Two Monitor in one VM

Solution 1:

-- Who would encounter this problem --

• Anyone who are using "bare-metal" hypervisor such as vSphere ESXi which installs directly onto machine with no OS require.

-- Why this problem exists --

• This is the strategy that VMware has been taken in order to separate the feature giving for VM access through:

  • vSphere Client's "Guest Console" for administration purpose (only single monitor), VS.,
  • VMware View for end user usage (support multiple monitors)

• In fact not only multiple monitors, there are also lots of other features you see in Workstation, Player, ESX are locked away in vSphere Client.

-- Our goal --

• Assuming vSphere Client is installed on a remote machine with dual monitors (each 1600x1200)
• The following solution will make the vSphere Client's "Guest Console" to see a single monitor of one resolution (say 3000x1000), which is slightly less than the sum of 2 monitors, because we have to take into the account of the window of the "Guest Console".
• It took me weeks to figure this out.

-- Solution --

1. Make sure your "Guest Console" has the maximum setting for your video memory and resolution

   • Edit Virtual Machine Settings > on the top right corner make sure "Hardware version 7" is use
   • Edit Virtual Machine Settings > Hardware > Video Card > Memory required for displays > Enter total video RAM > 128
   • Edit Virtual Machine Settings > Options > General > Configuration Parameters... > click "Add Row" button to add the following parameters:
     • svga.autodetect => false
     • svga.maxHeight => 1200
     • svga.maxWidth => 3200

2. Download the "latest VMware Tools" (e.g. "VMware-tools-windows-8.3.7-381511.iso") into you remote machine from:

   • http://packages.vmware.com/tools/esx/latest/windows/x86_64/index.html
3. Install the "latest VMware Tools" into your Windows 7 in your "Guest Console"
   • first uninstall the "old/existing VMware Tools" in your Windows 7
   • in the "Guest Console" there is a "CD/DVD" button, click on it
   • select "Connect to ISO image on local disk"
   • select the "VMware-tools-windows-8.3.7-381511.iso" you have downloaded in step 2
   • begin install the VMware Tools to the Windows 7
   • upon completion restart your Windows 7
4. Enable 2 displays/monitors in one VM
   • in the Windows 7, start the dos prompt
   • type in 'cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools', press 'enter'
   • type in 'VMwareResolutionSet.exe 0 1 , 0 0 3000 1000' (you may replace the value 3000 and 1000 to a value less than the sum of your 2 displays/monitors' resolution), press 'enter'
   • now you will see your new screen resolution to 3000x1000
5. To make the Windows 7's new screen resolution fit the "Guest Console"
   • goto the menu of the "Guest Console"
   • click on "View" > "Fit Window Now"
   • in some case you can freely change your "Guest Console" and click on "Fit Guest Now", this will change your Windows 7 resolution to fit the "Guest Console" window