Bootcamp screen resolution limited after clean install of Vmware 1.1.1

[tvalleau]

Hi

I had my MacBook's native 1280x800 resolution just fine after I installed Vista on my Bootcamp partition. Looked nice.

Did a fresh install of latest (1/29/08) Fusion, and its tools. In Fusion, I get 1280 x 800 in full-screen mode. But when I go back to boot directly into bootcamp, now my maximum selectable resolution is 1024 x 768, which looks terrible. When using the "display all resolutions" of the system control panel under Vista, the maximum display size listed is (SVGA) 1024x768.

Yes, I can always just run under Fusion, but that's not the point (of having bootcamp, which I use as a developer to test the software I create for Vista on my mac.)

So: anyone have any ideas on how to get bootcamp's Vista to acknowedge that I've got a display that's larger than 1024x768?

-

---

Followup: I've now completely uninstalled both Vista and Vmware, and done the whole process all over again from the beginning... with exactly the same results. I suspect that the installation of VMWare Tools is screwing it up.

Steps: 1) Install Vista; resolution is 1280x800 in Bootcamp. 2) open in Fusion 1.1.1 and install tools. Resolution in Fusion is 1280 x 800. 3) Boot into Windows/Bootcamp; resolution is 1024 x 768. (That and 800x600 are the only possible choices after VMWare Tools are installed.

[MandarMS]

can try following

1) Boot the Windows in Native Boot camp

2) Uninstall VMware Tools from control panel and delete the VMware Folder from c:\Program files

3) Uninstall the Boot camp drivers and restart the Windows and boot in to Mac OS and run the Vista in virtual machine

4) Install VMware Tool, restart the Mac system and Boot in to Native Boot camp

5) Install Boot camp drivers in Vista and check you can face the same problem

[jim_gill]

Sorry you're having this trouble. We've become aware of an issue with VMware Tools install, as you suspected, that forces the native Boot Camp video driver back to SVGA.

There's a workaround that's a bit simpler than the one posted earlier, and doesn't require uninstalling Tools:

1) Boot into Boot Camp

2) Open up Control Panel | System

3) Select Device Manager, select the adapter listed under "Display Adapters"

4) Click the Driver tab, then the "Update Drivers" button.

This will restore the NVidia drivers, giving you full resolution (and Aero effects) while you are running in Boot Camp. The VMware SVGA driver will stay in the system and it will be used when you go back into a virtual machine.

[tvalleau]

Thanks, Jim. This would likely work if the Nvidia device was listed, but the -only- device listed under display adapters is the SVGA device. I think the problem is larger than just a simple misconfiguration: the Nvidia device is completely missing.

(Incidentally, or not so incidentally, the Apple system profiler lists the video display as an Intel GMA950...)

[jim_gill]

Yes, the SVGA driver is the only one listed, but "Update Driver" will replace it with the NVidia driver you had after installing Apple's Boot Camp drivers. That driver is still on your disk, and Windows will find it.

I have done this while investigating the problem. No "fix" yet, just this workaround, but it does work.

[jim_gill]

NVidia == "whatever driver you had". This isn't NVidia-specific, it's just that I tested it on a Mac Pro and that's what I had, and I got NVidia stuck in my head because it meant "success" to me...

[tvalleau]

can try following

1) Boot the Windows in Native Boot camp

understand...

2) Uninstall VMware Tools from control panel and delete the VMware Folder from c:\Program files

understand

3) Uninstall the Boot camp drivers and restart the Windows and boot in to Mac OS and run the Vista in virtual machine

OK: that's scary: >uninstall bootcamp from within vista. "restart windows" - will it restart if there are no bootcamp drivers?.

Then "boot in to Mac OS and run the Vista in virtual machine" - if there are no bootcamp drivers, will Fusion even see it?

4) Install VMware Tool,

OK

restart the Mac system and Boot in to Native Boot camp

see above? there are no bootcamp drivers... will that work?

5) Install Boot camp drivers in Vista

totally lost now: bootcamp is installed from the Mac side, not from Vista.

While I am a retired programmer, and like to think I can handle these things, my lack of experience with Bootcamp and Vmware Fusion is obviously showing thru...

and check you can face the same problem

[tvalleau]

Well, I sure tried that, but I obviously need more specific help. I highlighted it, and told it to update the drivers, and it spent about 10 minutes "searching" and finally gave up. Is there some specific place I can tell it to search manually?

BTW... my MacBook is the first one, and not a Pro....

[tvalleau]

Got it! It wasn't "search" (system/devices/displays/svga) but "browse my computer" then "let me pick" which will present a list of (apparently) viable drivers. Select one, then click "next" (ignoring "have disk").

That installed the driver, and bootcamp was able to show 1280 x 800 again.

[jim_gill]

I'm glad you got it working. When I've done this it didn't take 10 minutes of searching, but I'll repro on an Imac, a MacBook and a Mini (I have a MBP and a Pro handy, but we have the other scattered around the department).

I'm not sure if you uninstalled VMware Tools and/or Apple's Boot Camp drivers (those are the ones on your Leopard DVD) but you do want both installed and they are compatible -- install Apple's drivers under Boot Camp and VMware's drivers under Fusion. I don't think the order matters, but we normally do Apple first, then VMware.

We're looking into getting this issue fixed in a future update to Fusion. Thank you for highlighting the importance of it.

[tvalleau]

I greatly appreciate your courtesy and the speed with which you responded, Jim. Thanks for the great support!