I’ve had problems connecting to my Ubuntu 9.10 server via Mac OS’ built-in VNC client, “Screen Sharing”.  Frequently when I connect, I get a white screen with no indication that the connection is working.  If I type characters or click the mouse, it does actually send those events to the remote side.  My only option was to use Chicken of the VNC (which sucks) to connect to my server.  Finally, I did some digging and found the solution/workaround.

  1. Open a new Finder window.
  2. Click “Go” and then “Go to Folder” (or hit Command-Shift-G).
  3. Type in “/System/Library/CoreServices” and hit enter.
  4. Find the “Screen Sharing” application, click once to highlight.
  5. Click “File” and then “Get Info” (or hit Command-I).
  6. Find the checkbox labeled “Open in 32-bit mode” and check it.
  7. Close the Info window and Finder folder window.

That’s it!  Apparently there is a bug in the application only when running in 64-bit mode.  I don’t really care why it fixes it, I’m just glad its fixed and I thought I’d share.

Thanks to the anonymous user on Mac OS X Hints!