Screen Flickering/Corruption in Parallels 13 Pro and Windows 10 FCU

A

AndyB9

Member
Hi,

I have Windows 10 Fall creators update (all current patches and updates applied) and Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac - Pro Edition
Version 13.1.1 (43120) running on a Mid-2012, 15' MacBook Pro Retina with 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD and a Core i7 2.6Ghz processor. I am running macOS High Sierra 10.13.1.

After installing Parallels 13, I occasionally experience a problem where windowed apps start to flicker wildly on the screen. Sometimes the flickering problem is so bad that it is also associated with not being able to close apps or being able to shutdown windows and reboot. In this cases I've had to completely shutdown the mac and reboot both my MacBook Pro and Windows 10.

I use Parallels 13 and Windows 10 for business, so this is quite frustrating and annoying. Can anyone in Parallels Support, or anyone in the wider parallels user community offer any advice as to why this is happening or a remedy to fix this problem?

I recorded a couple of videos to show the problem occurring, but this forum will not allow me to upload them due to size restrictions.

Regards,

Andy
 
Hello AndyB9, please shut down Windows (as opposed to simply suspending it; see http://bit.ly/1OfR3td for details), open the virtual machine configuration window (refer to http://bit.ly/1eQU5lF for assistance), navigate to Hardware -> CPU & Memory and allocate 2 processors (or just 1 if the total number of available processors is just 2) and 2 GB of memory for Windows [or just 1 GB if total Mac memory is only 2 GB (or) 3 GB if total Mac memory is 8 GB (or) 4 GB if total Mac memory is > 8 GB]. Then, select 'Graphics' and allocate 1 GB of video memory for Windows. Finally, ensure that 'Vertical Synchronization' is enabled and 'DirectX 9' is selected for '3D Acceleration' under 'Advanced Settings' and close the window. Thanks!
 
Meenakshi@Parallels said:
Hello AndyB9, please shut down Windows (as opposed to simply suspending it; see http://bit.ly/1OfR3td for details), open the virtual machine configuration window (refer to http://bit.ly/1eQU5lF for assistance), navigate to Hardware -> CPU & Memory and allocate 2 processors (or just 1 if the total number of available processors is just 2) and 2 GB of memory for Windows [or just 1 GB if total Mac memory is only 2 GB (or) 3 GB if total Mac memory is 8 GB (or) 4 GB if total Mac memory is > 8 GB]. Then, select 'Graphics' and allocate 1 GB of video memory for Windows. Finally, ensure that 'Vertical Synchronization' is enabled and 'DirectX 9' is selected for '3D Acceleration' under 'Advanced Settings' and close the window. Thanks!
Click to expand...

MacBook Late 2013 i7, 16 Gb of RAM.

I gave 4 cpus, 4 GB of RAM, enabled DirectX9 and Vertical sync but i still have these black bands on my screen switching from Mac to Windows. Mac, Windows and Parallels are fully updated to latest official releases.

the only way to avoid this issue is disabling hardware acceleration but the VM, oblisviuly is very slow in graphics transitions.
 
Meenakshi@Parallels said:
Hello AndyB9, please shut down Windows (as opposed to simply suspending it; see http://bit.ly/1OfR3td for details), open the virtual machine configuration window (refer to http://bit.ly/1eQU5lF for assistance), navigate to Hardware -> CPU & Memory and allocate 2 processors (or just 1 if the total number of available processors is just 2) and 2 GB of memory for Windows [or just 1 GB if total Mac memory is only 2 GB (or) 3 GB if total Mac memory is 8 GB (or) 4 GB if total Mac memory is > 8 GB]. Then, select 'Graphics' and allocate 1 GB of video memory for Windows. Finally, ensure that 'Vertical Synchronization' is enabled and 'DirectX 9' is selected for '3D Acceleration' under 'Advanced Settings' and close the window. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I followed your advice regarding the CPU/RAM and VRAM settings, but the issue is still occurring. Today it locked Windows 10 up completely. I'm not 100% sure yet, but it seemed to happen when I was opening a HTML page sent to me as a link from within Windows Mail client. Could you guys do something about this quickly please. I use my computer for work purposes (doing Transcription of audio files for the Australian Defence Force) and it is imperative that I have a stable OS to work with. Version 13 is nothing but trouble so far - in comparison to 12.
Andy
 
Last edited:
Meenakshi@Parallels said:
Hello AndyB9, please shut down Windows (as opposed to simply suspending it; see http://bit.ly/1OfR3td for details), open the virtual machine configuration window (refer to http://bit.ly/1eQU5lF for assistance), navigate to Hardware -> CPU & Memory and allocate 2 processors (or just 1 if the total number of available processors is just 2) and 2 GB of memory for Windows [or just 1 GB if total Mac memory is only 2 GB (or) 3 GB if total Mac memory is 8 GB (or) 4 GB if total Mac memory is > 8 GB]. Then, select 'Graphics' and allocate 1 GB of video memory for Windows. Finally, ensure that 'Vertical Synchronization' is enabled and 'DirectX 9' is selected for '3D Acceleration' under 'Advanced Settings' and close the window. Thanks!
Click to expand...

This is now happening regularly. Please tell me what I can do to stop this from happening.
 
I am also experiencing this on my 2012 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM. My Windows 10 VM is experiencing regular (at least once a day and sometimes several times a day) video corruption where the W10 windows go completely black and/or the screen starts flickering and becomes non-responsive. It happens with coherence enabled or not. The only way to resolve it is to reboot the VM. My VM settings are 2 Processors, 4GB RAM, 1GB graphics memory, DirexX10 enable, vertical sync enabled and automatic graphics switching enabled. Mac is running latest High Sierra, Windows 10 fully updated with the Fall Creators update (this may have precipitated the problem) and Parallels was updated yesterday to the latest (13.2.0).
 
HokieMAG said:
I am also experiencing this on my 2012 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM. My Windows 10 VM is experiencing regular (at least once a day and sometimes several times a day) video corruption where the W10 windows go completely black and/or the screen starts flickering and becomes non-responsive. It happens with coherence enabled or not. The only way to resolve it is to reboot the VM. My VM settings are 2 Processors, 4GB RAM, 1GB graphics memory, DirexX10 enable, vertical sync enabled and automatic graphics switching enabled. Mac is running latest High Sierra, Windows 10 fully updated with the Fall Creators update (this may have precipitated the problem) and Parallels was updated yesterday to the latest (13.2.0).
Click to expand...

I have the same setup and getting exactly the same problem.
 
Guys, what mac OS version do you use? I hope it is 10.13.1?
Could you please go to Help menu of Parallels Desktop application and send us the technical data report via Send Technical Data... menu item? Then, post the number here. Thank you.
 
WOW...I am so glad this isn't the old "I am the only one experiencing this issue" type deal. It's a relief to know that I'm not the only one experiencing this problem. I have the support guys in the level 2 helping me with this. Since first reporting it, I have upgraded to the latest version of PD13 Pro Version 13.2.0 (43213), and now the issue seems to have warped into just mouse clicks not working inside the Windows 10 VM. For the last 2 or 3 occurrences of the VM crashing, I no longer see the flickering video inside Windows 10, it's just that the mouse doesn't seem to be able to click on anything. Like I can move it around the screen and stuff, but If I click on anything, the click doesn't seem to register. Therefore, can't close any open windows, close or save open Word/Excel documents etc etc. It usually forces me to do a shutdown from the Parallel pull down menu on top of the Windows 10 VM's window. I've also noticed that my printer seems to disappear a lot with this version of PD13. I've reinstalled the damn thing about 4 times now, and it seems to be holding, but then POOF, it will just disappear for no reason and Windows will tell me that no printer is installed. Another weird little thing about PD 13 is that sometimes the PD Control Centre is open, but it is not viewable on either my External Apple LED Cinema Display, nor the screen of my MacBook Pro....it seems to disappear off into limbo somewhere.
 
Same problem here : MBP mid-2012 : Latest version of PD 13 - VM configuration 4gig memory 1 gig video memory - External monitor. Problem seems to happen when VM is running in full screen mode on external monitor. Screen flickering - distortion - enable to click buttons - unusable.

When I unplug external monitor from MBP, the problem goes away. When the monitor is plugged in again it return. Will not get a full fix until MBP is rebooted.
 
GerryM said:
Same problem here : MBP mid-2012 : Latest version of PD 13 - VM configuration 4gig memory 1 gig video memory - External monitor. Problem seems to happen when VM is running in full screen mode on external monitor. Screen flickering - distortion - enable to click buttons - unusable.

When I unplug external monitor from MBP, the problem goes away. When the monitor is plugged in again it return. Will not get a full fix until MBP is rebooted.
Click to expand...

Hi Gerry,

Please send a technical report from the Help menu on the VM window. The more people who supply info on this issue the better.

Cheers
Andy
 
I have a similar setup and was having multiple graphics-related issue (flickering, clunky switching, changes in brightness). Increasing graphics memory assigned to Windows to 1 GB helped with the clunkiness and turning off "Use Windows gamma settings" in Options -> Full Screen -> Advanced Settings helped with the changes in brightness. Seems to be running smoothly now.
 
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