Users of linked clones cannot adjust screen resolution

[jhickman]

We have pools of Windows 7 linked clones. When users log into their virtual desktop they are unable to adjust their screen resolution because the option to do so is greyed out.

We are using View 4.6.

The pool is set for a max resolution of 1920 x 1200.

We are using PCoIP.

We are using the View 4.6 client on Windows XP and Windows 7 PC's to connect to the virtual desktop. 

Any fix for this?

[mittim12]

Is it the settings tab that is missing?   http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1020809

[jhickman]

What setting tab are you referring too?

The user right-clicks on their desktop, selects screen resolution, and can see the resolution drop down box but it is greyed out so they are not allowed to change it.

I've also modified the Group Policy so that Toggle Display Settings Control is set to Disabled. I have run gpupdate /force on both the domain controller and the virtual desktop machine but the screen resolution settings are still greyed out.

[jhickman]

Since implementing the Group Policy some user's can now change their screen resolution and some can't. The strange thing is all users are in the same OU with the same Group Policies applied.

Another thing I found out is that if you are using a Windows PC and connecting to a vitural desktop with the View Client you need to make sure the resolution of the local machine is equal to or higher than the resolution on the virtual desktop. If the resolution is lower on the local desktop than what you want on the virtual machine you will have problems adjusting the resolution on the virtual desktop. This makes sense but was kind of a "gotcha".

[mittim12]

Glad it worked out for you.  I guess in Windows 7 there is no settings for display as you just right click and personalize.     The clients that aren't working is it a matter of the group policy hasn't been updated yet? 

[jhickman]

I updated the group policy, did a gpudate /force on both the domain controller and the virtual desktop but for some user’s the option to change screen resolution is still greyed out and for others it is not. For users still having the problem I have even logged them off their virtual desktop and logged them back in but to no avail. It does appear to be group policy related because there is a link which you can click on which is supposed to answer the question for why the display settings can’t be changed. When you click the link it tells you there is a group policy being enforced which doesn’t allow the display settings to be changed. The strange thing is all these users are in the same OU with the same group policies being enforced. So why it works for some but not others is still a mystery.

[jhickman]

There is still no real explanation for this problem which sometimes exists and sometimes doesn't but it is anybody's guess.

[alamosajimmy]

When you say you're using a GPO, are you using the local GPO on the machine to set these paramaters or are you using the Active Directory GPO on your network?

Have you figured out why some are and some aren't allowing users to modify display settings?

I've set the local gpo to allow users to modify their display settings.  I have no GPO from active directory.  My users are set to local admins.  However my users cannot change monitor settings.  Keep getting the error that a GPO is blocking them.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[DaIceMan]

I had this problem too, all linked clones (Windows 7 Pro 64bit) were unable to access this page as was greyed out. I used the adm template and set the Toggle Display to "disabled", gpupdated, rebooted but nothing changed (all linked clones are in a specific OU, so I tried in that OU and even in the users OU). In the end I manually set the following reg key to 0:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\NoDispCPL

  then disconnected and reconnected and voilà, the change resolution/dpi settings were enabled.

  It is possible that the master image had some prior display customization, but once one sets a GPO in the relevant OU, it should change the above setting automatically! Maybe it fails to process the adm template for some reason. For the moment, this fix works (though it is a manual fix).

[jhickman]

The Group Policy I was referring to is a Group Policy applied to an OU in AD. In other words it isn't just a local policy.

Start by reading http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1020809. This doesn't give you everything you need to know though. I recommend reading Chapter 8 of the "VMware View Administration" guide. Pay particular attention the section titled "Using the View Group Policy Administrative Template Files". You will first need to go to the directory where the ADM files are located and copy them. Then you will need to do some Googling to figure out where they go in your AD environment. Once you figure that out copy the ADM files to the right location in you AD environment. If all works well the VMware KB article will begin to make more sense.