Horizon View 5.2: Resize PCoIP Desktop Black Screen

Today, I had a small issue with a Manual Dedicated Horizon View 5.2 PCoIP Desktop Pool for access to a Management Windows 7 VM and I was scratching my head for a while trying to figure this one out.

Essentially, I could connect without any issues via the View Client to the Windows 7 desktop but only if I can the desktop in Windows -Large or Windows – Small.

If I expanded the desktop beyond a certain size or made it full screen, I had a black background (the pictures below look the same size, but i’m sure you get what I mean).

Large Desktop – Black

Small Desktop

Troubleshooting Steps – (That Didn’t Work)

1. Logged into the Windows 7 VM via RDP and rebooted.
2. Logged into the Windows 7 VM and changed the screen resolution to 1920 x 1080
3. Uninstalled View Agent & re-installed
4. Uninstalled the vSGA Driver from Device Manager and the manually installed the driver from C:Program FilesCommon FilesVMwareDriversvideo_wddm

Troubleshooting Steps – (That Worked)

I found KB1018158 Configure PCoIP for use with View Manager which had most of the symptoms.  I knew I had installed the VMTools then View Agent (correct order), and then I read further down the KB and discovered this:

Note: Do not reboot by clicking Shutdown > Restart in the virtual machine. PCoIP is dependent upon the appropriate amount of video memory being allocated to the virtual machine. Because this is a virtual hardware setting (that must be in place before the virtual machine starts up), it is applied as a change in the .vmx file. If the virtual machine has already been started, it is essential that this virtual machine be restarted so that the .vmx file is re-read and the changes are used. Using the Shutdown > Restart option inside the virtual machine does not force the .vmx to be re-read, as this does not cold boot the machine (from the VirtualCenter perspective) to refresh the virtual hardware. Using the Shutdown > Restart option from either VirtualCenter or View Manager (which issues the command via VirtualCenter) is the best way to make sure this file gets read properly.

I quickly ‘Reset’ the Manual Dedicated Windows 7 Desktop using View Administrator and what do you know everything worked!

Lessons Learnt

When creating a manual dedicated desktop, ensure that you reset the desktop using View Administrator otherwise the correct PCoIP settings are not maintained within the .vmx configuration file.