Using the wonderful Process Explorer[1] for logging GDI resource of ParallelsToolsCenter.exe (3188) running in bootcamp XP Pro SP2, it is clear that Parallels Tools is suffering from a resource leak. After several hours of use, GDI usage is >7000 (seems to partially depend on the applications used). Although there is a 10000 GDI limit in XP, this causes the technical computing suite Matlab 7.3 to start failing to produce graphics output. Killing parallelstoolscenter.exe solves the Matlab issues immediately. As an aside, killing parallelstoolscenter.exe also drops CPU use of parallels by 3-4%, which may make a slight difference if you were running off battery. It seems parallelstoolscenter.exe is constantly accesing the registry, around 250kb/s I/O Other as logged using Process Explorer... [1] http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/ProcessExplorer.mspx
Thanks for reporting. We will investigate this issue. For now, can you please try not killing ParallelsToolsCenter, but rather quitting it normally and then launching it again? (it's located at c:\program files\parallels\parallels tools\parallelstoolscenter.exe) Will the GDI resources usage drop? If it will, you could create a simple batch script that would restart Tools Center each, say, 30 minutes, before the GDI usage grows critical.
Just out curiosity, Tim. If you have a few spare minutes could you generally explain what it is that Parallels Tools Center is doing in the registry with such constant access? This isn't urgent, just pure curiosity.
Tim: yes, exiting and restarting brings GDI resources down for a while, but it will climb back up. To be honest, I rarely use clipboard sync, and i just leave close tools center, that saves CPU a bit too...
Here is something on the use of resources and a seeming leak that someone found: http://forums.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=10467&page=1&pp=20
