Fixing NoMachine Menu Unresponsive Issue on macOS 26

If you're using NoMachine 9.2.14 on macOS 26 (Tahoe) and experiencing inability to click secondary menus or dropdown menus not responding, this article will guide you step-by-step to completely solve this bug by modifying configuration files.

Problem Description

Symptom Manifestation

When running NoMachine 9.2.14 on macOS 26 (Tahoe), users encounter the following issues:

• ❌ Cannot expand application secondary menus (such as submenus under "File", "Edit", etc. in menu bar)
• ❌ Right-click menu cannot pop up or clicks are invalid
• ❌ Dropdown menus show but cannot select options
• ❌ Menu items hover highlighting works but clicks have no response

This problem seriously affects normal remote desktop use, especially for users who frequently need menu operations.

Problem Cause

This issue is caused by event API compatibility issues between NoMachine 9.2.14 and macOS Tahoe (macOS 26). The new version's event handling mechanism conflicts with certain underlying changes in macOS 26, causing mouse click events to not properly reach secondary menus.

Solution

By enabling the legacy event API (-oldeventapi 1) in NoMachine configuration, you can revert to a more compatible event handling mode, solving the menu clicking problem.

Fix Steps

Since the configuration file is located in a system-protected directory, we need to use terminal and administrator privileges for modification. The entire process takes about 5 minutes.

Step 1: Open Terminal

Two ways to open terminal:

Method 1: Open via Finder

1. Open "Finder"
2. Go to "Applications" folder
3. Go to "Utilities" folder
4. Find and open "Terminal.app"

Method 2: Use Spotlight for Quick Access (Recommended)

1. Press Command + Space to open Spotlight search
2. Type "Terminal"
3. Press Enter to open

Step 2: Use Command Line Editor to Open Configuration File

1. We'll use the nano text editor with sudo command to get administrator privileges.

2. In terminal window, copy and paste the following command, then press Enter:

sudo nano /Applications/NoMachine.app/Contents/Frameworks/etc/node.cfg

3. After executing the command, terminal will prompt for password:

   [sudo] password for ...:
   

   复制

4. Enter your macOS login password, then press Enter.

Step 3: Add Configuration Content

1. After entering correct password, you'll enter the nano text editor interface, seeing node.cfg file content.

2. Use keyboard's down arrow ↓ to move cursor to the very end of the file.

3. On the last line of the file, create a new line and enter the following:

DisplayServerExtraOptions "-oldeventapi 1"

Step 4: Save and Exit File

1. After adding configuration content, press Control + O (hold Control key, then press O key).

2. Bottom of screen will show:

   File Name to Write: /Applications/NoMachine.app/Contents/Frameworks/etc/node.cfg
   

   复制

3. No need to modify filename, just press Enter to confirm save.

4. After successful save, press Control + X (hold Control key, then press X key) to exit editor.

Step 5: Restart NoMachine Service

After configuration file modification, need to restart NoMachine service for changes to take effect.

1. In terminal, copy and paste the following command, then press Enter:

sudo /etc/NX/nxserver --restart

2. If system asks for password again, enter your macOS login password and press Enter.

3. Terminal will show service restart message, for example:

   NX> 162 Service stopped.
   NX> 162 Service started.
   

   复制

Verify Fix Effect

After configuration modification and service restart, follow these steps to verify if issue is resolved:

1. Reconnect NoMachine

   • If there's an active connection, disconnect and reconnect
   • Or completely exit NoMachine application and reopen

2. Test Menu Functions

   • Open any application (like Finder, Safari, etc.)
   • Click menus in menu bar like "File", "Edit", etc.
   • Try clicking options in secondary menus
   • Test if right-click menu pops up and responds normally

3. Confirm Fix Success

   • ✅ Menus can expand normally
   • ✅ Can click and execute menu items
   • ✅ Right-click menu function restored

FAQ

Q: Why is sudo command needed?

A: sudo (SuperUser DO) allows executing commands with administrator privileges. NoMachine's configuration file is located in a system-protected directory, regular users don't have permission to modify.

Q: What if I enter wrong password?

A: System will prompt "Sorry, try again.", you can re-enter. After 3 consecutive wrong entries, command will be cancelled, need to re-execute command.

Q: Secondary menu problem persists after configuration modification?

A: Please troubleshoot following steps:

1. Check configuration content is correct
   • Ensure quotes and spaces are exactly as shown: DisplayServerExtraOptions "-oldeventapi 1"
   • No extra spaces or special characters before/after configuration
2. Confirm service has restarted
   • Re-execute restart command: sudo /etc/NX/nxserver --restart
   • Or completely exit NoMachine application and reopen
3. Restart computer
   • If above steps don't work, try restarting Mac
4. Check NoMachine version
   • Confirm version is 9.2.14 or similar
   • Too old or too new versions may require different solutions

Q: How to check if current configuration is effective?

A: Can use following command to view configuration file content:

cat /Applications/NoMachine.app/Contents/Frameworks/etc/node.cfg

Check if file end contains DisplayServerExtraOptions "-oldeventapi 1" line.

Q: Will this modification affect performance?

A: -oldeventapi 1 parameter only uses legacy event handling API, performance impact is minimal. In actual use, won't notice significant performance degradation, but can completely solve menu clicking problem.

Q: Will configuration be lost after updating NoMachine in future?

A: Generally, NoMachine updates won't overwrite node.cfg configuration file. But to be safe, recommend checking configuration still exists after major version updates. If new version has fixed this issue, can consider removing this configuration.

Q: Do other macOS remote desktop software have similar issues?

A: Similar menu interaction problems occasionally appear in other remote desktop software (like VNC, TeamViewer), usually related to event API or input method conflicts. Troubleshooting approach can refer to this article's method.

Technical Principle

Why can -oldeventapi 1 solve the problem?

NoMachine adopted a new macOS event handling mechanism in 9.x version, aiming to provide better input response and multi-display support. But the new API conflicts with macOS 26 (Tahoe) system's underlying changes, causing event loss or transmission delay in some scenarios (especially complex menu nesting and rapid interaction).

macOS 26 Tahoe Changes:

• Apple restructured parts of window management and event distribution mechanism in macOS 26
• Adjusted event delivery paths for third-party remote desktop software
• New security policies may block some event API calls

-oldeventapi 1 parameter forces NoMachine to use legacy Core Graphics Event API, this API:

• ✅ Verified over many years, better stability
• ✅ More complete support for secondary menus, right-click menus
• ✅ Better cooperation with macOS 26's traditional compatibility layer
• ✅ Avoids known issues in macOS 26's new event system
• ⚠️ Lacks some new features (but doesn't affect daily use)

Configuration File Location Explanation

node.cfg is NoMachine server-side core configuration file, located at:

/Applications/NoMachine.app/Contents/Frameworks/etc/node.cfg

This file controls various runtime behaviors like display server, network protocol, security policies. DisplayServerExtraOptions parameter is specifically used to pass additional command-line parameters to display server.

Related Resources

• NoMachine Official Website
• NoMachine Official Documentation
• NoMachine Knowledge Base - macOS Troubleshooting
• NoMachine Community Forum

Summary

NoMachine 9.2.14 secondary menu clicking problem on macOS 26 (Tahoe) is a known event API compatibility bug, specific to macOS 26 system. By modifying configuration file to enable legacy event API using this article's method, can perfectly solve this problem.

Key Points:

• 🔧 Problem Root: NoMachine new event API conflicts with macOS 26 system
• 🎯 Impact Range: Mainly appears on macOS 26 (Tahoe) system
• 💡 Solution: Add DisplayServerExtraOptions "-oldeventapi 1" configuration
• ⏱ Operation Time: About 5 minutes
• ✅ Fix Effect: Completely restore menu interaction function

Notes:

• If using macOS 15 (Sequoia) or earlier versions, usually don't need this fix
• Future NoMachine may natively solve this issue in new versions
• After upgrading to new NoMachine version, recommend testing if still need this configuration

If this article helped solve your NoMachine problem on macOS 26, welcome to share with friends experiencing same issue. If you have other NoMachine or macOS Tahoe related questions, also welcome to leave comments for discussion!