Using Parsec, Moonlight and Sunshine

Solutions to Common Issues

Hardware Encoding: If Parsec, Moonlight, or Sunshine fail to use hardware encoding when a GPU is available, and hardware encoding isn't visible in the settings, take the following steps:

1. Uninstall Parsec, Moonlight or Sunshine and obtain the latest version.

2. Update your Nvidia drivers if newer versions are available.

3. Reboot the system.

4. Proceed to install Parsec.

5. Apply the most recent Windows updates.

Black Screen: If connecting with Parsec, Moonlight, or Sunshine creates a black screen with no error message,

1. Make sure the Parsec window is focused.

2. Press CTRL + SHIFT + I to enter Interactive Mode.

3. Once connected, you can exit Interactive Mode by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + I again.

4. Press the Windows Key + P, press the Down Arrow key twice, and then Enter. This should make the VM's screen appear on Parsec.

Error codes 6023 and 6024: Unable To Negotiate A Successful Connection ZeroTier works as a fix. More details can be found in the Parsec Article. Error code -14003: "We were unable to capture the screen of the computer you were attempting to connect" Ensure your RDP connection is closed before connecting with Parsec, Moonlight, or Sunshine.

Installing Parsec

If Parsec needs to be updated, you can first try Parsec's custom installer. If that doesn't work, follow these instructions to perform a complete reinstall.

First, uninstall the current Parsec. Then, locate the "Downloads" folder in the virtual machine. There should be an installer for Parsec already present (parsec-windows.exe). Run that. If not, Download Parsec from the website.

Parsec setup instructions will pop up. First, you will choose which components of Parsec to install. Make sure the Parsec App and Virtual Display Driver are selected, then press Next.

Make sure the Virtual Display Driver is also going to be installed

Second, you will choose an installation type. Choose to download Parsec in "Per User mode" and press Next.

Download Parsec in Per User Mode

Parsec will begin downloading; wait for this to finish. Note: Once downloaded, there may be a message saying that a reboot is required. You can ignore this for now, as we are doing that in a later step.

Now login with your Parsec account and click on the settings tab. Scroll down until you see "edit configuration file" at the bottom. Then, click on the "edit configuration file" link.

Paste in the following lines, if they don't exist already:

host_virtual_monitors = 1
host_privacy_mode = 1

The Parsec config file with the pasted lines

Save the file and then quit Parsec from the system tray (quitting from within Parsec sometimes fails to save the configuration file).

Open Parsec again and verify that the two lines are in the configuration file. If not, add them again, save, quit Parsec, and check. When it persists, reboot the VM. Now you can try out Parsec.