How to Fix: Chrome Dialogue in Virtual Machine Unreadable

Infopackets Reader Jill P. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I use Microsoft Remote Desktop (RDP) to connect to virtual machines over my network. Most machines use Chrome as the browser. The problem I'm having is that certain actions in Chrome are unreadable when using remote desktop. For example: if I try to install a Chrome addon, a dialogue window is supposed to appear confirming that I want to enable the extension. Over RDP, this dialogue box and the text it contains is white and unreadable. There is no way to click on 'OK' to enable the extension. Another time I've seen this happen is if I'm trying to fill in data in an online form using Chrome, and the input fields become unreadable as soon as I click on them. Do you know how to fix this? "

My response:

I asked Jill if she would like me to look into this using my remote desktop support service, and she agreed.

Below I will discuss my findings.

How to Fix: Chrome Dialogue in Virtual Machine Unreadable

After a bit of research into this, it appears that the video hardware acceleration in Chrome is the culprit. To fix this, you need to disable Chrome's hardware acceleration on the target machine, then restart Chrome.

To do so:

1. Connect to the machine remotely that is having the issue.
    
2. Launch Chrome and click the 3 vertical dots on the top right hand corner of the Chrome window, then select "Settings".
    
3. Click the "Search Settings" field at the top of the "Settings" page, and type in "hardware acceleration" (no quotes).
    
4. Chrome will display its results for anything related to hardware acceleration. Note the option that says "Use hardware acceleration when available" and make sure it's not enabled.
    
5. Restart Chrome and the problem will be resolved.

I hope that helps!

About the author: Dennis Faas

Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.