Windows 10 On Mac and Resolution Problem

[rnadendla]

I was able to install Windows 10 via ISO on my Mac Book Pro and finally got through the SVGA bug. I'm not sure if its a Video/Graphics controller issue or a drivers issue  but the retina display resolution on Windows 10 is very bad. For Ex: Eclipse shows some menu's big enough and other options too small or tiny to see. Is there is an update to Fusion 7 that can fix this. Im on fusion 7.1.2. Any help is appreciated.

[sticker]

the issue is applications are not "DPI Aware" on my 15" retina i had an application that would report seemingly random resolutions in a guest vm. Windows is trying to compensate and does a crap job... your resolution is actually at 3840x2400 in windows but really 2880x1800 mac side on 15". I hate java so cant help you on eclipse but maybe this  will point you in the right direction... anyway for windows development i add an "app manifest"  and declare <dpiAware>true</dpiAware> problem solved. I know you can embed a manifest into a compiled file but being java based... doesn't seem like it will help. look over on eclipse.org there is alot on high dpi scaling issues.

[bhak]

I just did all of that with my MacBook Pro and find the resolution pretty horrible, too.  Windows 8.1 Pro ran at 1440x900.  Windows 10 runs at 1152x864.  The higher resolution choice just isn't there.  I would suspect that this is a VMware issue so it will be time for v7.2 soon.  I am running 7.1.2 on Mac OS 10.10.4.  I have reverted to W8 until this gets fixed.  Maybe the 'bug' wasn't a bug.

[ldebernardini]

I ran in the same problem at the beginning. I solved it manually setting the OS type in the VM general properties and reinstalling then the VMware tools. Since that it worked correctly.

Luigi

[geezjan]

Hi Luigi. Can you elaborate?

I am on a 27" iMac (not Retina) running OS X 10.10.4 and Fusion 7.1.2. My display is 2560x1440 but Windows 10 will still not go above 1152x864.

I set the OS type in the VM general settings to "Windows 10 x64" and reinstalled VMware Tools, but nothing changed. When I did the VMware Tools reinstall, it gave me options to modify, repair, or remove, and I chose modify. What version of VMware Tools should it be? Mine shows version 9.9.3. Also, the drivers in Windows 10 are the "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter" and the "Generic Non-PnP Monitor" drivers. Is that correct?

Thanks for any help!

Jan

[geezjan]

This always happens to me. The answer to my own question is that you have to manually uninstall VMware Tools before reinstalling it. Now I have full display resolution.

[ChristianMaslen]

I'm on a Mac Pro 15" Retina and running a 27" secondary monitor. My VM is a Bootcamp partition. I had the same issue and the following:

• First I disabled the Accelerate 3D Graphics setting for the VM. This resulted in a slight improvement but the driver was set to basic meaning the resolution was locked at 1024 X 768 and the driver was the generic one.
• Then I reinstalled the VMWare tools by repairing the the installation.
• After the restart it gave me access to all the available resolutions and changed the driver to VMWare SVGA 3D.
• I then shut down the VM and re-enabled the Accelerate 3D Graphics setting for the VM.

All works fine now. I'm not sure if the first step was necessary. Getting back to the original poster's issue I have the same problem. Some apps natively look OK in there and others are disproportionate. I'll await a VM Tools upgrade...

[Oskarb]

Hi rnadendla, Had same problem. Resolved by doing a clean install of original operating system (in my case windows 7--no need to do online updates), then installing VMWare tools. Check that full resolutions are available at this stage. Then mount windows 10 iso in Fusion and your screen resolutions should all be available in Windows 10 once installed. If still not available, uninstall and reinstall WMWare tools in Windows 10--this should do the trick. In my case however I am unable to run Fusion 7.1.2 and Windows 10 in Unity on two 27" Apple thunderbolt monitors connected to mid 2012 Macbook Pro, so am unable to stretch to these monitors. Clearly there is a svga issue with Fusion 7, so Microsoft is correct to point out this incompatibility. I currently run windows 8.1 on this setup with no Unity issues. I'm hoping that an update to Fusion 7 will solve this issue, as currently the svga driver in Fusion 7.1.2 is not adequate to run my setup. Hope this helped.

[DR1040]

What worked for me:

Complete uninstall of vmware tools.  Shutdown, make sure Settings for the VM are set to Windows 10 x64, restart VM.  Reinstall VMWare tools from scratch.  Now, my 10.10.5 Mac running Fusion 7.1.2 with Windows10 running full screen at 2560x1440.

Now my only question is why is this so hard?

[chuckl59]

Not only is it difficult, but some solutions work for some people and not for others. AND, VMWare doesn't have a central repository of possible resolutions; you have to dig into forums and blogs, wasting even more time. AND, they don't have a Fusion 7 patch to fix this whole mess. They want you to upgrade to Fusion 8!

They REALLY have consistently fumbled the ball on this one IMO.

BTW: I'm still dead in the water trying to upgrade my Windows 7 Ultra to Windows 10 under Fusion 7 after having tried several different possible solutions over several hours of frustrating effort. Another hour or so of this and it's bye-bye VMWare.

[mini2008]

Hi,

Maybe this help you~

VMware KB: Upgrading to Windows 10 using Software Update in Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 virtual mach...

[GDTMO]

The problem with a general lack of crispness in Windows 10 is not a VMWare problem. Read this article:

http://lifehacker.com/fix-blurry-fonts-in-windows-10-with-this-utility-1734246822

I installed XPExplorer - Windows 10 DPI Fix and is fixed the problem. Simply, the program uses Windows 8 DPI. It is a seamless fix that worked perfectly for me. I did not try to use custom scaling, but prefer 125%. I tried 150%, and it worked great, but still prefer 125%. Make sure you reboot. Hope this helps.

[mriguy]

In VM Ware go to the Virtual Machine menu and choose settings/general.

Choose Windows 10 64 bit in the OS dropdown menu.

Open the virtual machine and go to control panel/apps

Choose VM Ware tools and uninstall them.

Go back to the VM Ware interface and select install VM Ware tools.

In the virtual machine follow the instructions presented and watch your OS fill your screen at lovely hi res.

[mgkekendall]

This is what finally worked for me.

The difference was completely uninstalling vmware tools first, before installing.

ie. the reinstall option did not work for me.

[plapla]

Windows 10 X64, Fusion 8.5, I had the same problem from the beginning. It was blocked in 1152x864 max.

Resolution issue was solved with a full desinstall of VMware tools through the system, reboot, and a full install of Tools.

It works now perfectly, and switch between full screen and Unity is OK too.

Thank you for the trick!

Pierre

[KPM171]

I had the same issue on my MacBookPro retina 13", I installed VM Ware Tools, rebooted the Virtual Machine, and then all the resolution options were available in display settings.  Hope this helps!

[zoundsa]

I'm still stuck on this issue. Using VMware Fusion 7.1.2. Was running Windows 8.1 until today. Upgraded to Windows 10. Install worked fine, but had the resolution issue described earlier in this thread. It seemed like the best approach was the following, so I tried it:

1. Uninstall VMware Tools (version 9.something)

2. Shut down VM

3. Go to Virtual Machine > Settings > General and change OS to Windows 10 x64

4. Turn on VM, then Virtual Machine > Install VMWare Tools

5. Run through install (result was 9.9.3.2759765)

This all went fine, but as soon as the VM install was complete, the VM screen goes black. I can tell that something is still happening, because in VM full screen mode I can see the mouse on the left and right of where the screen was, but cannot see the mouse where the VM screen "is". After some Googling, I did the following to at least get my screen back:

1. Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode

2. In Device Manager, disable drivers for Display Adapters (for me it said: VMware SVGA 3D) and Monitors (Generic Non-PnP Monitor)

3. Restart

I've done this entire loop twice with the same results. I'm now back at a functional Windows 10 desktop, but the resolution is still pretty crummy. Display settings available on Windows 10 are currently, 1152x864,  1024x768,  800x600.   I used to be able to view the VM full screen on laptop or second screen, and the resolution would adjust. In non-full screen, I could adjust the VM window to any size, and the resolution would follow.

What else can I try?

[wila]

Hi,

You installed Windows 10 creators update apparently as that shows this "black screen" on older VMware Tools drivers.

The thing you can do is install a new VMware Tools version, but - you are completely on your own - as that of course has not been tested with VMware Fusion 7.

Get the latest vmware tools from

Latest VMware Tools for Windows Guests

--

Wil

[zoundsa]

Thanks wila. Do you know if upgrading to VMware 8.5 would do the trick? I'm not opposed to spending the $50 if that would make life easier.

[wila]

Yip, the latest Fusion 8.5 should be fine with this.

I suggest to use the 30 day trial to see if it works OK before splashing out.

If it works out for you then buy and assign the license to the install and the time limit will be removed (so no need to reinstall)

Try VMware Fusion or Fusion Pro.

--

Wil