several coherence problems

[akidd]

I love parallels. Use it constantly. Coherence makes paying for another update so soon worth it IMHO.

I have had parallels running since well before original release. I use it on my MBP, fully updated with 2GB of RAM.

However I do not feel like build 3120 is "RC" by any stretch:

- Several times I have had "painting errors" where Windows appears to be running in Coherence mode but the Windows window is not painting properly and it appears to be showing a view of the windows desktop in the shape of my original opened app window but not the app window contents at all. When I try to reproduce it the same way, it doesn't happen.. (I know, terrible problem report - but it does happen occasionally)

- The Windows taskbar in coherence mode sometimes doesn't hide even when in autohide mode. I can still use it, but it seems like unless there is a windows window open it doesn't hide.

- several times when plugging a USB drive into my MBP I get a message from OSX saying a USB device has been REMOVED incorrectly. After that I can't access either the USB device in OSX or even activate the Windows taskbar anymore (although it does appear to be running as once I got a taskbar notification area message when I couldn't click on/use the taskbar)

Problems 1 and 3 require me to stop using the Windows VM and/or restart OS/X. These are showstoppers for making using coherence anything but good for screenshots.

Again, not trying to be critical, bit of a parallels fanboy - but it ain't done if you want to use your machine for actual.

 

[drval]

What does Release Candidate mean?

I love parallels. Use it constantly. Coherence makes paying for another update so soon worth it IMHO.

I have had parallels running since well before original release. I use it on my MBP, fully updated with 2GB of RAM.

However I do not feel like build 3120 is "RC" by any stretch:

- Several times I have had "painting errors" where Windows appears to be running in Coherence mode but the Windows window is not painting properly and it appears to be showing a view of the windows desktop in the shape of my original opened app window but not the app window contents at all. When I try to reproduce it the same way, it doesn't happen.. (I know, terrible problem report - but it does happen occasionally)

- The Windows taskbar in coherence mode sometimes doesn't hide even when in autohide mode. I can still use it, but it seems like unless there is a windows window open it doesn't hide.

- several times when plugging a USB drive into my MBP I get a message from OSX saying a USB device has been REMOVED incorrectly. After that I can't access either the USB device in OSX or even activate the Windows taskbar anymore (although it does appear to be running as once I got a taskbar notification area message when I couldn't click on/use the taskbar)

Problems 1 and 3 require me to stop using the Windows VM and/or restart OS/X. These are showstoppers for making using coherence anything but good for screenshots.

Again, not trying to be critical, bit of a parallels fanboy - but it ain't done if you want to use your machine for actual.

I understand that you are not trying to be critical but it might be a good idea for everyone to be clear about the meaning of "release candidate":

Definition of: release candidate

A pre-release version of software. Sometimes software vendors make one or two release candidates (RC1, RC2, etc.) available to select customers in advance of the official release. A release candidate is like a "sneak preview" of the final release with the added advantage that serious bugs may yet surface and be fixed before the general public uses it. Thus, there are alpha versions (internal), beta versions (external), release candidates (sometimes) and the final release of software. After that, there are countless updates that add features and fix bugs. See alpha version and beta version.

see http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=release+candidate&i=50384,00.asp

 

[akidd]

Understood, however it is largely industry practice to label "RC" or release candidate status as something the developer(s) intend as a release build pending finding no further CAT1 or Priority 1 or "showstopper" defects. If defects are known then it is simply a beta, regardless. Otherwise the "RELEASE CANDIDATE" nomenclature is meaningless.

Parallels dev speed is admirable - but with real, paying users now quality should become an element that will temper more conservative release practice. Or at least I hope.

Otherwise we are beta testers <ahem> release candidate testers forever.

 

[drval]

Understood, however it is largely industry practice to label "RC" or release candidate status as something the developer(s) intend as a release build pending finding no further CAT1 or Priority 1 or "showstopper" defects. If defects are known then it is simply a beta, regardless. Otherwise the "RELEASE CANDIDATE" nomenclature is meaningless.

Parallels dev speed is admirable - but with real, paying users now quality should become an element that will temper more conservative release practice. Or at least I hope.

Otherwise we are beta testers <ahem> release candidate testers forever.

They specifically made the shfit in designation from "beta" to "RC1". In my book that means that they BELIEVED AT THE TIME that the software most probably was "ready", but they have since found some "showstoppers" that they are actively debugging. If that weren't the case then they would release build 3120 as an official release.

It seems that there are simply different perception and beliefs about what those boundary conditions are -- or should be. IMO it really is important to support the effort of Parallels -- unless, of course one is a competitor or is heavily commited to a competitor -- and supporting the effort means, among other things, to help users thread the forums, find information, and to provide whatever fixes, workarounds and bugs one finds.

It is, in that sense, esp important IMO to forward bug reports directly to:

[email protected]

so that they can prioritize their responses to the various demands on their time.

 

[akidd]

I guess you didn't read the readme. There clearly were known issues.

I know you are trying to be helpful, but changing topics when someone posts an issue isn't.

And helping Parallels with unrepeatable bugs isn't helpful either. That is why I posted here to see if others might have shared this experience so I could send the developers qualified information.

So instead of educating everyone on development practice, lets get back to discussing what the forum is intended.

 

[drval]

- Several times I have had "painting errors" where Windows appears to be running in Coherence mode but the Windows window is not painting properly and it appears to be showing a view of the windows desktop in the shape of my original opened app window but not the app window contents at all. When I try to reproduce it the same way, it doesn't happen.. (I know, terrible problem report - but it does happen occasionally)

Have you tried to start the VM and then suspend and then start (again)? This suggestion was posted elsewhere. Also you might want to consider reviewing and/or modifying your memory allocations. This has also been suggested in other threads.

- The Windows taskbar in coherence mode sometimes doesn't hide even when in autohide mode. I can still use it, but it seems like unless there is a windows window open it doesn't hide.

I believe this is occuring when Windows is waiting for you to provide it with focus. This is likely why opening a WIndows window will resolve the issue. You might also check the contents of your Windows Startup sequence to see what's loading. For me this includes Norton SystemWorks as well as Window Washer -- they need to complete their startup processes before the Taskbar will autohide.

- several times when plugging a USB drive into my MBP I get a message from OSX saying a USB device has been REMOVED incorrectly. After that I can't access either the USB device in OSX or even activate the Windows taskbar anymore (although it does appear to be running as once I got a taskbar notification area message when I couldn't click on/use the taskbar)

This one is a bit intriguing to me. When I've seen USB related problems on my systems it has generally been related to my having unplugged a USB device (usually a flash drive) while it's mounted in OSX. I still can't quite get used to the fact that OSX forces me to manually unmount/eject the flash drive before physically removing it. In any event, if I need to see the device in Windows I use Device Manager and Action/Scan for hardware changes. This allows Windows to reacquire the device and, after that, I haven't had a problem -- at least with the devices that I use.

I don't know if any of that is helpful but I thought I'd offer it in case it is.