Windows 7 on Parallels 8 Running Slow

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VG008

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Hi Guys,

As the title says, Windows 7 is running slow. Windows 7 is a clean install and there are no additional programs installed. When I open up windows explorer, the animation goes in stages.

Now, I installed Windows 8 evaluation on parallels and it works fine without any issues. I don't mind upgrading Windows 7, although I also don't mind saving the $40.00.

Below are the spec for the mac & VMs.

Macbook Pro - 15inch retina
Processor: 2.3GHz i7
Ram: 8GB
256 SSD

Windows 7 VM
CPUs: 4
Ram: 4GB
Assigned HDD : 64GB; Used 10GB
Video: 1GB

Windows 8 VM
CPUs: 4
Ram: 4GB
Assigned HDD: 64GB; Used 30GB
Video: 256MB

Thanks!
 
I have found it more stable when allocating less Ram. I do 2gigs and only 1 CPU. Try and see. Not sure what you are using it for but for me it's sufficient power.
 
I'm running Windows 7 on Parallels 8 and its running smooth. Try re-installing Parallels tools. It sounds like you have a graphics issue. Maybe the tools will fix it.
 
It runs ok. Not smooth at all. Everything works but not at all responsive. It does say "experimental". It's like hardware acceleration is disabled but its not. Not sure about the OP.
 
vinodh said:
I'm running Windows 7 on Parallels 8 and its running smooth. Try re-installing Parallels tools. It sounds like you have a graphics issue. Maybe the tools will fix it.
Click to expand...

Is there a very large performance difference between Parallels 7 and 8?
 
Havn't been using Parallels for a while, been on Fusion. on Fusion you could either pre-allocate the disk as one big file, or in 2Gb files. Found the pre-allocated setting is much faster then the 2gb blocks
 
shanezn said:
Why not just run Windows natively using Boot Camp ?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about anyone else, but for me, I prefer running OSX on my Mac. Windows is only needed for something that I cannot run natively. If you use BootCamp, the first thing that I don't like is the trackpad is more or less crippled. Multi touch is something that I really enjoy using on my Mac. It works like a normal trackpad in Windows. Also, every time you need Windows, you will have to reboot.

With a VM, you sacrifice very little resources to get Windows running at near native speeds and it is always instantly available. Windows apps run from the dock, launchpad or via a desktop shortcut as if they are native. You don't actually have to even see a Windows desktop. Only downside to this is gaming. You can't get maximum 3D performance from your system if its virtualised. BootCamp is better for this.

Here's a video showing the integration features of Parallels 8:
[video=youtube;6gvRRCHK0Ho]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gvRRCHK0Ho[/video]
 
vinodh said:
I'm not sure about anyone else, but for me, I prefer running OSX on my Mac. Windows is only needed for something that I cannot run natively. If you use BootCamp, the first thing that I don't like is the trackpad is more or less crippled. Multi touch is something that I really enjoy using on my Mac. It works like a normal trackpad in Windows. Also, every time you need Windows, you will have to reboot.

With a VM, you sacrifice very little resources to get Windows running at near native speeds and it is always instantly available. Windows apps run from the dock, launchpad or via a desktop shortcut as if they are native. You don't actually have to even see a Windows desktop. Only downside to this is gaming. You can't get maximum 3D performance from your system if its virtualised. BootCamp is better for this.

Here's a video showing the integration features of Parallels 8:
[video=youtube;6gvRRCHK0Ho]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gvRRCHK0Ho[/video]
Click to expand...

I have a windows PC. A Linux PC. And a mac book pro. Putting windows on the mac seems bizarre. But each to his own :)
 
I've got Win7Pro x64 on my Mac Pro running via Boot Camp. Works fantastically. There are some things I prefer doing in Windows, but my main reason for having it on there is to run my Audio production DAW, which sadly, is Windows only and there's no chance of them ever changing that in the near future. There's no way it would run stable via Parallels, especially considering the RAM and Processor requirements of some of the VST's it uses. It's quite resource intensive, and optimal 3D performance is a requirement, so Boot Camp is the only solution for me. I use Pro Tools for my Editing and final mixdown, and that runs on the OS X partition. Best of both worlds really.
 
Okay, so I finally got Windows 7 to perform properly on the VM.
I reinstalled Windows 7 and then did the 'Window experience index' thing, which seems to solve the problem.

shanezn said:
Why not just run Windows natively using Boot Camp ?
Click to expand...

I can still access my documents, mail, etc on OS X if I run Windows as a VM. I won't be using Windows for games, just a few applications.

Thank for all the help, much appreciated!
 
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