RGS doesn't work well when lid of the sender laptop is closed

[yusch]

Hello,

When I connect to the Sender laptop whose lid is closed from the Receiver 7.5.1.18000, I encounter several problems such as;

 Windows menu is shown small and scrolling doesn't work well.

 FireFox shows blank window.

 Simens NX (CAD software) doesn't show geometry correctly.

Configuration of the "When I close the lid:" is set as "Do nothing" when lid closed. This means the sender never goes to sleep even if its lid is closed.

What strange is, these problems are resolved if the lid is opened.

Here is the spec of sender laptop:

 HP Zbook G3

 WIndows10 64bit

 RGS Sender 7.5.1.18000

 NVIDIA version 391.25 Quadro M2000M

This seems to be caused by combination of RGS and WIndows10. For now Sender on Windows7 is working well.

I tried to use a few older version but result was the same. When I tried to use the latest version 7.6, black screen was shown so I couldn't even logon the the Sender.

Could anybody help to resolve this issue? I hope the sender laptop can be used with keeping its lid closed.

Thanks.

[KellyRGS]

Are you using a docking station with your ZBook 15 G3?  If so, can you provide the model number of the docking station?   Are you using any displays while the laptop is closed or are you using the closed laptop as a headless sender?  You mention another sender that is working properly on Windows 7.  Another ZBook or same ZBook reimaged?  What is your receiver setup, same information would be helpful. 

I work on the behalf of HP.

[yusch]

I don't use any docking station for the sender laptop.

The closed laptop is used as a headless sender. If the laptop is connected to other display monitor with its lid closed, this problem is also resolved. (But I don't want to take this measure)

The Windows 7 I mentioned is other ZBook. The Windows 10 I mentioned has been upgraded from WIndows 7. When the laptop was Windows7, everything was fine.

I have at least three ZBooks which have this problem.

The receiver setup is;

 Lenovo ThinkPad T460

 Windows 10 64bit

 RGS Receiver 7.5.1.18000

[utocen]

One solution is to use a small EDID emulator - they are a small dongle to plug into the video output of the laptop, and some has a passthrough port to an external monitor.

The EDID emulator makes the laptop think that it's still connected to an external monitor, hence keeping the GPU active even when the lid is closed.

From memory, I have also read in the release notes of version 7.6 Receiver that it supports EDID emulation - maybe HP support can confirm this.

[KellyRGS]

Thank you for the additional information.  We have seen the docks cause issues with RGS.  Normally we test the ZBooks with the screen open for display as a sender.  I will test one closed.  There is a new property in RGS 7.6 that applies to headless senders with NVIDIA graphics. 

In the rgsenderconfig file, set Rgsender.Compatibility.Displays.ForceEdidOnHeadless to 1, make sure to uncomment.  Restart the sender service to have the change take effect.  Another property you should set is to use NVIDIA's resolution matching.

Rgsender.Compatibility.Displays.AllowNvidiaResolutionMatching to 1, again make sure to uncomment and restart sender service. 

I generally make all of the property changes in my rgsenderconfig or rgreceiverconfig files, save them, and then restart the sender service.  If making changes on the receiver side, I close the receiver and relaunch.

I also have my ZBook set to discreet and not Hybrid in my BIOS settings, so I am only using the NVIDIA graphics.  Will test this today and report back with my findings/and or settings.  If this is reproduced, I will raise a defect with the RGS R&D team.

I work on the behalf of HP.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

[KellyRGS]

Sometimes EDID emulators are the way to go with headless.  Both sender and receiver must be able to match the requested resolution.  If you cannot manually match them, then RGS will not be able to.  Thanks for the suggestion.

I work on the behalf of HP.

[KellyRGS]

Great news! I was able to make an RGS connection with the laptop lid closed by creating an EDID file from the NVIDIA control panel and applying the EDID file to the Laptop display.  The reason why it doesn't work without an EDID is that the OS disables the display when the lid is closed, even if you set the lid to do nothing, so there is nothing for RGS to capture.  Keep in mind, if you open the lid using an EDID, and if you did not put things away nicely, you may not be able to see anything.  So make sure you disconnect prior to opening the lid.  An EDID emulator should work as well, haven't tested that yet, but it is also safer because you can unplug it before opening the lid. 

I work on the behalf of HP.

[yusch]

@Utocen

Thanks for your suggestion.

@KellyRGS

In my Nvidia Control Panel, the menu View system topology is not shown while the RGS 7.5.0 User Guide.pdf mentions it on page 35. The sender laptop is for now connected to other display.

How did you create the EDID file?

[KellyRGS · Accepted solution]

You are seeing an imcomplete NVIDIA control panel because the ZBook is either in Hybrid or Auto mode.  Reboot and go into F10, Advanced, Built In Options and change Graphics to Discreet.  Save your settings and then reboot into OS.  Now you should see the full NVIDIA control panel.  Attached is a screenshot of what you should see for the NVIDIA control panel once you are in Discreet mode.

Also, one other suggestion that I received here at HP, is you could try this property in your RGS rgsenderconfig file instead of of an EDID file.  I have not tested to see if this works or not.

## The methods for detecting image changes on the display. All changes
## are sent to the receiver as image updates.
## The "GPU" uses the GPU hardware to quickly compare one full screen
## to a previous full screen.
## The "Comparitron" method uses the system's CPU to compare one full
## screen to a previous full screen.
## The "ChangeList" method uses, in Windows, the RGS mirror-driver,
## and on Linux, the "Remote Graphics" X server extension to detect
## display changes. Enter the methods in priority order of usage. If
## a method is not currently supported in the system, the next method
## in the list will be tried.
Rgsender.PreferredDisplayMethods= DX10 GPU ChangeList Comparitron

Save your rgsenderconfig file and then restart the sender service to have the change take effect.

[yusch]

The problem has been resolved by following your advice regarding the EDID creation!

Thank you very much.

P.S.

Meanwhile, I ijust nform that the Rgsender.PreferredDisplayMethods= DX10 GPU ChangeList Comparitron didn't help to resolve the issue when I tried before EDID creation