kstart --iconify VBoxManage startvm "WinXP"" changes resolution to 640x480 -> fixed in SVN/1.5.2

[vatbier]

Mandriva Linux 2007.1
KDE 3.5.6

When my computer boots into KDE I want that Virtualbox automatically start "Snapshot 1" of my virtual WinXP.
I can do this with a script in ~/.kde/Autostart:

#!/bin/sh
VBoxManage snapshot "WinXP" discardcurrent -state
kstart --iconify VBoxManage startvm "WinXP"

With "kstart --iconify" the virtualbox window starts minimized just as I want it. When I use the virtualbox window it shows my virtual WinXP desktop at resolution 1024x768.
But when I press HOST+F to fullscreen (1280x1024), and then press HOST+F again to come out of fullscreen, the WinXP desktop changes to resolution 640x480 in stead of 1024x768.
That's very annoying for me: nowadays I do work in Visual C++ in the virtual WinXP mostly fullscreen but sometimes I go out of fullscreen mode to do some stuff with KDE/Linux and at the same time work with Visual C++ in the virtualbox window. But the virtualbox window needs to stay at 1024x768, I can't work with Visual C++ with resolution 640x480.
I can change the WinXP display setting from 640 to 1024. Then I can go in and out of fullscreen mode and it will stay at 1024.
This only happens with command "kstart --iconify VBoxManage startvm "WinXP"". When I just use "VBoxManage startvm "WinXP"" it stays at resolution 1024.
I guess it has to with "kstart --iconify": maybe because the virtualbox window starts iconified(=minimized), Virtualbox doesn't save that the resolution of the virtualbox window is 1024.

So can you developers please change the way how Virtualbox saves the resolution of the virtualbox window when it starts a snapshot of a virtual machine: when the virtualbox window starts minimized you should save the display setting when it is not minimized.

In the mean time could you provide me with an easy WinXP command/script that I can click on my virtual WinXP desktop to change immediately the display setting from 640x480 to 1024x768? That seems to me now the fastest solution to my problem. Off course I will try myself to find on the Internet how to do that WinXP command.

vatbier

[vatbier]

I've found a small exe to change resolution in WinXP:
​http://www.codeproject.com/useritems/chscrres.asp[[BR]] I made a ResolutionTo1024.bat ("chscrres 1024 768") and put a shortcut to it on my virtual WinXP Desktop.
With one click I now change back resolution from 640 to 1024.

vatbier

[Michael Thayer]

It sounds very much to me like a bug I know of in Kubuntu, I think it was in the Crystal decoration style. If a window changes size while it is minimised, the window manager ignores the change. I presume that the Windows additions will see that the change of size from 640x480 (boot size) to 1024x768 has failed and switch Windows back to 640x480.

Are you using Crystal as a decoration style by any chance?

[vatbier]

Replying to michael:

Are you using Crystal as a decoration style by any chance?

My KDE 3.5.6 uses Window Decorations Plastik.

When I restore the virtualbox window, started minimized by kstart, it shows WinXP in resolution 1024. Only when I then go to fullscreen mode and out of fullscreen does the virtualbox window changes its resolution to 640.

[Sander van Leeuwen]

We've just fixed this. Thanks for your report.