This was a BIG PROBLEM for me for few hours, so it could be for others. This post maybe will eventually try to help other users with the same problem and to advise developers to change this - in my opinion - absolutely deprecable behaviour.
As in the subject, the problem is exactly that,
Advanced considerations.
I like to use extended vesa resolutions with all my guests to properly and quickly configure my guest machines screen resolution at boot time.
With Linux hosts I do use Grub configuration file to setup glxmode to my choosed resolution (usually I like to boot my guests at 1440x900) and I do use glxpayload grub option to keep it from console to the graphical user interface.
Everything was working as expected until I upgraded my guests virtual hardware to the last versiion (12) and I upgraded to latest guest VMware Tools (version 10.0.5-3228253).
To cut it short, after both this tasks (hardware upgrade and new VMware Tools upgrade), ALL my guests keep to ignore the Grub glxmode resolution and they started in VGA mode, keeping it for the whole boot and ending me with a graphical machine configured at VGA resolution :-( Really disappointing. Grub prompt showed me - using the vbeinfo command - the extended vesa bios modes were no more supported.
I could use xorg.conf.d to properly setup the X resolution (in case of Linux guests), or do use drag and drop to resize the guests screen when OS and VMware Tools were properly loaded after boot was complited, then I still had always VGA (or any "non extended" Vesa Bios modes) at boot time in console mode.
What I did to solve the problem.
I then investigated the issue and find the culprit. ALL my virtual guest machines configuration (VMX files) were modified by something (Virtual Hardware 12? New VMware Tools?) with this three strings totally NOT WANTED AND NOT REQUESTED by me:
vmotion.checkpointFBSize = "4194304"
vmotion.checkpointSVGAPrimarySize = "33554432"
svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware = "TRUE"
I don't have idea what those lines properly do, then I finally found - and it was a relief - that simply changing:
svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware = "TRUE"
to
svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware = "FALSE"
solved the problem and my guests again like before respected the glxmode configured in the Grub configuration file and were able to boot any not standard Vesa Bios mode. This was also, obviously, confirmed by the vbeinfo command at Grub prompt.
Now I ask: why developer (or who considering it was not me???) changing the behaviour of such a delicate parameter without any explication?
IMHO, if this is inteded, VMware developers should come back to the old behaviour where svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware (do existed before? I don't reallyknow) it is by default FALSE!
If it is a bug, please, fix it :-(((
UPDATE: it is even worst compared to Iwas supposed it was :-(((( On some machines, I still didn't discover on what base, it is even worst! After shutdown the paramenter
svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware = "FALSE"
it is automagically (!!!) changed back to:
svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware = "TRUE" :-(((
Now the problem is: how to block this change??? Yes I can still change the VMX file to read only, then I suppose there is another parameter controlling this VM guest configuration autochange! If you have any idea...
Messaggio modificato da piggyz Spelling check :-)