Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina [SOLVED]

About SheepShaver, a PPC Mac emulator for Windows, MacOS X, and Linux that can run System 7.5.3 to MacOS 9.0.4.

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almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by almeath »

On my 2019 iMac I see the following, repeating frequently until I force quit SheepShaver:

1456/0x193a87: psynch_cvwait(0x7FE617C10AC8, 0x3640100036500, 0x36400) = 0 0
1456/0x193a55: workq_kernreturn(0x20, 0x0, 0x1) = 0 0
1456/0x193a54: workq_kernreturn(0x40, 0x70000D63AB80, 0x1) = 0 Err#-2


While this is happening, I look in Activity Monitor under CPU it sits on about 300%.
fahlman
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by fahlman »

There was discussion about this possibly being related to NVIDIA GPUs. My MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) and Mac mini (Late 2012) have Intel integrated graphics, Intel Iris Graphics 550 and Intel HD Graphics 4000, respectively.
almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by almeath »

I no longer think it is related specifically to the type of graphics card. This is based on the testing I conducted on my 2013 and 2019 iMacs, one being Nvidia and the other AMD. Your tests now show it occurs on Intel graphics as well. It is also not tied to whether it is a desktop or laptop, as it is manifesting itself on iMacs, MacBooks and a Mac Mini. Lastly, it happens in both Mojave and Catalina.
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

So it happens on a variety of Mac models, but it does not happen on all Macs. I never saw this happen on my iMac and apparently it does not happen on emendelson's Mac. So what makes it happen on some Macs and not on other Macs? And what makes it happen on all three of your (almeath) Macs?
almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by almeath »

Ronald P. Regensburg wrote:So what makes it happen on some Macs and not on other Macs? And what makes it happen on all three of your (almeath) Macs?
Perplexing. :???:

I have posted an issue in kanjitalk755's Github repository.

At least I am not the only one out there experiencing this issue. If we can gather more feedback from others users perhaps we can narrow it down further.
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adespoton
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by adespoton »

Mojave introduced some changes in how the display is composited; Is there a difference here between Retina and non-Retina displays?

Also, does adding

Code: Select all

scale_integer true
scale_nearest true
in preferences make any difference?

How about:

Code: Select all

cpuclock 200
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

We already established about this issue with launching in full screen mode:
- that it happens on both Retina and non-Retina displays
- that on some machines it never happens
- that on the machines where it happens it sometimes does not happen
- that launching SheepShaver in window mode and then using control-return to switch to full screen mode always works correctly
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by fahlman »

I'm using the self-contained virtual machine setup. How about everyone else experiencing this symptom?
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by emendelson »

fahlman wrote:I'm using the self-contained virtual machine setup. How about everyone else experiencing this symptom?
If you're referring to the SheepShaver Wrapper, that was briefly updated with SDL2 2.0.10, but the current download again uses SDL2 2.0.9. There's probably no easy way to know which version is the build that you're using.

Of course if you're NOT talking about the SheepShaver Wrapper, then ignore this message!
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by fahlman »

almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by almeath »

fahlman wrote:I'm talking about this –> https://emaculation.com/doku.php/sheeps ... l_machines
I get the problem with both my own virtual machines, and also emendelson's wrapper. I decided to test with the wrapper because I wanted to make sure I did not have a problem with my own files, perhaps a corrupt install or ROM etc.
Last edited by almeath on Sat Oct 19, 2019 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by almeath »

adespoton wrote:How about:

Code: Select all

cpuclock 200
That did not seem to do anything. What does this specifically do, and what number ranges could I try?

When SheepShaver freezes and pinwheels, this is all I see in Activity Monitor:

Image
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

almeath wrote:
adespoton wrote:How about:

Code: Select all

cpuclock 200
That did not seem to do anything. What does this specifically do, and what number ranges could I try?
It does indeed not do anything to the emulator. It just changes the reported figure. From the setup manual:
• Changing reported CPU speed (16 January 2019 and later builds)
SheepShaver identifies itself as a 100MHz machine to software running on it. Although the reported 100MHz is unrelated to the actual speed, some software may show a message that it will not run because it needs a faster machine. The reported CPU speed can be changed by adding a cpuclock item to the preferences file:

Code: Select all

cpuclock 200
This line wil make SheepShaver identify itself as a 200MHz machine.
Note: This setting does not change the actual speed!
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

fahlman wrote:I'm using the self-contained virtual machine setup. How about everyone else experiencing this symptom?
I use both a classic SheepShaver setup and a variety of .sheepvm virtual machines with different MacOS installations and different prefs settings. I have not experienced the issue with any of these setups. Tried them all with dga settings to make them launch full screen. This is on Mojave 10.14.6 that is reported earlier in this thread to show the issue.
(As always, I will not upgrade to a new macOS version until at least 6 months after its release.)
almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6

Post by almeath »

So I just gave up for now and decided to design a work-around.

I set my window preference to "win" instead of "dga". Then I created a bash script with the following AppleScript commands:

osascript -e 'tell application "/Applications/SheepShaver.app" to activate'
osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to keystroke return using control down'


When I launch that script, the switch to fullscreen happens so fast that it is essentially indistinguishable from launching the SheepShaver app directly.

This entirely avoids the freezing problem on all my iMacs.

Treating the symptom rather than the cause, but at least it works. :mrgreen:
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by CamSox »

Hello all, I am currently experiencing an issue very similar, except in my case it freezes every time (I am on 10.15.1). I saw that a possible solution to this problem was to run it in windowed mode, but I can't seem to access that from the Menu Bar and the ctrl-enter command isn't working. How can I change it to windowed mode in the .sheepshaver_prefs file?

Thanks,
CamSox
Last edited by Ronald P. Regensburg on Sun Nov 03, 2019 11:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Edited topic title and merged topics
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

You can edit the prefs file in a text editor.

- In the Finder, open your Home folder.
- Then press command-shift-. (command-shift-period). Hidden files will become visible, among which .sheepshaver_prefs
- Double click that file. It will open in TextEdit
- find the line that will look like this:

Code: Select all

screen dga/1280/800
- Change dga to win:

Code: Select all

screen win/1280/800
- Close the file and save the changes.
- Press again command-shift-. to make hidden files invisible again.
Last edited by Ronald P. Regensburg on Sun Nov 03, 2019 11:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Edited topic title and merged topics
almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by almeath »

I highly encourage anyone experiencing these full screen freeze ups in Mojave and Catalina to report it on these forums and provide information on what Mac hardware you are using.

I am trying to determine an underlying common factor which results in it (seemingly) only affecting certain machines and configurations.

Unfortunately, no one with any knowledge on programming/building SheepShaver seems to be affected .. so far.
Last edited by Ronald P. Regensburg on Sun Nov 03, 2019 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Edited topic title and merged topics
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

I merged the two topics about this subject, changed the topic title, and made the topic 'sticky' in order to have it appear always among the top topics in the SheepShaver forum.
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by jimwong »

This happens to me on my 2019 27" iMac. It doesn't happen every time, but it does happen a significant fraction of the times I launch SheepShaver.
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

I posted a new SheepShaver build (4 December 2019). It is built with a different SDL2 version. An unintended side-effect could be a change to this full screen issue. Worth a try.
Last edited by Ronald P. Regensburg on Thu Dec 05, 2019 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by almeath »

On my 2019 iMac (with Mojave 10.14.6) it unfortunately still black screens and pinwheels as soon as I launch in full screen mode. Windowed mode works normally.

When launching in full screen mode, if I am extremely quick to press control-return, it bypasses the freeze/pinwheel and takes it into windowed mode, resulting in a normal launch.

The AppleScript work-around that I noted above still holds, but it works best by putting a 0.1 second delay in between the command to launch SheepShaver and issuing the keystroke command for control-return.
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Ronald P. Regensburg
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

So far we have no clue what makes this happen on some machines and not on other machines. The fact that the few people who are involved with developing and building SheepShaver have never seen the issue, does not help to find the cause.

There are a few things we know so far:
- It started with Mojave 10.14.5 or 10.14.6
- It happens with different SheepShaver builds
- It can happen on very different Mac models
- It can happen with different graphic cards
- It can happen on both Retina screens and non-Retina screens
- So far, we have not found a prefs setting that is involved (apart from launching full-screen)

Perplexing:
- Several people reported the issue and they see it at almost every SheepShaver launch
- You (almeath) even have the issue on all your (very different) Macs
- Some never see the issue, among which the few people involved with developing and building SheepShaver
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adespoton
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by adespoton »

almeath wrote:On my 2019 iMac (with Mojave 10.14.6) it unfortunately still black screens and pinwheels as soon as I launch in full screen mode. Windowed mode works normally.

When launching in full screen mode, if I am extremely quick to press control-return, it bypasses the freeze/pinwheel and takes it into windowed mode, resulting in a normal launch.

The AppleScript work-around that I noted above still holds, but it works best by putting a 0.1 second delay in between the command to launch SheepShaver and issuing the keystroke command for control-return.

Could we be looking at a security model change on Apple's part, that doesn't show up for some of us due to how we've got our Gatekeeper preferences and extended attributes set?
almeath
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Re: Full screen problems in Mojave 10.14.6 and Catalina

Post by almeath »

It has definitely crossed my mind that it is security related, as those were the predominant changes that affected app launching starting in Mojave and carrying forward into Catalina. Also, I mentioned earlier that this issue does not affect High Sierra or earlier.

To recap, this is what I have in my script:

tell application "/Applications/SheepShaver.app" to activate
delay 0.1
tell application "System Events" to keystroke return using control down


If I run this script from Automator, it works fine. I then used "Save As" to turn it into an app. If I try launching that app right away, it results in the black screen. If I drag the app into the "Accessibility" exceptions in System Preferences, and also make sure that the instance of SheepShaver it is calling is dragged into "Full Disk Access", then the script works as intended.

I do not know if that sheds anymore light on this but I figure anything could help at this stage.

I have disabled SIP in Mojave but have left Gatekeeper on.

Is there something Apple introduced in terms of security checks that is intercepting the process when SheepShaver switches to full screen upon immediate launch (but not once the app has time to start i.e. the 0.1 second delay)?
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