Vmware Fusion VERY slow!

n8236 · Dec 1, 2007, 04:48 AM

I don't know if it's just me, but VmWare Fusion runs Vista very slow when over Boot Camp.

I would say it runs only at 1/2 to 1/3 of the normal speed of a regular boot camp reboot.

Is anyone experiencing this? And is there a fix?

tersono · Dec 1, 2007, 05:14 AM

Running Windows in a virtual machine is always going to be slower than running it natively via boot camp. However, I wouldn't call it 'very' slow - I use Fusion + XP on a 2Ghz iMac at work and it's not really any slower than some of the older PCs we have around (mostly 2Ghz+ P4s with 512mb) - certainly it's plenty usable for regular business applications - even stuff like DreamWeaver and Fireworks.

The trick to good Fusion performance, however, is plenty of RAM. 4Gb in the Mac with 1gb allocated to Windows is about optimal.

n8236 · Dec 1, 2007, 05:27 AM

I've ran Fusion w/ a virtual XP and it runs very close to native speeds. But I'm guessing booting off Boot Camp doesn't give the same performance? Or is it just Vista?

I only have a MacBook Pro w/ 2gbs of ram, so it's no speeding bullet.

I'll try more ram and report back.

phillipjfry · Dec 1, 2007, 08:02 AM

It has to be the fact that vista, IMHO, is one of the most resource hungry OS's I've played with in...quite a long time. Maybe that's why vmware (which is already borrowing resources from your machine) is runnin slower than with xp. I haven't tried running vista yet through vmware.

webgoat · Dec 1, 2007, 01:11 PM

ideally you want 2 gb for mac os x and 2 gb for vista for optimum performance... i run my xp pro boot camp partition with 1 gb and the other 3 gb set to mac os x and it runs fantastic

nekcih · Jun 2, 2009, 06:23 PM

I had the same problem. I narrowed it down to a slow external hard drive running over USB 2. It's a 1TB Western Digital. I moved my hard drive image off to a firewire 800 drive and now everything is smokin' fast.

touchdownjesus4 · Jun 4, 2009, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n8236

I've ran Fusion w/ a virtual XP and it runs very close to native speeds. But I'm guessing booting off Boot Camp doesn't give the same performance? Or is it just Vista?

I only have a MacBook Pro w/ 2gbs of ram, so it's no speeding bullet.

I'll try more ram and report back.

I use VMware fusion and I installed more RAM (4GB instead of 2) and changed the settings for the bootcamp partition to allocate more RAM to the virtual machine and it made a huge difference. The virtual machine boots faster and the speeds are faster than my old RAM set. I would recommend getting the most RAM you can for your MBP (I believe it's 4GB max) if you are going to be running VMware a lot. Also when you boot into windows the RAM upgrade helps vista run faster natively as well.

Darth.Titan · Jun 4, 2009, 11:42 AM

What the OP is saying is that Fusion is much slower running a Boot Camp (native windows) partition than it is running an actual virtual machine file.

In my experience, I would say that his observation is correct.

MVApple · Jun 4, 2009, 10:38 PM

I run Vista in VMware Fusion as well and what I noticed is that the machine is very slow for about 15 minutes, then things settle down and they run at a pace that is still slow but borderline acceptable. If I have work I have to get done in Microsoft Office, it works. I have a laptop that runs Vista on 1GB of ram and I don't have any speed issues. This makes me think that the sharing of the hard drive is a huge bottleneck.

Dec 1, 2007, 04:48 AM	#1
n8236 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2006	Vmware Fusion VERY slow! I don't know if it's just me, but VmWare Fusion runs Vista very slow when over Boot Camp. I would say it runs only at 1/2 to 1/3 of the normal speed of a regular boot camp reboot. Is anyone experiencing this? And is there a fix?

Dec 1, 2007, 05:14 AM	#2
tersono macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Darkest Surrey, UK	Running Windows in a virtual machine is always going to be slower than running it natively via boot camp. However, I wouldn't call it 'very' slow - I use Fusion + XP on a 2Ghz iMac at work and it's not really any slower than some of the older PCs we have around (mostly 2Ghz+ P4s with 512mb) - certainly it's plenty usable for regular business applications - even stuff like DreamWeaver and Fireworks. The trick to good Fusion performance, however, is plenty of RAM. 4Gb in the Mac with 1gb allocated to Windows is about optimal. __________________ Tersono White: a blank page, or canvas. My favourite. So many possibilities.

Dec 1, 2007, 08:02 AM	#4
phillipjfry macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Peace in Plainfield	It has to be the fact that vista, IMHO, is one of the most resource hungry OS's I've played with in...quite a long time. Maybe that's why vmware (which is already borrowing resources from your machine) is runnin slower than with xp. I haven't tried running vista yet through vmware. __________________ Proud to be a turtle lover.

Dec 1, 2007, 01:11 PM	#5
webgoat macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Austin, TX	ideally you want 2 gb for mac os x and 2 gb for vista for optimum performance... i run my xp pro boot camp partition with 1 gb and the other 3 gb set to mac os x and it runs fantastic __________________ 15.4" SR MBP 2.2, 4 GB RAM, 320GB 7200RPM iPhone 3G S⃣ 16 GB Black Apple Certified Macintosh Technician

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Dec 1, 2007, 05:27 AM	#3
n8236 Thread Starter macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2006	I've ran Fusion w/ a virtual XP and it runs very close to native speeds. But I'm guessing booting off Boot Camp doesn't give the same performance? Or is it just Vista? I only have a MacBook Pro w/ 2gbs of ram, so it's no speeding bullet. I'll try more ram and report back.

Jun 2, 2009, 06:23 PM	#6
nekcih macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2009	I had the same problem. I narrowed it down to a slow external hard drive running over USB 2. It's a 1TB Western Digital. I moved my hard drive image off to a firewire 800 drive and now everything is smokin' fast.

Jun 4, 2009, 11:42 AM	#8
Darth.Titan macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2007	What the OP is saying is that Fusion is much slower running a Boot Camp (native windows) partition than it is running an actual virtual machine file. In my experience, I would say that his observation is correct.

Jun 4, 2009, 10:38 PM	#9
MVApple macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2008	I run Vista in VMware Fusion as well and what I noticed is that the machine is very slow for about 15 minutes, then things settle down and they run at a pace that is still slow but borderline acceptable. If I have work I have to get done in Microsoft Office, it works. I have a laptop that runs Vista on 1GB of ram and I don't have any speed issues. This makes me think that the sharing of the hard drive is a huge bottleneck.