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Date:      Sat, 8 May 2021 16:20:02 +0200
From:      Dimitry Andric <dim@FreeBSD.org>
To:        Roger Leigh <rleigh@codelibre.net>
Cc:        FreeBSD-STABLE Mailing List <freebsd-stable@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD 13 console stops working under VMware
Message-ID:  <0F510E0A-32F9-464E-AAF4-E9F056F17E05@FreeBSD.org>
In-Reply-To: <89FD974C-F8A0-489B-B325-C8AABF919C02@codelibre.net>
References:  <89FD974C-F8A0-489B-B325-C8AABF919C02@codelibre.net>

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On 8 May 2021, at 16:02, Roger Leigh <rleigh@codelibre.net> wrote:
>=20
> This might sound like a bit of an odd one, but I=E2=80=99ll try to =
describe it.  When I run a FreeBSD 13-RELEASE virtual machine under =
VMware, it appears to work correctly, but randomly stops working.
>=20
> If I focus the VMware window, and press Ctrl-G to grab input focus (or =
click in the window), I can log into the system using the console.  =
However, if I press Ctrl-Alt to ungrab the input focus, or click outside =
the window, the block cursor on the console vanishes, and it=E2=80=99s =
no longer possible to type any input.
>=20
> However=E2=80=A6 if I grab focus again, I can use Alt-Fn to switch to =
a different virtual console, log in again and everything is fine=E2=80=A6 =
up until I switch focus to something else and the block cursor vanishes =
in that virtual console.  Repeat until you run out of virtual consoles!
>=20
> I can=E2=80=99t reproduce this with FreeBSD 12.  It seems to only =
happen with FreeBSD 13.  I=E2=80=99ve had it happen reproducibly when =
losing focus, but then again sometimes I=E2=80=99ve had a few minutes =
where it doesn=E2=80=99t happen, until it starts occurring again.  While =
it seems that losing focus is the trigger, there might be something else =
going on.
>=20
> Has anyone else noticed this or have any suggested workarounds?

Press the Scroll Lock key to 'fix' it, if that is possible for you. This =
is some weird interaction between VMware's input focus grabbing method =
and our console, which sometimes turns on Scroll Lock accidentally. I =
have not been able to put my finger on when it happens exactly, but it =
does happen often.

For me, it usually occurs when I use Microsoft Remote Desktop to access =
a Windows machine running VMware, and switch back and forth between =
Remote desktop and another application. Something about losing the focus =
is making the VMware GUI inject a Scroll Lock event. It's pretty tricky =
to generate Scroll Lock via Remote Desktop though, especially from a =
Mac, which doesn't have that key at all. :)

-Dimitry

PS: Note that Scroll Lock is normally used in FreeBSD's console to =
scroll back in the virtual consoles, as opposed to Linux's shift-PageUp =
and shift-PageDown. But it is a toggle, not a one-off key.


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