Parallels 12 + Windows 10 = High CPU usage

Same problem here. Already sent a problem report. ID: 203260537

My config:
MacBook Pro 15'' 2017
Parallels 12.2.1
Windows 10 Enterprise, Version 1203, OS Build 15063.502

The problem began after installing Windows Updates.

 

Hello @StefanM4 Please refer this article http://kb.parallels.com/116263 and check it helps.

 

Hi, thanks for the suggestion, but the problem persists.
While the test vm runs without my hard disk file the fans remain calm, but become loud when I start with my hard disk file.
I also tried uninstalling parallels and reinstalling.

 

Hi Paul,

I just came around this issue. I am upgrading to a new MacBook and now use Parallels 12. Before Parallels 11.

My Question: is there a plan to substantially address this issue within Parallels 12? Any Updates? Or are we fired to upgrade to Parallels 13 -- and is the issue solved there?

My experience:
1. high CPU usage with Parallels 12, even in IDLE. My temp went up to 67 degrees celsius.
2. on my old Macbook before with Parallels it was about 45-50 degrees
3. switched off windows share => much better, temp at about 50 degrees (Parallels 12)
4. deleted parallels power plan and reinstalled Parallels Tools. Switched on windows share again
=> same issue. CPU usage 150% - >200%. It seems that it goes fast down again but regular spikes >200%
=> temp 65 degrees again with moderate usage
5. switched off windows shares again => all fine. Same usage as in 5, temp 50 degrees.

Please provide a solution for this bug.

 

@MarkusS8 next time this happens, do this on your mac:

• Open a Terminal window
• type sudo -i (you'll have to enter your password)
• type cd ~USERACCOUNT/Desktop (where USERACCOUNT is your login user account name)
• type spindump -file spindump.txt; vm_stat > vm_stat.txt && zprint -t -w -s >> vm_stat.txt

Then file a support ticket and include the spindump.txt and vm_stat.txt files that were generated on your mac Desktop (or post them here).

Those files will contain detailed information about what Parallels and your Mac are spending time doing when your CPU is high. This is the approach I've used in the past helping Parallels support track down hitches and other performance issues.

 

I just installed parallels 13 and was having the high cpu usage. Windows was using 10% cpu but parallels was using 110% on the mac side. I turned off the Access Windows Folders From Mac and CPU on mac side dropped to 18%. Hope someone will fix this soon, my laptop has been too hot to touch all morning after upgrading.

 

OK after disabling the windows drive share to the mac the CPU went from 110% to 35%. However this is still much higher than Parallels 12 was consuming. This still means that when windows is idle at 8% CPU parallels is consuming 35-50% CPU on my Mac. I do believe there is a bug in Parallels 13 causing high cpu usage. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions to reduce CPU usage further? The fans on my Mac are running all the time now even when Windows is idle.

 

2015 MacBookPro 3.1Ghz running OSX 10.12.6, Parallels 13.1.1, Windows 10 with sharing off as discussed above remains painfully slow. Actions that 'snapped' using Boot Camp now seem to be opportunities to take a drink of coffee. Activity Monitor at idle is approx. 45 cpu % but any action on the Windows VM causes cpu % to jump to 185-220% where it remains for 10-15 seconds, and response in Windows is slow. I am hesitant to upgrade OSX to High Sierra- could not stand it if it got worse. Is there a large group of users of Parallels 12 and 13 who are pleased with the performance and this experience is an outlier? If so, it would seem there should be a path we can take to achieve better performance. Is there a tuning guide?

 

Hi @StephenS4 , please generate a problem report ID and let us know , so that we will check and assist you further.

 

Hi guys, whoever has this issue, can you please clarify if you're using any antivirus software on macOS side?
When an antivirus checks the virtual machine disk via reversed sharing (feature 'Access Windows folders from Mac') CPU consumption in the VM will go up significantly.
Please disable antivirus, work for a while and let me know if there is any difference.

 

There is no antivirus running on the Mac side. Norton Internet Security is running on the Windows 10 side.

 

I'm getting this issue as well, CPU usage around 100% and sometimes up to 200%. When I use Win10 it sounds like my MacBook is about to take off....

Parallels support - can you please look into this? vm_stat.txt file attached, it won't let me attach the spindump as it's too large

I have no antivirus software installed on the mac. I have tried all the other suggested solutions -

Thanks

 

Hi @NicholasK2, is this issue permanent or intermittent? When CPU usage goes up to 200%, what processes in Windows Task Manager consumes CPU?
Can you please upload spindump to any convenient file share? Also, please generate a technical report via Help menu > Send Techinical Data... Please post the report ID here.

 

Hi Dmitry

This issue is permanent, ie. whenever I try to use Win10 it happens. CPU usage stays around the 100% mark, and can go as high as 200%. Fans start kicking in pretty soon after loading up the VM.

Testing today, I'm getting CPU usage of about 140% max. In Windows task manager, main processes consuming the highest share of CPU are "Service Host: Local System (19)" (around 30-40%) and Avast Service (32 bit) (around 15 -30%)

Technical report ID is 229120472

Spindump uploaded to below
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ADTxI9PWVM46pgL5JRYQmkvrM7TOv--w

Thank you

 

Hello - any update on this? Many thanks

 

Hello - any update on this? Thanks

 

Hi - do you have any update on this issue? I've provided all the info requested. Many thanks

 

None of the suggestions worked for me. What work is if you have a weird resolution of your Windows Parallels is to disable the custom resolution and go with recommended resolutions. This solved having firefox, system process and internet explorer working much better and not spiking CPU resolution. This is true in PD version 14 and 15. Just upgrading wont fit it.

 

Hi people, I came across this forum while looking for a solution to minimise the CPU consumption of Parallel Desktop on my Macbook Pro while running SAP on Windows 10. I started noticing that my MacbookPro was getting really hot, everytime I launched the SAP platform on my computer which can only run Mac through Parallel Desktop for some reason. The fans were running nonstop, I procrastinated having to deal with this until just few minutes ago. I decided to check on the Activity Monitor to have a look of the problem, Windows 10 was the problem. The percentage of CPU usage that the Activity Monitor showed was, to me at least, absurd and unbelievable as it was above 200%. This thing was roasting my processor so I knew I had to fix this problem ASAP. After reading through this forum and a couple of more articles decided to give it ago. So, I did few things not sure which one was the one that actually solved the problem but here they are:
- I limited the RAM memory assigned, through "virtual machine's configuration window > Hardware > CPU & Memory" (https://kb.parallels.com/en/113649), to a quarter of the recommended range (1024), as I only use Parallel Desktop and Windows 10 to run SAP on my Macbook Pro.
- I Took a look to the hardware options few other area of the configuration Window and limited the access of the windows partition to the mac partition and viceversa allowing only the very basics such as network support.
- Last but Not least I did what this Forum recommended, I disable this Checkbox (Options > Sharing > Share Windows and uncheck "Access Windows folders from Mac").

All changes need to be done with the actual Virtual Machine (Parallel Desktop/Windows 10) Shut, make sure you save them, and launch the Virtual Machine again.
While Launching, I was paying attention to the percentage of the CPU Usage of Windows 10 while booting up, this spiked right up to 200% ish, and then came down pretty quickly within the first minute after launching Windows 10. While writing this replay I've been running the SAP Platform in the background. I just Checked the percentage of the CPU Usage of Windows 10 a second ago and it was at 13.3% which is an outstanding improvement from its previous standby reading of +200%. The overheating seems to be dissipating quite rapidly and I can't hear the Fans running anymore.
Hopefully this will help somebody else having the same issue.

My system:
Running macOS High Sierra, version 10.13.6 on:
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
Processor 2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

Running:
SAP R/3 ENTERPRISE 47, on:
Windows 10, through:
Parallels Desktop 15 for Mac