Which (if any) Linux distributions actually fully work in Parallels?

H

Howyagoin

Junior Member
Hi,

Not trying to be awkward with the title, but, I'm a bit at my wit's end with Parallels and Linux guests -- I've used the product since it first came out and would prefer not to jump ship to the V* company.

I am currently using Version 17.0.1 (51482), and the only Linux guest that I'm currently able to even partially use correctly is a Ubuntu 20 release, with an old kernel, as newer kernels don't seem to boot (see various other threads on this).

The problems that I have are:
  • Display resolution - Debian 11 with Parallels Tools installed won't go more than 1024x768
  • Won't boot at all (see Ubuntu issue)
  • Some apps won't display graphics in Linux if 3D acceleration is on (Linux Mint, Debian, others)
  • Parallels Tools seems to be required for copy/paste from Host to work, but breaks graphics (see Debian issue)
When I turn off 3D Acceleration to get Mint to run things like Brave browser, it works, but, is jumpy and frustrating to use for long periods of time.

My Debian VM works fine, but, with Parallels Tools installed, graphics don't work right, but without them installed, I can't copy/paste.

So, does anyone have a modern 5.x kernel Linux that's free (no RHEL please) that fully works, with higher resolutions (I'm on a Pro Display XDR), fast graphics, parallels tools (for copy/paste more than anything else), and so on?

Happy to try other products out there, but, it gets a bit tricky when I want/need to install packages that may not exist on all distributions.
 
Oh, tell a lie, Ubuntu 20 also breaks graphics for some apps if Parallels Tools is installed. Can't run iVPN, for example. I've cycled through many window management systems to no no avail.
 
Howyagoin said:
Oh, tell a lie, Ubuntu 20 also breaks graphics for some apps if Parallels Tools is installed. Can't run iVPN, for example. I've cycled through many window management systems to no no avail.
Click to expand...
Grr, I need coffee. Ubuntu breaks some GUI apps if 3D Acceleration is on. Not sure if related to Parallels Tools.
 
I am using Arch Linux (an unsupported distribution by Parallels) and I have almost everything working, except for EGL (so, no Wayland). I believe that EGL is broken for everybody, I am currently fighting with Parallelss first level support to convince them to raise an issue with the developers and to fix libEGL. Other that that, I have Retina resolution in my VM, Shared Folders, shared clipboard, and all bells and whistles :)
 
I'm on the M1 Mac, so am limited to arm64 distros, but was able to use Parallels 17.0.1 and the netinst ISOs to install Debian 11 and Fedora 34 VMs with Gnome, Cinnamon, MATE, LXDE and XFCE working just fine (I just wanted to compare the latest versions of each). I couldn't use either distro with KDE or LxQt. Both hung during first reboot after install, while trying to start the Simple Desktop Display Manager. Perhaps that's a Wayland issue too, I'm not sure.

I did have an issue with Parallels Tools and the prlmouse X11 driver it installs. I worked around it by commenting out the 6 line section in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-prlmouse.conf and rebooting. Now it scrolls at a sane speed again. I don't run too many graphics intensive tools myself, mainly just Firefox and the terminal emulator, so I'm not sure what is breaking for you.
 
I share your pain, Howyagoin.
3D-accelerated apps need to be started with special args to (like MS teams: teams --gpu-disabled %U)
I run Parallels on MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) with AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, now with mostly Kubuntu guest, frustration growing by the day...
 
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