Loading

×Sorry to interrupt
This page has an error. You might just need to refresh it.
[NoErrorObjectAvailable] Uncaught ReferenceError: addCTracking is not defined
Failing descriptor: {markup://c:KM_ArticleThemeLayout}

Refresh

Cookie Preference Center

General Information on cookies

When you visit our website, we use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience. This information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies by clicking on the different category headings to find out more and change your settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on the site and the services we are able to offer. Further information can be found in our

Cookie Policy.

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary

Always Active

Strictly Necessary

Strictly necessary cookies are always enabled since they are essential for our website to function. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and website accessibility. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but this may affect how the website functions. For more information please visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

Cookie Details‎

Performance

Performance

Performance

Performance cookies are used to analyze the user experience to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. They allow us to know which pages are the most and least popular, see how visitors move around the site, optimize our website and make it easier to navigate.

Cookie Details‎

Please confirm your settings by refreshing the page.

Functional

Functional

Functional

Functional cookies help us keep track of your past browsing choices so we can improve usability and customize your experience. These cookies enable the website to remember your preferred settings, language preferences, location and other customizable elements such as font or text size. If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these services may not function properly.

Cookie Details‎

Advertising

Advertising

Advertising

Advertising cookies are used to send you relevant advertising and promotional information. They may be set through our site by third parties to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other sites. These cookies do not directly store personal information, but their function is based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device.

Cookie Details‎

Advertising Cookies

Consent Leg.Interest

Select All Vendors

Select All Vendors

Select All Hosts

Select All

Clear Filters

Information storage and access

Apply

Confirm My Choices Reject All Allow All

Skip to main content

My Subscriptions

Loading

Knowledge Base

Changing screen resolutions in a Linux guest operating system (748)

Last Updated: 5/10/2017Categories: Total Views: 14827Language:
Chinese (Simplified)Portuguese (European)JapaneseEnglish

4 like this article

Subscribe to get an email
newsletter with new updates

4 people found this helpful Please provide article feedback:

Details

How do I switch the resolution of the X server in my Linux guest operating system?

Solution

The X server provided by the VMware application does not allow you to use Ctrl-Alt with - or + to change the resolution of your guest operating system. In order to switch resolutions, you need to manually change the resolution in your guest operating system's configuration file for the X server. Complete the following steps:

For Linux Distros using XF86config:

Find out which configuration file your guest operating system is using.

Look at /var/log/XFree.0.log; the configuration file is typically one of the following:

/etc/X11/XF86Config /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 /etc/X11/xorg.conf
For example:
admin@localhost$ more /var/log/XFree86.0.log ... (==) Log file: "var/log/Xfree86.0.log", Time: Mon Apr 18 10:36:19 2005 (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/XF86Config"

Edit your X configuration file. Ensure you create a backup of the file before making edits.

In the "Screen" section, change the depth and modes of the "Display" subsection as follows:

Depth - The color depth your host operating system uses.

Modes - If multiple screen resolutions appear here, delete the screen resolutions that you do not want to use. The highest screen resolution remaining on the Modes line becomes the virtual machine's screen resolution for the host's color depth.

Section "Screen" ... DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1200x1600" EndSubsection EndSection

Restart X after you have saved your changes to the configuration file.

Note: Only resolutions that the host operating system supports can be supported in the guest. This can lead to problems if you change the running X server on a Linux host machine, after you install VMware Tools in the guest. If you do change your host's X server and experience problems with your virtual machine's display resolution, try reinstalling VMware Tools.

For Linux Distros using RandR X:

From a terminal session, execute:

xrandr

This calls the xrandr tool, which shows a screen name, the current resolution, and the list of possible resolutions similar to:

# xrandr
SZ: Pixels Physical Refresh:
*0 800x600 ( 271mm x 203mm ) *60 56
1 640x480 ( 216mm x 162mm ) 60

From the output, you can toggle to a different screen resolution using this command:

xrandr -s SZ

Where SZ is the SZ from Step 1.

For example:

xrandr -s 1

This changes the resolution of the screen to 640x480 without having to restart X.

For additional options, run this command:

xrandr -help

Additional Information
For translated versions of this article, see:

Español:

Português: Alteração de resoluções de tela em um sistema operacional convidado Linux (2081343)

日本語: Linux ゲスト OS の画面解像度の変更 (2080041)

简体中文: 更改 Linux 客户机操作系统的屏幕分辨率 (2072327)

Detectable by VMware SkylineTM

Actions

Copy

link to clipboard
copied!

Print

Language:
Chinese (Simplified)Portuguese (European)JapaneseEnglish

Attachments

Additional Resources

KB
•
End Of General Availability of the Free vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.x and 8.x) (2107518)

Result 1 of 1

Ask The Community

Get answers quickly from VMware experts in the community

Post Subject

CONTINUE IN COMMUNITIES

Related Products:

VMware Workstation

VMware Server

VMware GSX Server

VMware Fusion

VMware ACE

Related Versions:

Take Our Survey

Was this article helpful?

YES

NO

Copyright © 2005-2024 Broadcom. All Rights Reserved. The term “Broadcom” refers to Broadcom Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Terms of Use

Your California Privacy Rights

Privacy

Accessibility

Cookie Settings

Support Assistant