Using Win XP only: Worth upgrading from 5 to 6

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Lars-Blumberg

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Using Win XP only: Is it worth upgrading from 5 to 6

Hello!

Currently I am using Win XP, latest updates, in Parallels Desktop 5 on a late 2007 MacBook Core 2 Duo, 2.2 GHz, 4 GB RAM. Given this configuration will Win XP run (not only start up as promoted for the new PD6) significantly faster on my PC? It's only for programming stuff under Win XP that I use it for.

Thanks for your shared experience!

Lars
 
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well, I have basically the same Mac as you. I wouldn't get in any hurry about upgrading. At least let them work the kinks out. Frankly, I haven't seen any noticeable performance jump, but I have had more XP freezes.
 
I have a train simulator (Tranz) that I run on XP. The only way I could get it to work prior to Parallels 6 was by booting directly to boot camp. Tranz would come up but was very unresponsive when running XP using Parallels 5. So far it works without any problems using Parallels 6. However, I've only had Parallels 6 installed for a week, so I need to do more testing.
 
Don't upgrade yet

I wouldn't upgrade yet.

There are a few problems. For example when you type into an entry field the characters don't show on the screen sometimes. If you move the mouse, they magically appear.
 
BlueHue, What fields are you making the entry in? Which version of windows? I've never noticed this problem with XP.
 
How to recreate text entry problem

I'm using Windows XP Professional SP3.
The problem occurs with quite a few applications, but an example is UltraVNC viewer.
Start the viewer and enter "yme-gwsv1" into the server field.
The "y", "-" and "g" keystrokes are not be shown, all the other keystrokes are.
Move the mouse over the entry field and all keystrokes are shown correctly.
Very annoying.
See screen clips attached.
The first one shows what appears when I type.
The second one shows what happens when I move the mouse over the entry field.
 

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Sometimes reinstalling Parallels Tools solves these kinds of problems. I haven't had any significant problems updating from 5 to 6. There is a speed improvement, but it is modest. There are also some minor bugs involving window focus vis a vis OS X, but not within the VM (my diagnosis). I have just installed a new VM with XP Pro and am seeing lots of speed improvement there, but I suspect it is from a combination of the fresh install and Parallels 6. A great site to visit if you want to really tune up Windows XP is home.comcast.net/~SupportCD/OptimizeXP.html. I have used this guy's advice for years and it is really excellent and practical.
 
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