task set console window screen resolution

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Console screen resolution not changing, and appearing too small

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You can configure the display resolution preferences that determine how a virtual machine is displayed only after resizing the window in VMware Remote Console .

Prerequisites

• On Windows, select VMRC > Preferences .
• On macOS, select VMRC > Preferences .
• On Linux, select File > Remote Console Preferences .
• Select Display .

These display resolution preferences apply to both normal window and full screen mode.

Colin Westwater

• Paisley, Scotland
• vExpert Directory

VM Console Display Resolution Change

August 19, 2018 2 minute read

Introduction

Recently I noticed that when logging into VM’s at the console level through vCenter the resolution was all messed up. I set the VM’s at 1280x800 but was seeing resolutions all over the place.

It turned out people were using the Virtual Machine Remote Console or Web Console from vCenter to access the VM’s console and it was changing the resolution of the VM’s operating system to whatever the size of the web browser window was set to.

Annoying more than anything but after a couple of times finding someone with a HD monitor in portrait resolution setting the VM to 1080x1920 I decided to see what was going on and stop it.

VMware KB52031

I noticed this seemed to be happening since we upgraded to vCenter 6.5 so after some Googling I found the VMware KB article:

How to disable auto-fitting of Windows guest OS screen resolution when accessing from Web Client and VMRC (52031)

The symptoms fitted exactly what I was seeing and tested:

When opening or resizing VMRC of any versions or Web Console of Web Client 6.5, the screen resolution of Windows Guest OS changes to fit the window size of the client if the guest OS is Windows. This results in changing the screen resolution of the guest.

The fix is not so good. You need to modify the vmx file of the VM when it is powered off. Not great. The settings are:

guestInfo.svga.wddm.modeset=”FALSE” guestInfo.svga.wddm.modesetCCD=”FALSE” guestInfo.svga.wddm.modesetLegacySingle=”FALSE” guestInfo.svga.wddm.modesetLegacyMulti=”FALSE”

This can be done a couple of ways but I whipped up a quick PowerCLI script to change the vmx file quickly when I have one off for regular maintenance. As this issue is just annoying I am not scheduling an outage for the VM’s to make the change, but only when I have VM’s that I can take a quick outage on.

PowerCLI script

First of all power off the VM from the OS, the console, vCenter, PowerCLI or whatever way you want. Make sure the VM is powered off.

The script is pretty straightforward. First connect to vCenter:

You will be prompted for credentials to connect.

Next we will prompt for a VM name that we want to change and define it into a variable:

Now the VM is off we can add the lines to the vmx file. The PowerCLI cmdlet is New-AdvancedSetting :

We can now power on the VM:

Here is the full script:

Short and simple post and script to fix this ‘issue’. Now the resolution of the VM’s console can only be modified in the OS or through Group Policy which what I want.

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esxi 6.5 how to turn off autofit window / automatic display resolution change

after I installed VMware Tools on virtual machine its resolution adjusts to the console window size automatically. It is not what I want - I want that the resolution of my virtual machine stays the same.

It is VMware ESXi 6.5, where is only web console available.

It is happening only after installing VMware Tools (i need it of course).

Anyone knows how to turn it off ?

I tried to use some forums tips with setting: svga.MaxWidth/svga.MaxHeight parameters, but it doesn't work...

• virtualization
• vmware-esxi
• vmware-vsphere

• 4 We are running automatic ui tests on vmware clients. When a remote console connects, often tests fail because the screen resolution gets too low and the test tool does not find controls. So I have the same problem, hereby adding a use case. –  Moritz Both Nov 23, 2017 at 14:59
• Can you provide some additional information? What patch level are you running 6.5, are you using Flash or HTML5 browser, what about vmware player, what version of windows/linux. –  Jacob Evans Nov 27, 2017 at 20:34
• I am using HTML5 browser. Automatic resolution change happens both with HTML5 Browser console and with plugin (vmrc) as well as with VMware Workstation connecting to the vSphere Server. vSphere Client Version 6.5.0.10000. The guests are mostly windows 7. The clients using the remote console are different Windows and Linux versions, but I think that does not matter since the resolution change is done by the vmware tools. –  Moritz Both Nov 30, 2017 at 11:45
• General hint: The bounty expires in three hours. If anybody has a solution, I will gladly start another one :) –  Moritz Both Nov 30, 2017 at 11:51
• 1 How to disable auto-fitting of Windows guest OS screen resolution when accessing from Web Client and VMRC (52031) kb.vmware.com/s/article/52031 –  Brad Sep 21, 2018 at 15:09

3 Answers 3

Found a solution!!

Windows Client resolution changes work by calling <ProgramDir>\VMware\VMware Tools\VMwareResolutionSet.exe . After I renamed that file, bingo no more resolution changes. Obviously this works until the next VMware tools update only, but it does the job for us.

Since it is not easy to find, here is the reference for VMwareResolutionSet.exe from a random forum thread at https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2058577

Run VMwareResolutionSet.exe to force Windows to set your desired resolution. VMwareResolutionSet.exe Variable1 Variable2 , Variable3 Variable4 Variable5 Variable6 Variable 1 is the index of the primary monitor (Default = 0). Variable 2 is the number of total monitors (Default = 1). Variable 3 is the starting X position of monitor 0 (Default = 0). Variable 4 is the starting Y position of monitor 0 (Default = 0). Variable 5 is the width (X) of monitor 0 in pixels. Variable 6 is the width (Y) of monitor 0 in pixels. For Example, to set the virtual machine display resolution to 3280 x 2048: VMwareResolutionSet.exe 0 1 , 0 0 3280 2048

The spaces around the comma seem to be significant.

Try using the html5 interface with the remote console plugin (VMRC) and set the resolution within the OS. That solved this issue for me, anyway.

A couple of tricks to getting the remote console plugin working correctly:

It likes to be run elevated. So after installing the remote console plugin, find the vmrc.exe file using Explorer, right click, select Properties -> Compatibility tab -> check the Change settings for all users option and Run this program as an administrator .

That should save you some additional headaches. There are known issues with the Flash client, and I even read somewhere that the Flash version is being discontinued at some point.

• What do you mean when you say "set the resolution within the OS"? Every time you connect, that is? That's not an option. This does not help me with the problem. Also, running vmrc.exe elevated adds security risks and sorry, if vmware cannot tell me why this would be neccessary I won't do this. –  Moritz Both Nov 30, 2017 at 11:49
• Sorry for such a delayed response. Holidays and all that. Since you did not specify which operating system you installed, I can only give examples. In windows, right click and select display settings to set the resolution. I suggest editing your post to include the specific operating system you are having trouble with. –  Bill Jan 12, 2018 at 19:06
• 1 It is changed back on every connect. This is what op (and me) wanted to avoid afaik. –  Moritz Both Jan 16, 2018 at 14:19

We had the same issue. Turns out that in the VM settings the video card setting was 'custom'. If you change that to 'auto-detect settings' the problem goes away! You can only change this if the VM is powered off. Unless you need custom settings for a specific reason, this works fine.

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VM operation such as screen resolution, shutdown fails.

Following events can be seen.

Following lines can be seen in vmware.log

This issue happens when vmware tools on guest OS unable to communicate with host that can be fix by reinstalling latest version of VMware tools on guest OS.

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VMware console has partially black screen

Lately, i'm having the issue opening VM console in VMware. It seems that I only have this problem and none of colleagues has this issue. We are using vCenter 5.5 and I'm using vSphere client 5.5 to operate the vCenter if that's helpful.

When i open VM console, i do not seem to get full screen in the console as you can see in attached file. i tried to uninstall to any graphic related software in my lenovo x1 carbon laptop. But none seems to be working. I really can't find any solution for my problem in google as well.

Please can someone help me out on this?

Thanks much.

Popular Topics in VMware

My immediate reaction would be that it could be related to the screen resolution; not sure if that is the case, but possibly worth investigating.

It might also be worth checking to see if you need a driver update on your laptop.

Spur Systems, LLC is an IT service provider.

Try the console in the web client- I bet it's fine.

This looks like a problem with your Remote Console (VMRC). I recommend uninstalling it and getting the latest from VMware:  https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&external... Opens a new window

Let me know if that doesn't do it for you.

Hello Bottman,

Yes, that issue looks convinced that it is related to either screen resolution or graphic card driver issue. But I will try to downgrade my intel graphic HD 5500 driver back to abit old versions.

Will update again if it works.

hello mr dave,

Thanks for pointing that out. I tried ur advice sir. But it failed to install "hcmon" driver. And I looked at VMware KB and says that it is known issue and no resolution as of now.

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2130850 Opens a new window

Eric TK wrote: hi guys, I have found a very simple solution from VMware. I need to check the box in the VMware compatibility tab "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings". After that, my problem is resolved.  Thank you so much for your reply guys. Really appreciate it. Eric  

Chang high DPI setting on compatibilitties :

This step for windows 10 Only

1. Right click on shortcut VMware vSphere Client > Properties    

2. Klik on tab "Compatibility"

3. Click on button "Chane high DPI settings"

4. On high DPI Scaling Override > chack list on "Override high DPI scaling behavior";

    on "Scaling performed by; on dropdown menu select "System"

5. klik button "OK" and then "OK" again

i hove cant solve your problem, thanks

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Set Console Session Resolution In VMWare

How to set console session resolution in vmware.

Issue Description

For Unattended automations where login to console is enabled and set to true, if a custom resolution is specified, the Robot Service may or may not be able to set the resolution. For Console sessions, the resolution setting is dependent on what is supported by the hardware of the VM. As such the VM may not support the specified resolution. This is why its highly recommended to use RDP sessions. In those scenarios there is no restriction on resolution. In the case of VMware, VMware tools can be used to set the resolution if needed and an RDP session is not feasible.

• VMwareResolutionSet.exe 0 1 , 0 0 <y value> <x value>
• i.e. VMwareResolutionSet.exe 0 1 , 0 0 1900 1600
• See Increasing virtual machine display resolution to a custom resolution beyond the maximum resolution listed in Microsoft Windows
• Note: The spacing in the command is important and its easy to make typos.
• If the above does not work, check the video memory setting of the VM in vSphere. For example a setting of 4MB wont work for the resolution in the above example. However 18MB would work.
• If the command is not working, its recommended to open a ticket with VMWare.
• From the UiPath side, we can help explain the issue. So if reaching out to support make sure to reproduce the issue and then capture the Robot Event Viewer logs: How To Get Application Logs from The Event Viewer? .

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Set-Display Resolution

Changes the display resolution for a Server Core server.

Description

The Set-DisplayResolution cmdlet changes the display resolution for Windows Server® 2012 in Server Core mode. Specify both the width and the height in pixels. Unless you use the Force parameter, the cmdlet prompts you before it changes the settings. You can use the Get-DisplayResolution cmdlet to view the current resolution.

For more information about Server Core mode, see Configure and Manage Server Core Installations .

Example 1: Set resolution

This command sets the display resolution to a width of 1920 pixels and a height of 1200 pixels. The system prompts you for confirmation.

Example 2: Set resolution without confirmation

This command sets the display resolution to a width of 1024 pixels and a height of 768 pixels. Because the command uses the Force parameter, it makes the change without prompting you.

Forces the command to run without asking for user confirmation.

Specifies a height, in pixels, for the display.

Specifies a width, in pixels, for the display.

Related Links

• Get-DisplayResolution

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