Home Forums Disable hardware acceleration on virtual machines

The prescription renewal bug has got my nurse using 2 computers - a real one for renewals, and a virtual computer through thin client RDP for everything else. The free Citrix hypervisor I use does not let you adjust hardware acceleration when using RDP - the Advanced option is greyed out. Any solutions?

Did this just start? Did you just upgrade?

I recently upgraded the Xenservers to version 6. AC is at 6.1.2. The problem preceded my update on the Xenservers. What happens is the nurse select Prescription Renewals and the screen starts up but is replaced by a big red X and an error message.

AC support recommended turning off hardware acceleration. The bug is inconsistent. It does not occur on the physical computer.

The AC installer likes to mess up the .NET Framework and MSXML 4.0

Try reinstalling the .NET Framework. Also it'd help more if you could post the details part of that error message. The disable hardware acceleration fix was for slow prescription write screen loading. Yours is not loading at all.

Here's the details
Details of Error Message
I'll try reinstalling the .NET Framework and MSXML 4.0.

Alright, I finally got around this by using the terminal server remote app. I finally got all the settings right on this thing and it now runs much faster than AC on the virtual machine, and it doesn't have the prescription renewal problem. Plus I got it to really work on remote computers - so now I have a shortcut on my home desktop that runs Amazing Charts just like at the office without the bother of loading a complete different desktop - and it runs fast! Seeing how this works now, I think anyone who has SBS should buy a separate server to run Amazing Charts and just load terminal server remote apps on their workstations and other computers, rather than installing the whole application. Now that I got this working, I'll bet AC goes to a subscription web based model which would, of course, make all this pointless.

PS - re-installing .NET didn't help.

So you've stopped using all those virtual machines? With the web-based model, you're going to need a pretty reliable connection as well as a fast connection if you intend to use imported items. Internet goes down, you go down.

The subscription-based model is essentially what you've with the terminal server. Except over the internet.

We're still using virtual machines. The RDS or TS cal doesn't give you a desktop, you still have to have an XP or Windows 7 installed somewhere, staff still needs internet access and office apps. What I think you're talking about is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) which basically supplies a whole desktop, on the fly, as needed. So far as I can tell, all these systems still require a separate OS license for each Windows desktop. All the RDS cal or TS cal does is give you access. What I built for free was actual virtual machines on the Xenserver - I basically reused all the old XP licenses from the obsolete computers. Since I went electronic in 2003, I have a collection of about 20 XP licenses because I purchased refurbished machines every 3 years or so as the software got denser and the machines got slower. Eventually, I am going to have to go to Windows 7 for my 4 exam rooms and my nurse. My front desk uses real PCs and are already on Windows 7 because of legacy software (Medware) that hasn't been supported on virtual machines. So I might consider some volume licensing going forward, and setup a VDI system.

I'm thinking of VDI because that's exactly what you're using. You have multiple XP Virtual machines that are not sharing resources. That's essentially what a VDI is.

RDS/TS CAL does give you a desktop. Whatever applications you have installed on that server is accessible by each user. Be it Microsoft Word or Amazing Charts. The idea behind an RDS CAL is that you do not need a Windows operating system on the other side. That's exactly why an RDS CAL is like $120. As long as the other Operating system has the RDP Protocol. Thin clients (Windows CE), Macs, iPads, Android Phones, or even Ubuntu can be on the other side. You can even enable the Aero Desktop Experience for RDS clients which makes it look like Windows 7.

VDI like yours is used if you want users to have more flexibility as it's essentially like your own workstation (XP Virtual Machine) or if the application doesn't work using Terminal Services. VDI works on thin and zero clients. It's strange because you're using Terminal Services (with Amazing Charts Remote App) and a VDI implementation. Most people use one or the other. A lot of people who buy thin clients often go for just the Terminal Server because buying separate XP licenses is expensive. You would also need an even better server to handle multiple operating systems since resources will not be shared. Thin clients are based on Windows CE (at least the hp ones) and don't require a client operating system. All they basically need to do is remote in to the Terminal Server.

Also as a side note, you can't move OEM licenses to a new computer.

Wow, you're right. I'm beginning to see how this stuff fits together. They are still some confusing issues here. The SBS server allows unlimited remote access to computers in the domain and it and the terminal server seem to use the same gateway. I'm still playing with some of the settings but the terminal server seems to allow only one Windows Logon user to use an instance of a TS app at a time. Yet my workflow has me logged into AC on 5 instances every day on 5 separate VMS. I'm pretty sure there is a way to change this.

There is. Since you're using the same login in 5 places you'll want to enable multiple RDP sessions.

On your Terminal Server (Server 2008)
1. Start > Type "gpedit.msc"
2. Under Computer Configuration, go to Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections
3. Right click on ?Limit number of connections? and select Edit, then select Disabled.
4. Right click on ?Restrict Remote Desktop Services users to a single Remote Desktop Services session? and select Edit, then select Disabled.