Running Windows 7 64-bit is very slow

S

StephenG

Bit poster
Hello,

I am running MBP w/ OS X.6.2, 3GB memory with Parallels 5.0.9308. I am looking to get the best performance out of bot OS's but any config i try with Parallels, windows 7 just seems to bog down to a crawl which cause OS X to slow down as well. i'be tried running 1 and 2 cpu configs and anywhere from 1024 to 1920 memory and 128 and 256 Video memory with and without 3D acceleration on.

Can anyone give me any suggested configs to try with parallels in order to get best performance?

also why does parallels give me the option to use up to 8GB mem and it will only let me use a max of 1920?

Thanks
 
I'm a real novice here, so take my input with a box of salt. But I'd guess that Parallels offers you a max of 2 Gigs of RAM for Windows because you need at least 1 on the Mac side - and your total has to be 3 GB for the system.

But as to speed - you didn't mention your clock processor speed. I have no problems with speed on either Mac or Windows side, when both are running. My CPU runs at 2.53 GHz, with 4 Gigs of RAM. If your processor is "slow" (?) maybe if it's an old Mac? then that would slow down the system - maybe especially with only 1 Gig of RAM on either the Mac or the Windows 7 side - if your programs are CPU- and speed- intensive.

But I'm guessing. I wish someone with more real knowledge would give some input.

For me, W7 is now running again. I phoned the MS activation number, and was give a new number. Which turned W7 back on FOR NOW. I'm afraid that again the same problem will reappear, since the OS is loaded into Boot Camp, from which the insides of my Mac look entirely different from the perspectives from the world of Parallels. It seems that Parallels should be programmed to activate Windows with the appearance of Boot Camp (as in "simulation", as in "virtual"), so as to keep Mr. Gates happy.
 
I'm on build 9310 of Parallels, running an iMac 3.06 C2D with 4G RAM and Windows 7 64-bit mode (production release) and it is painfully slow. Slow slow in fact that it reminds me of VirtualPC.
 
edwardd20 said:
I'm on build 9310 of Parallels, running an iMac 3.06 C2D with 4G RAM and Windows 7 64-bit mode (production release) and it is painfully slow. Slow slow in fact that it reminds me of VirtualPC.
Click to expand...

Same here on my MacBook. In the time it takes just to launch Parallels, launch the app and get ready for input, I can go to my Windows machine, turn it on, start Windows, launch the app, get the new data entered, and shut down the Windows box.

I don't recall Parallels 4 being this slow. It used to be about as fast as the Windows machine.

Also, the darn thing is stuck on booting into Coherence mode, regardless of what is checked in the config window.
 
Similar slowdown

Problem:
I am also experiencing a dramatic slowdown when I am actively using my Windows 7 (64-bit) VM and OS X applications at the same time. I have increased the memory available to the VM to 2GB. I have also increased the pagefile size in Windows. Additionally, I have tweaked the Windows 7 settings extensively to eliminate as much non-critical overhead as possible. This included disabling all graphical and UI effects, ensuring that all non-essential applications and processes are terminated, and adjusting any other performance-related settings I could find. My results so far have shown a minor improvement in performance. Unfortunately, this VM is still nowhere near the performance level that I had with my native Boot Camp install. Before making these tweaks, my wife deemed the virtualized system "unusable" because it was so slow. Now, I'm just hoping for tolerable. I'm hoping somebody has good tips or advice to help get us to a point where Windows 7 and OS X can truly coexist without killing each other.

System Specs:
MacBook Pro
2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB RAM
nVidia 8600M GT 512MB VRAM
OS X version 10.6.2
Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, 64-bit
Parallels version 5.0.9310 (Revision 546799; January 12th, 2010)

Help!
Thanks,
Sam Ch
 
Reduce the VM's Ram to 1 Gig. Give it 2 Processors. Don't increase the VM's swap file; let Windows handle it, there's no real performance benefit from tweaking the VM's swap file. That should help. Also, reduce the sound quality to 11.025 kHz; while sound will be mushy it at least won't be choppy.
 
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