Why does VMRC sometimes open as a very small window

[sillygoose]

Sometimes when I open a new console window VMRC starts a a very small window, much smaller than the resolution of the VM. It also doesn't have any scroll bars. Why does this happen? Is there a way to prevent this behavior.

[CQuartetti]

Please provide some more information to help diagnose the problem:

• Version of VMRC
• Host OS
• Guest OS
• VMware Tools installed on guest?
• Server & version
• Does it happen every time?

Thanks

[sillygoose]

VMRC: 9.0.0 build-4288332

Host OS (meaning the client running vmrc): Windows 7 64-bit

Guest OS: CentOS 7 (though I think I've seen it happen on several other Linux versions

Yes VMware Tools are installed

ESXi 6.5 and vCenter 6.5

It does not happen every time

[CQuartetti]

Hm, I'm not seeing this problem.

When this happens does the small window have a maximize control? What happens if you switch to full-screen mode and back to windowed mode?

What are your host and client screen resolutions?

Approximately how many times do you see a small window vs. times you start VMRC?

Does it happen on host-guest connections that have succeeded before or is it more likely to happen with some host-guest combinations?

After you see the problem check the most recent mks and vmrc log files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\temp\vmware-%USERNAME%. They are named with the PIDs of VMRC and MKS, ex. vmware-vmrc-11612.log and vmware-11612-mks-6232.log. Let me know of any errors you see or send them to me by personal message. Note that these logs contain your username, VM names, etc. so rename/delete any information you don't want to share.

[sillygoose]

I didn't really notice it before because I just kept trying to drag the window back to the right size which doesn't really work because there is no indication as to what the previous size was and the VM desktop just stretches to whatever size you drag it to. There is a maximize button and if you use it it leaves the VM desktop inside a black frame at the resolution that was expected but if you minimize again it goes back to the really small size.

The guest VMs are mostly set to 1152x864. The host monitor resolution is 2560x1440.

I had to try opening the console window for about 10 VMs before one of them exhibited the problem.

It seems to happen randomly on host-guest connections that worked normally before.

I checked the mks and vmrc log files and didn't see any relevant error, just some complaints about files that already existed (log files that presumably were already created by other instances). I also compared some those log files with ones for vmrc instances that had exhibited the issue. I didn't see any differences between them other than PIDs and similar unique values. I did find that the small windows size is 336x272 from the cui::MKSScreenWindowCoordinator::HandleGuestTopologyChange: main UI rect: message.

[UmeshAhuja]

Hi,

Which browser you are using to open a VMRC or client ?

[CQuartetti]

Is it possible there's another console (VMRC or web console) connected to the same VM and it's trying to autosize to two different consoles?

[BlueCorps]

I'm having the same problem with a Surface Pro using VM Horizon. The icons and menu are very small and all of the display settings are greyed out.

Here's the information requested from CQuartetti specific to this situation:

• VMware Horizon 3.5.2 (3191777)
• Host OS - Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
• Guest OS - Windows 7 64-bit
• VMware Tools installed on guest? Yes
• Server & version - not sure where to find
• Does it happen every time? - Yes, but I've only seen it happen on this device.

Any thoughts?

[CQuartetti]

BlueCorps, I think you're seeing a different problem. It is likely caused by the high DPI/PPI monitor of the Surface Pro 3 (2736 x 1824 pixels on a 12.3” screen gives 267 PPI); Windows was originally designed to 96 dpi. VMRC 9.0 doesn't work with  Windows' automatic high-DPI scaling. We're looking to improve this for a future release.

[BlueCorps]

Okay that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for your help!

[cmor1701e]

Any update on when the High DPI issue will be resolved.  I don't usually have this issue at work when using my dock connected dual monitors.  But when working from home at night (or today) this becomes an issue.  Yes, I can open a web console and get by, but that resolution still isn't quite right on the laptop screen.

TIA

[CQuartetti]

There are multiple issues covered in this thread, let me summarize/clarify:

1. Console window small, missing scrollbars with VMRC, intermittent (sillygoose) - I have been unable to reproduce this issue or determine why it happens.
2. Console window small on high-DPI host with Horizon (BlueCorps) - This looks like a general case where the guest is set for the classic 96 DPI and viewed on a 267 DPI monitor, so everything looks tiny. It's not clear if the guest's resolution changes when the host's console window is resized. There are two options, depending if the guest's resolution can be changed:
   1. Yes - Change the guest's UI scaling if possible (see below). On Windows this is done in Display settings (Win 10's Settings app, Win 7's Control Panel).
   2. No - Scale the whole guest screen larger. The downside is that it will look blurry since it just multiplies pixels. Options:
      1. Use VMRC on Macintosh where the default behavior is to scale the guest to fit the console window.
      2. Connect with Workstation, view in full-screen mode, set view to Stretch Guest
3. Cannot change UI scaling on Windows 7 guest (BlueCorps) - This is an issue with the guest VM's administration/policies, independent of VMware' tools.

Point 2.1 is currently a manual step but it could be automated in the future if VMware Tools is installed. Let me know the level of interest in this.

Point 2.2 is being tracked by (internal) ticket #1619302 (no current release target) which would add options to VMRC's View menu (to match Workstation) to choose among the following:

• Autofit Guest - set the guest's resolution to match the console window size
• Stretch - stretch the guest to fit the console window (currently only available in Workstation's full-screen mode, tracked by ticket #681137)
• Center - center the guest in the console window
• Autofit Window - fit the console window to the guest's resolution

[robv8r]

Any update on this?

[graigchq]

as of Feb 22nd 2019, just downloaded latest VMRC and have the same issue, ended up here looking for the answer. It still isnt fixed, but installing Workstation worked.

Confirmed issue with high res high DPI screens, this is on a new 4k 15" screen laptop. Same computer on a 1080p 24" monitor and it displays just fine.

[esxguide]

I have the 2.1 problem ALL the time. or very close to 100% of the time.

vCenter 6.5 - VCSA

Dell R640 Hosts 6.5U2

Client is a server 2019 running session based RDP

screens are 1920x1080 usually using more than one screen in RDP Session.

Browser: IE 11.316.17763.0, Firefox 60.4ESR Both do the same thing.

The solution is actually simple:

ADD THE "FIT WINDOW NOW" BUTTON BACK TO REMOTE CONSOLE.

Sure you can resize the window and the guest will resize to fit. but it won't be the same resolution you had before. If you had stuff running in there, the windows get squashed or fit badly, it just a PITA to get your session back to where you were.

As for the question "Can you just maximize and restore? NO. You maximize, it goes to full screen across two monitors, you restore and it goes to the small window size that it was when you opened the console. which could be like 800x600 or smaller. See comment above.

It's a simple fix VMWARE put the button back.

[AShaub]

Same problem with the remote console hosted by an ESXI server.

I'm running seven images (three Windows Servers and four Windows 10 workstations) each set to a resolution of 1024x768 being viewed with a 4k monitor.

Each time get back on in the morning and reconnect through each console I have to resize every single window so I get the appropriate resolution.

What I end up doing is minimize all the currently open windows for the image and use Windows to change the resolution to something larger than what It's currently supposed to be set to. Then when Windows asks if I want to keep or revert the change, I select revert. The resolution jumps back to the proper 1024x768 and I restore all the work I had open before dealing with this bug. I then repeat the same process with the 6 other images.

Yes, I get this 100% of the time and have been dealing with this ever since receiving a new ESXI server that replaced the old 6.0 server I had before earlier this year.

[saarnet]

any news on this issue. Has #1619302 been implemented?

[ElucidAdmin]

This still occurs with the latest version. As mentioned above, the problem is related to high DPI displays. You can modify the compatibility settings for the application to address this.

VMRC doesn't install with a Start Menu shortcut, but you can access Properties by right-clicking on the executable (C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Remote Console\vmrc.exe). On the Compatibility tab, click on the Change high DPI settings button and under High DPI scaling override, check Override high DPI scaling behavior and set Scaling performed by: to System.

--Rick

[BjarteBS]

I have a similar problem on VMRC 12.0.1 build-18113358 (2021)

I use VMRC on an admin server that we access via RDP. It happens from time to time that I moved this RDP session across the different displays (has 3 displays).
In addition, I found out that I may kept RDP session too long (some days).

So I decided to log out of the RDP session against the admin server, and took a new RDP login.

This finally worked, and I do not have this VMRC issue. So far, so good. 

[vrguru]

Hi,

I have HP Elitebook laptop and an External monitor connected using a Docking station. I use VGA cable to connect to external monitor through docking station.

I followed your steps, VMRC opened in full scree, but i face a new issue now.

1. In Laptop display i am able to make VMRC fit to screen, but the mouse pointer does not point to the application i select. Its shifted

2. If i move VMRC to the external monitor then i have the same sizing issue, it does not work in full screen.

Can you support me to resolve this issue.

Thanks,

Guru