Windows flickers in 'Single Window' mode

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DFoxgrov

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I have recently seen two instances of Windows flickering badly in Parallels for Mac 3.0. In both cases, the computers have been iMacs (one from 2006 with a Core Duo chip, the other from 2007, with a Core 2 Duo chip).

Here is the way another user has described the issue - see post at:
<http://forums.parallels.com/showthread.php?p=91483#post91483>

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I've installed Windows XP Pro inside Parallels, and inside the Virtual Machine I'm getting pretty bad display quality. For example when I mouse over a window in XP, often it flickers on and off. Or when I close a window, often it flickers back and forth in and out for a number of minutes before disappearing entirely.

I've played with a couple of settings in Parallels. For example setting up specific custom resolutions, and matching those inside XP. I've also increased the amount of video memory assigned by Parallels to the virtual machine. The issue has been persistent and invariant under these changes.

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I tried cloning the Core 2 Duo iMac to a MacBook Pro, and the problem does NOT happen on the portable.

I have replaced the RAM in the Core 2 Duo iMac and the problem continues with the new RAM.

I have followed the procedures for increasing the virtual RAM in Windows. It didn't help.

This is happening with Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac, build 5582.

The problem seems to go away if the systems are switched to Coherence.

Thanks for any help.
 
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Ron Merom said:
I'm using
- Build 5584
- Max OS X Version 10.4.11
- It's a MacBook Pro (2.33 GHz Core 2Duo with 2GB)
- The flickering of the video/audio starts as soon as I start windows

Please help.
Click to expand...

I have the same set up with WinXp sp2 and today build 5600
but have only seen flicker if there is a hanging key in the keyboard (or dirt)

do you have plenty of free space on your Macintosh Hard disk
and the VM hard disk?

If not clone your VM to an external Firewire 800 hard disk and run it from there

worst case will be a hardware fault
(I needed a new motherboard after 13 months)

Hugh W
 
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No dirt or stuck keys

nothing here... Have new MAC OS image running 10.4.11 with plenty of space. Incidentially all the acceleration settings have been tried - no change. I am now rolling back to previous version. I have to get to work.
 
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If I may jump in with a few words, I did not experience the flickering until immediately after installing the latest Leopard update 10.5.3 a few days ago. Prior to that, I had been using Parallels without any problems since it was first installed in January. Coincidence, I can not say. Thinking the VM was corrupt, I set it back to a recent mirror file without any change.
I notice too that if I minimize Parallels and immediately restore it, the flickering goes away.

iMac 24
Leopard 10.5.3
4 Gb RAM
1500 available to Parallels 5560
 
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I have exactly the same problem as the post above from Luzzano II. I installed 10.5.3 and the flicker problem started. I can hide and then restore to stop, but it only lasts a short time and then returns.
 
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Today I have updated my OSX to 10.5.3 and Windows XP SP3 (installed on bootcamp running under Parallels) always get the flicker problem.
I've tried all the workaround in this topic, more VM ram memory, more video memory, restart VM, restart OSX, reinstall xp..

My configuration:
MacBook Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo
2.5 GHz
2 GB RAM
Mac OS X 10.5.3 (9D34)

PS & OT: has anyone else noticed a little slowdown of the whole OSX after updating to 10.5.3?
 
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10.5.3 and XP Flickering Issue

Today I updated my OSX from 10.5.2 to 10.5.3. I have been running Windows XP SP3 under Parallels build 5600 successfully in single window mode prior to the latest OSX update. Immediately after installing 10.5.3, I started getting the screen flickering issue. I have reinstalled Parallels Tools, have gone back to a couple of prior VM instances, given more VM ram memory, more VM video memory, restarted VM and OSX several times and no joy.

Any advice, workarounds etc. most welcome.

My configuration:
MacBook Pro
Intel Core Duo
2.16 GHz
2 GB RAM
200 GB Disk, 132 GB Available
Mac OS X 10.5.3 (9D34)
 
Last edited:
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flickering problem came up since installing 10.5.3 on my imac.
the only solution is to reboot the xp machine. this will fix the problem until it starts again! :( this suxx extremely
 
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uh yeah by the way i found a workaround which works at least for me.
if flickering begins you'll have to start a dos prompt by clicking start - run - cmd

after the dos prompt appears press ALT-ENTER do get it into fullscreen mode - flickering is gone. press again ALT-ENTER to get the dos prompt into windowed mode again and type "exit" -> flickering gone!

you can also force the flickering by open parallels options (I'm using full-screen mode on a second display)

@parallels-team: can i switch my german licence key into an english one please, so i can use the current releases like 5600 or higher
 
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Chiming in to say I am experience the same problem since updating Parallels yesterday. Is Parallels recognizing this issue yet? My coworker also updated Paralells on his home machine running Vista.
 
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Airw0lf said:
uh yeah by the way i found a workaround which works at least for me.
if flickering begins you'll have to start a dos prompt by clicking start - run - cmd

after the dos prompt appears press ALT-ENTER do get it into fullscreen mode - flickering is gone. press again ALT-ENTER to get the dos prompt into windowed mode again and type "exit" -> flickering gone!
Click to expand...

I'm not certain what the purpose of the DOS prompt serves however I too thought of trying Full Screen mode as a work around. _My experience_ is that the Parallels desktop does its transition "dance" indicating it is in Full Screen. The Parallels controls at the right of the screen disappear however the Mac menu bar at the top of the screen as well as the Mac dock continue to be seen which was not possible previously in true FS mode. Under these circumstances, the top Mac menu bar is sometimes just a solid black horizontal stripe and sometimes it appears normally as a grey background with text. In other words, it is flickering.
 
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I'm sorry, I need to correct my last post. Going back and playing with settings, I see that somehow my Parallels screen resolution had dropped down a notch allowing the Mac bits to show through. Correcting that setting to maximum resolution again has Parallels in true Full Screen mode. My apologies.
 
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Just updated my MacBook Pro to Mac OS X 10.5.3, and all of a sudden my virtual machine's display -- Windows XP SP2 in single-window mode, running under Parallels 3 build 5600 -- flickers so much when using menus, moving windows, etc., that it's essentially unusable. I immediately hopped over to this forum and found this thread. Glad to see it's not just me, but seriously bummed that it's a compatibility problem.

Full screen mode just isn't an option for me, since I need to be able to switch quickly and seamlessly between Mac and PC for cross-platform testing.

Hope a new build comes out soon....
 
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Hi I am from the US and notice that the link for the build 5160 downgrade offered as a "solution" for the flickering issue is actually a link for the UK version. Is there a link available for the US version of build 5160?

Thanks!
 
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Exactly the same problems on a Mac Pro 8Core with 6GB. Suggestions to change things like video memory are off base: Everything was working perfectly before the update to 10.5.3 -- it's the combination of 10.5.3 and the current version of Parallels.
 
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I am experiencing the same flickering problems. However, here are some observations:

- It only seems to happen if Windows XP is paused and restarted. It doesn't seem to happen if you startup Windows (or restart)
- It doesn't happen when I tried to do a video screen capture using iShowU 1.66 or Snapz Pro X 2.1.2.
 
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Same Problem here - UK version on a German OSX 10.5.3 installation. After upgrading to 10.5.3 on Friday, I got the flickering.
MBPro - 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo - 3GB RAM, 1GB XP RAM
Running since more than a year without troubles -
Upgrade Parallels to 5600 doesnt fix the issue
Temporary workaround with iconize and restore Parallels Window until Tooltips occurs on task bar.
 
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