System recommendation

S

scola77

Junior Member
I am currently running an iMac 2.0 ghz Intel Core Duo w/ 2gb ram (this is the first gen intel iMac). When using Parallels (Windows XP Pro) I have to close all my apps, unless I want windows to be very slow and unresponsive. I have tried messing with the memory settings (which helps a little), but I am starting to think it is my machine.

Would upgrading to a faster iMac make much of a difference with parallels? I would need to run parallels with several mac apps running simultaneously.

Anybody running parallels on a 2.4 or 2.8 ghz iMac? What is your experience.

Thanks
 
please define your VM memory and HD size

what version of parallels and mac OS?

have you tried running with your VM image on an external HD?

slow running could be cause by fragmentation and caching problems with insufficient empty HD spase for the invisible scratch files
My Macintosh HD has 50gb available and my external la Cie fire wire 800m with the Vm image has 40gb empty

/Volumes/LaCie 1/Parallels Clones/vmwinxp7/winxp.hdd
32 expanded to 45 gb 924 mb ram

I don't use Bootcamp

most windows laptops sold have 150 to 250 gb hard disks
so anything less than 32 gb is unwise

have you used the standard windows clean up utilities?

Reg Cleaner finds many errors in my windows registry each week

Using get Info for the disk image when it is running
Capacity 31.24 gb
available 18.1 gb

used 12.61 gb on disk

this is a hidden temporary file

so before a new Mac try getting more external hard disk space

Hugh W
 
please define your VM memory and HD size
Click to expand...

VM Memory=512mb
Video memory=16mb
Virtual Disk Size=32gb (32000mb)

what version of parallels and mac OS?
Click to expand...

Parallels version 3.0
OS X Leopard 10.5.2

have you tried running with your VM image on an external HD?
Click to expand...

Not lately. When I first got parallels (back when I had tiger) I used it on an external. It seemed slower, but that was also version 1.0.

My Macintosh HD has 50gb available and my external la Cie fire wire 800m with the Vm image has 40gb empty
Click to expand...

My iMac internal has 140gb available (240 total). This is the drive parallels runs on.

have you used the standard windows clean up utilities?
Click to expand...

I know where you are going with this and usually I would agree. However I must point out that I am only using windows for 1 thing: to run some proprietary accounting software. I have all the latest updates from MS and keep my VM very clean. I use Safari for all my internet browsing and mail/entourage for e-mail. When given full resources, XP flies in parallels.
 
Your settings are ok and your machine with 2 gb ram is enough.

Strange that everything runs slowly. Are you sure you have 2 gb?
 
jackybe67 said:
Your settings are ok and your machine with 2 gb ram is enough.

Strange that everything runs slowly. Are you sure you have 2 gb?
Click to expand...

Yes, but understand that I use this computer for work. I usually have a few apps open at the same time (Mail, Numbers, Pages, Address Book, iCal, Safari).

Parallels runs perfect when I close all these apps. I know I am asking a lot, but I need to be able to run several apps while I access parallels. Would upgrading to a new Mac Pro allow me to do this without any significant slow downs -- or is this just the nature of the beast?
 
Do you use Coherence when you work with xp?

I have a 2,16 iMac with 2 gb + windows xp for autocad and everything works perfectly. 512 ram for VM.

Greetings
 
So I went out and got a new iMac today. The speed difference was incredible. I really think the bottle neck was the system resources that a simple iMac core 2 duo 2.0 ghz has.

For the record, I purchased an iMac 3.06 ghz with 3 gb RAM. I dedicated 1gb to parallels. It is faster than most of the windows machines we have here at the office!
 
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