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Is there any vm app can create retina os x vms?
- Thread starter zhaoxin
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The native resolution is the physical resolution of your screen. For example, iMac 5K's native resolution is 5120 x 2880, so it called 5K. Other 27" iMac's native resolution is 2560 x 1440.
In OS X, it won't use the native resolution by default for retina screens. For example, it uses 2560 x 1440 for iMac 5K alone with retina display technology. So the font on the screen will be more clearer than the normal display and the pictures won't be too small as the other high resolution screen does.
However, in os x vms that created by Parallels Desktop, they can only use the native resolution, which means that all texts and pictures are very small. Or you can choose no retina mode, that all vms runs in a low resolution that all texts and picture are ugly.
Got it. So basically in host OS X, everything is running in zoomed in mode, rather than native resolution, which will render everything extremely small. But Parallel doesn't support such zoom-in technology.
Can resolution be specified in VM setting files? I remember VMware Workstation could specify screen resolutions in VM configuration files. Maybe I am wrong, but this is a good try.
I don't know that. You can specify resolution in window mode. But the dpi is native resolution, so the texts and pictures are still small. In full screen mode, it can only use either 5K or 2K resolution, so you can only choose small or ugly.
I don't know. I have searched its kb database and it seams that it has the same issue as Parallels Desktop does.
I have not yet tried Fusion 8, but Fusion 7 does not support retina screen when hosting OS X as a VM.
Mac uses some sort of zoom in technology when displaying desktop and everything else to make sure minimum readability. Windows doesn't have that such. iPhone 6 Plus use this as well.
Maybe their graphic card driver cannot support such a high resolution since few PC used such resolution, for now. I am not familiar with PC industry so I may be wrong.
It's up to the guest OS to support HiDPI displays. In this case OS X doesn't support it in a VM (iirc it only sees a display with a specific resolution, it doesn't recognise it as being HiDPI). Windows shouldn't be a problem and Linux distros shouldn't be a problem either.
But OS X supports HiDPI in your words, so the guest OS already has done that. What I need is a vm app that could tell the guest OS that this is a retina display. That is what a vm app should do.
I have see a thread in Parallels Desktop saying its engineers were trying to fix this issue in 2013.
I remember there was an app that could force opening the HiDPI mode in Macs, anyone know that app's name?
Try this in Terminal:
Code:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist DisplayResolutionEnabled -bool true
Last edited:
Thank you very much! I will try this. Many thanks!Try this in Terminal:
I had it working... Parallels 10, OS X 10.9.5.Code:sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist DisplayResolutionEnabled -bool true
Try this in Terminal:
I had it working... Parallels 10, OS X 10.9.5.Code:sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist DisplayResolutionEnabled -bool true
I can not apply you command, I got this response:
Code:
ZhaodeiMac:~ zhaoxin$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist DisplayResolutionEnabled
Password:
2015-08-27 10:25:46.974 defaults[334:3417]
Rep argument is not a dictionary
Defaults have not been changed.
ZhaodeiMac:~ zhaoxin$It doesn't look like you copied the whole command, missing " -bool true" on the end.
I have done this by using Quarts Debug, this is a tool that provided by apple for Xcode development. It can enable HiDPI even if you display is not a retina display. I use it in window mode with 1600*900 in HiDPI, this works for me now.
I could use it in full screen too, by using 2560x1440 in HiDPI. However, the system will be slow as the graphic card for vm is not good enough, I think.
I could use it in full screen too, by using 2560x1440 in HiDPI. However, the system will be slow as the graphic card for vm is not good enough, I think.
Correct and the problem is that none of them do. Virtualising the graphics side of things for OS X is rather difficult since Apple is very silent about them (there will be no 3D support, only 2D). That's why the graphical performance of any OS X vm is abysmal and why you don't get HiDPI by default either. El Capitan runs much better in a vm but it still is on the slow side.
SwitchResX by any chance?