[Virtualacorn-list] Comparison of VRPC on Mac or Windows 7

[T.O.M.S.]

Hello folks

We've been following this thread, trying to draw some conclusions 
but - as usual - the reported hiccups, possible causes and potential 
workarounds don't appear to have a common basis. So no change there 
eh?.  :-)

However, although the 2 <Alt-Enter> keyings are quite rightly 
mentioned, can we take this a little further with another couple of 
thoughts? They seem to work just as well for XP and W7/Mac users so 
may assist.

Firstly, if pressing <Alt-Enter> a couple of times doesn't do it for 
you, try clicking on the full-screen mode icon in the VirtualRPC 
window. You may have to click on the icon twice - or even three 
times - but you might then find it then all comes good. This seems to 
be more 'forceful' than <Alt-Enter> and invariably clears the blank 
screen problem.

It also works if you get a blank screen at start-up, especially if you 
go straight to full-screen. And someone recently reported that it also 
clears the very occasional "failure to create primary surface" he gets 
on his W7 setup. So maybe it will work for Macs.

The second point is where you normally use VirtualRPC in full-screen 
mode, drop it into a window to do something in Windows, but then hit 
probs. We suggest you consider routinely minimising VirtualRPC 
altogether, taking the window off-screen and which in our experience 
seems to avoid clashes with Windows stuff.

To do it, press <Alt-Enter> to drop VirtualRPC into a window, then 
either click on the '-' Minimise button near the top right of the 
window or - more convenient in our view - click once on the 
'VirtualRPC-xxx' tab in the system tray.

To revert to VirtualRPC full-screen, click once on the tab in the 
sytem tray, press <Alt-Enter> once - and you're back to full-screen.

No promises, but that does seem to make things noticeably more 
reliable for us and (reportedly) for others.

And for the record, VirtualRPC isn't the only bit of Windows 
application software which exhibits the same sort of problems. It can 
certainly affect anything else running in full-screen mode, sometimes 
without the option (e.g. some video editing suites which effectively 
take over the machine).

HTH, but please do keep coming back with reports, one day we'll crack 
it.

Mike Nicholl
pp T.O.M.S.
toms at ndirect.co.uk

--
Training, Operations & Management Services