vmware
Multi monitor layout show only single window with scroll bars and mouse pointer location is offset
Describe the bug
Since the last update of VMware tools on Ubuntu, expanding on multiple physical monitors has not worked as expected. Instead of displaying over multiple monitors, only one window is displayed with the multi screen contents side by side and with scroll bars. Also, the mouse pointer location in the guest VM is offset relative to the host mouse pointer, making it impossible to navigate the guest UI. Returning to single monitor does not resolve the problem and a guest OS reboot is required to reset monitors to a usable state.
VMware Workstation Pro: 16.2.3 Host: Windows 11 Guest: Ubuntu 22.04 WMware tools: 12.3.5.46049 (build-22544099) Monitor setup (left to right): Monitor 1: 19201200; Monitor 2: 12001920; Monitor 3: 1920*1200
Reproduction steps
- Enter full screen mode
- Select any multi monitor layout
Expected behavior
Display guest OS across multiple monitors. Mouse pointer location aligned between host and guest.
Additional context
No response
Thanks for reporting this, would file an internal PR to track this issue. Could you please also provide
- vmware.log
- mksSandbox.log
Since the last update of VMware tools on Ubuntu, expanding on multiple physical monitors has not worked as expected.
What was the version before update when it worked ?
Here are logs from testing with Ubuntu 24 and open-vm-tools 12.4.5. The issue is the same with these versions.
Based on the time line for open-vm-tools in Ubuntu 22.04 repository, the version I must have upgraded from was open-vm-tools 12.1.5.
Found very similar issue posted elsewhere: https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/question/ubuntu-22044-guest-multi-monitor-layout-results-in-scroll-bars
Reported this issue internally, please see the latest comment from the MKS Team at https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/question/ubuntu-22044-guest-multi-monitor-layout-results-in-scroll-bars for ubuntu 22 and the fix got ported to ubuntu 24.04 yesterday only (https://git.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-kernel/ubuntu/+source/linux/+git/noble/log/drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx?h=master-next) .
The suggested workaround (lock and unlock guest OS screen) does not work for me on Ubuntu 22. I does, however, seem to work on Ubuntu 24.
why was this issue only fixed on Ubuntu 24.04 and not on open-vm-tools ?
Literally all other distros still have this issue
After upgrades I no longer have this issue in Ubuntu 22.04. Open VM tools version are still at 12.3.5.46049 (build-22544099), Linux kernel is vmlinuz-6.8.0-52-generic. Possibly, the issue has been resolved in the kernel or some other package.
I can literally reproduce the issue on latest VMware/vmtools with a fresh clean install with ubuntu 22.04 with defaults (after installing vmware tools ofc)
but for some reason it doesn't happen on Ubuntu 24.04 (although I get other issues on 24.04) the black rectangle boxes but that's a different issue.
The fix for this is in Linux driver and not in open-vm-tools. As per latest comment on internal PR. fix has been backported to Ubuntu 22.04. https://git.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-kernel/ubuntu/+source/linux/+git/jammy/commit/drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx?h=hwe-6.8-next&id=3f779f1b97fa9004cd61f8faf31848295b977158
