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tferratt
Contributor
Contributor

Multiple display guest reverts to single display after unlocking Windows 7 guest OS

I have the EXACT same issue that was described by user "cknerr" in the beta forum.  It's been with me throughout all releases of Workstation 9 (through v9.0.2) once I started using Windows 7 for the guest OS on this host.  Now that I've switched to Workstation 10, it continues.  The symptoms are as follows:

If I take a Windows 7 Enterprise 64 guest and expand it across two of my host's three displays (host is Windows7 Pro 64), everything is fine until the guest's screensaver kicks in.  If I unlock the screensaver, I am returned to work on the guest with both displays active but within 10-20 seconds (without fail) the second display will suddenly revert to the host's wallpaper and my guest is left showing only on the first display.  However, VMware Workstation still thinks that it's running on two displays.  If I click the monitor layout button on that guest's command bar, it shows that the current mode is Layout 2 (dual-monitor) - even though it is only utilizing the first display.  This was the same in v9 - it still showed that two displays were engaged.  The only remedy, as cknerr described in the beta forum, is to exit full-screen mode, re-enter full-screen mode, and then switch back to the two-display layout.  This will restore all normal functionality for the guest until the next time I leave the guest OS long enough for the screensaver to activate.  I tried a complete un-install and re-install of the client tools in 9.0.2 and it had no effect.  When I was notified that v10 was just released I leapt at the upgrade in the hopes that, at last, there would be a resolution.  However, it immediately performed the same trick when I returned from a meeting and unlocked my screensaver.  And, yes, I upgraded the client tools to the latest edition that accompanied the release of Workstation 10.

I have never run any beta versions of VMware Workstation and I always install the latest versions of the program as soon as the program notifies me that an upgrade is available.  I typically only have two guests active at a time - both Win 7 Enterprise 64.  One guest uses two LCDs while the second guest uses a third.  The host has 16GB of RAM and the troublesome guest OS has 4 GB reserved for it since this is where I perform the majority of my tasks.  If it helps, the host PC uses an AMD FirePro V4900 graphics adapter. and the two LCD displays involved in this issue both connect to that card via VGA to DisplayPort adapter cables.  I'm not sure what else I can tell you about it other than that this issue has been present since day one of running a Windows 7 guest inside Workstation.  I'm pretty sure it started with 9.0 but it MAY have gone back as far as the last edition of 8.  But I can't be sure about that.  I do know, however, that none of the updates to v9 has resolved the issue nor has today's upgrade to v10.0.0.  I also know that I ran in this same display layout for ages using an XP Pro (32) guest on this same host and never had this issue with dual displays.  Is there any suggestion for me?  Should I capture any specific logs to help troubleshoot this?  Thanks.

13 Replies
sunyj
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Hi buddy,

        I feel very sorry that you also hit this issue. So far I do not have a workaround for it. Smiley Sad

        What I can say is that the dev team is aware of this issue. Please wait and try the next upgrade.

        Again, many apologies to you.

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tferratt
Contributor
Contributor

I look forward to trying the update then.  Thanks for the response. You were able to duplicate this issue on your end, right?  So this isn't just me?

sunyj
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Hi tferratt,

        What I reproduce here is much like yours, including:

        1, 3 monitors

        2, Revert to primary monitor after unlocking

        3, Can not go to the 2-monitor topology until un-maxium and re-maxium

        The only difference is that my display revert to the primary monitor after unlocking. No need to wait 10~20 seconds.

        Hope the root cause is same to yours.

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DBDJr
Contributor
Contributor

Having this same issue with Windows 7.Pro.64 as VM to Mac Mavericks OS X 10.9.  I would be interested in knowing solution as well.  It's pretty annoying.  Thanks.

Hardware profile:

(2) LG 27EA63V-P monitors via HDMI

2009 Mac Pro with 3.33 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon processor

Graphics  NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB

Memory  32 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC

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sjdweb
Contributor
Contributor

This is definitely an issue. I'm running 10.0.1 build-1379776.

Once it happens you have to hit the multiple monitors icon twice. On return of the multiple monitors full screen mode, my windows are not fully maximized like they were prior to the issue happening.

I work in the VM all day so every morning / lunch / whenever I leave my PC this happens, pretty irritating.

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sjdweb
Contributor
Contributor

Ok I tried something out overnight. I set the VM's power profile to Perfomance, and disabled the display(s) being able to sleep. Today when I unlocked the host and the VM, I didn't get the bug.

Will see how this pans out over the next few days. There are a few in the office with the same setup so hopefully this fixes the irritation.

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tferratt
Contributor
Contributor

sjdweb,

I have fiddled with all of the sleep/power-save settings within the guest OS with no luck.  This idea did not help me.  My guest still reverts to one display after unlocking the host - even though VMware's monitor layout still shows that two displays is the current selection. I'm now running VMware Workstation 10.0.1 build-1379776 and still no sign of a solution.  This has been an issue since at least v8, but only when the guest OS was Windows 7.

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Melgaard
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I am experiencing the exact same issue.

It has a vast number if scenarios it seems, sometimes running applications in Administrator mode in the guest also provokes this behavior.

One of the most interesting things I have discovered is that it seems to depend on the installation/configuration of the OS (Guest and/or Host), the reason for this gut feeling is that I have 2 installations. And for the one living in our primary Domain it happens far more frequent than in an installation that lives in a different Domain. And this is not isolated to the fact that one of them doesn't get forced to lock the guest as it can happen before the guest locks.

As for the host locking, that is a 100% change to revert VMWare to display just a single monitor...

Guest: Windows 7 Enterprise, 64 bit, Service Pack 1
Host: Windows 7 Enterprise, 64 bit, Service Pack 1


Edit 2014-03-26:

So I finally updated to WS10 to get enhanced support for SSD's etc.
If anything, this problem has gotten worse for me.

Some times when I return to my host after it being locked and the guest as well and it has lost it's awareness of being on 2 monitors (it still thinks it is though as i have to cycle to single then back to dual)...
Then ones I recover the Dual screen setup so VMWare WS again spans both monitors, it has the wrong configuration of them sort of...

So I actually have my monitors in a configuration where the left is vertical and the right is horizontal.

Now sometimes it seems like for the cursor, it ends up configuring them both horizontally or even switches them around, but they are "displayed correctly"... it's only the cursor that moves strangely across borders.

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JasonFW
Contributor
Contributor

I'm having this issue as well so hoping to resurrect this thread. Running a Windows 7 client on two monitors and any time I wake up the client after it has turned off output to the monitors it reverts back to a single monitor. As others have described, it appears that the host still *thinks* it is displaying across two monitors. I can resolve it by toggling the Cycle Multiple Monitors twice (once to turn it "off" and once to turn it back on), thus my belief that the host still thinks it is displaying across both monitors.

This thread began from a link to a similar problem in the beta forum. That original thread started in 2013 and looks like it addressed v8,9, and 10. It's now 4 years later and I'm running v12.5 and still have the same problem. Did the developers ever identify the root problem? Does anyone know if the problem goes away with a Win10 client? I'm scheduled to be updated to Win10 sometime before the end of the year so it would be nice to know if I should just live with it until then or if the problem is going to continue after the update.

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NorbL
Contributor
Contributor

I'm having a similar issue.  Strange that something like this is still happening 7 years after an initial report.  I am running VMWare Workstation Pro version 16.0.0.  I have several flavors of guest O/S, but notice that while working in a Windows 10 guest that a multiple monitor configuration will revert to a single monitor while working in the VM, so not even during a screen lock or because of a screen saver.

Dell_txo
Contributor
Contributor

Yup - I am having this same issue on windows 10 running VMWare Workstation Pro. 16.1. This is pretty annoying and it will be great if VMware engineers could at least take a look and provide possible update on when this will be addressed - 

Windows 10 - Version 1909 (OS Build: 18363.1256)

VMware Workstation 16 Pro - Version 16.1.0 Build-17198959

TriP782
Contributor
Contributor

I signed up to VMWARE account just so I could answer this question.  I was stuck on this for a long time and very annoyed that a paid product like VMWARE is just ignoring this problem.  Never had this problem with free VBOX.  I even purchased more system memory because I thought this was a memory problem.

The solution for me is to always keep the main monitor, the one with VMWARE menu at the top, on the left side.  The secondary monitor on the right side.  With this, I was able to keep dual monitors from reverting back to one monitor.

Common VMWARE.  You can do better than this.

CrouZer
Contributor
Contributor

I had a similar issue, except that the guest VM would revert back to single monitor at random, as well as when I resized or moved the taskbar on the host:

https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Workstation-Pro/Multiple-monitors-reverting-to-single-monit... 

I have posted a workaround there, where I am able to get any desired monitor layout to stick for the guest VM, but it might involve changing which monitor that's configured as the main display on the host.

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