Vista vs XP... and USB problems

I'm entirely new to Mac, so trying to learn Parallels integration simultaneously has it's challenges. I have found my system slows down quite a bit when running Parallels with Vista. I'm running on a MacBook Pro 17" 2.16Ghz with 2Gb of ram and a 320Gb HD with Mac OSX 10.5.5. Mac system runs great on its own, but everything slows down and I find in checking my iStats that Ram is almost all but fully engaged when I'm running Vista with only my Microsoft Outlook running and a few small things in the background. I haven't changed the base settings on the VM aside from increasing video RAM to 40M. Without Parallels running I usually have at least a full 1Gb of ram free.

Also, I've been having problems the past couple days with my USB ports just shutting down out of the blue for no apparent reason, and they won't reactivate until I reboot the machine. Is that a problem because the ports are being shared through Parallels? The only things I have hooked up to my USB ports is an wireless mouse, and an external wifi antenna because i need increased range to reach the access points I connect through.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Rick Moore
www.WindInMySails.com

 

Sorry, forgot to add my question about Vista vs XP... would installing XP into Parallels instead of Vista help free the system up? I installed Vista because I had it already, but would gladly change over. If so, can I install a new XP VM and then migrate my installed software from the other VM to avoid having to re-install everything, then just delete the Vista VM? Thanks again
Rick Moore
www.WindInMySails.com

 

1. Set memory for Virtual Machine to less than 1 GB
2. Perform Mac and Windows side disk defragmentation http://www.xvsxp.com/system/system_tools_defrag.php
3. Set Adjust memory limit from Auto to Manual at Parallels Desktop -Preferences-Memory, and set limit a bit more higher than VM memory
4. Disable Themes in Windows serives.msc stop Themes service
5. If you are running in Coherence, try to switch to Single Window, or lower Mac resolution
6. Some antivirus software can load CPU when Heuristic Prediction is set, or Tamper protection (Symantec, MacAffey), adjust settings to risk you are supposed, high security settings is not always good idea, as it can also affect software running
7. Run msconfig , and disable unneeded startup items
See http://www.netsquirrel.com/msconfig/msconfig_xp.html
8. Make sure that no VNC,or remote desktop connection is established to Mac, this can slowdown Parallels Desktop
9. Optimize computer experience for best performance
10. Make sure that at least 1.25 GB of Memory is free for Mac OS (it is Total Memory - Virtual Machine Memory)
11. Make sure that at least 2 GB +Virtual Machine assigned memory *2 is available on Mac OS partition where VM is located

 

I suppose more memory on Mac and running Vista VM, located on external drive will be good tips

 

Yes, I saw that post with all the recommendations, but everything on my machine is a brand new install, including Leopard as I just upgraded my hard drive to a 320Gb. All the settings on Parallels are stock, which I believe set the maximum RAM allocation to 500Meg, the only thing I changed was the video setting after reading a couple other posts here of similar problems.

I wish I could add more RAM, but it's a 2.16GHz which I believe is already maxed out at 2Gb. With respect to running the VM on an external drive, I have a 500Gb that I'm using now, but I've noticed that TimeMachine used that up in a real hurry. If I did run Vista on an external, wouldn't it really slow to a crawl when I try and run it and the applications through a USB2.0 port? And is it hard drive space that's a problem, or RAM that typically slows things down?

Sorry for not being familiar... I've scanned the forums, but everything Mac is entirely new to me.

Thanks
Rick Moore
www.WindInMySails.com

 

Disable Time Machine, it is write every hour any changes , and this may affect performance