#297308
Hi,

I just updated to Parallels 4.0 which was said to have updated support for 3D-stuff/graphics. This seem to have solved an old issue concerning textures not showing up in Rhino viewport Rendered mode.

However, It might have introduced a new one: It seems a few of the other portions of the maxwell plugin interface does not refresh itself at all, leading to a very restricting workflow.

Mainly, the color picker does not refresh, and neither does the area where the different BSDF components are displayed. Anyone experiencing the same thing?

Image

best regards,

- Björn
#297309
Hi Björn,

Regarding the color picker, see plugin options > Color picker, which allows you to choose either the standard Windows color picker, or the Rhino one. Regarding the other issue, I couldn't say much other than to try making sure your .NET Framework is up to date and healthy. It is the interaction between Windows and .NET which ultimately determines how and when things get painted, and I cannot speak much about what types of problems may occur when Windows and .NET are run under emulation - in order for a window to be painted, Windows has to tell it that it's necessary to do so.

Just let me know if you notice any other interesting factors.

JD
#297318
Hi JD!

Great, I figured out the deal with the color picker, so that's solved.

Ok, so, if .NET is the issue in Parallels, should I be able to see similar paint-issues in other .NET applications running under Parallels?

Do you have any suggestions on such an application I could try?

regards,

- björn
#297320
Unfortunately, no, I don't imagine you'd be able to find any consistent pattern. There are just too many different ways to create windows (in Windows, not just actual windows are 'windows'; everything like text boxes, picture boxes, etc., are different kinds of the same thing). I did not mean to insinuate that this would be an actual .NET issue, but rather that the particular way which .NET works with windows may be causing the issue; or, whichever particular combination of things that the plugin is specifying, whether explicitly, or implicitly by the normal way .NET works, for these two windows, is just not being handled under Parallels the same way it's handled in a native Windows installation. My recommendation to make sure .NET was up to date was based on the principle that for any Windows installation, emulated or otherwise, if .NET is not healthy then the plugin will definitely behave strangely.
#297698
Hi again

I followed these instructions from Parallels support, and now everything works fine. Even the color picker! :D

Instructions are in essence: Re-install Parallels tools, Rhino and the Maxwell plugin.
In regards to the issue, please uninstall the application and also Parallels Tools. You can uninstall it by clicking on Start->Control Panel->Add or Remove Programs->Parallels tools and uninstall it.

Now, reinstall Parallels Tools. You can install parallels tools in two ways.
First, start the virtual machine->click on install parallels tools.

Second, you can install manually.

Please follow the steps that are written below and you will be able to solve your issue with installing Parallel Tools manually.

1) Go to MAC HD/ Library/Parallels/Tools/Prl-tools-win.iso
2) Double click on that file
3) You will have a file as Setup.exe
4) Copy the file and paste it in Windows Desktop (you can also use a pen/flash drive for this purpose)
5) Then run the setup.exe in Windows
6) you will be able to install Parallel Tools Perfectly.

Also, turn off the firewall and disable the antivirus.

I sincerely hope that the solution provided above will solve your issue.

If you need any support then please contact us and we will be happy to help you.

We will be awaiting your response.

Thanks.

Best Regards,
==============
Anupama
Technical Support Engineer
Parallels

kbase: http://kb.parallels.com
#304427
Allright,. THIS is wierd.

I got this issue again, because I increase the amount of graphic memory and RAM-memory that Parallels is allowed to use for Windows.

My Macbook pro has 4 GB of RAM and 512 MB of VRAM.
By default Parallels gives Windows 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB VRAM.
When I increase this to 2048MB RAM and 256MB VRAM, these issues appear, and if I go down to the default again, they dissapear...

Wtf? isn't more memory and more VRAM supposed to increase probability of graphic issues dissappearing?
#304428
There is RAM, and then there are also things called handles. Underneath, graphic objects are managed as a handle to a 'GDI Object'. There is a maximum number of these which may be allocated to a given process(10k is the normal number), so it might be possible that when increasing the RAM available, Parallels is concurrently decreasing the number of handles available, thereby making it impossible to create all of the elements of the user interface. You can monitor the number of gdi handles being created for the Rhino4.exe process by opening Task Manager, going to View > Select Columns, and checking the GDI Objects item.

That's just a wild guess though.
#304438
allright, interesting,.. here are some screenshots with two different settings:

1. First with default Memory and Video settings (512MB and 128MB)

Image

2. Secondly with increased Memory and Video settings (2048MB and 256MB)

Image

I'm not sure what to look for, but it seems Rhino is not using more that 800 GDI objects in both cases, no?

Regards,

- Björn
#304464
So it looks like 3D acceleration is all-or-nothing there in bootcamp...you might try then going into display properties > troubleshooting (in Windows) and moving the acceleration slider down a notch or two. I am not aware of issues with the parts of the UI you're having trouble with there, but I do know that some machines need to have that acceleration disabled for some items (generally, disabled for bitmaps/cursors) in order to show custom cursors. It's probably worth checking out anyway.
Will there be a Maxwell Render 6 ?

Let's be realistic. What's left of NL is only milk[…]