these back when I had Parallels 7 installed. They never entirely worked back then, but never caused any noticeable problems, and I never got around to uninstalling them.
3. installed Parallels Tools

The combination of these three seems to have fixed all the problems I had with Parallels. SmartMouse worked fine after that, and I'm now able to use Coherence Mode.

Thanks much for your help! It's good to have my Parallels install back and working.

 

[serv]

Thanks for the update, David. It's good to know you've got it working.