VM Advice

[ScottieBoi]

I was running VM off of a laptop with a Core 2 Duo CPU and 4GB of RAM, but they ran so slow. I switched everything over to a better laptop- 4th Gen i5 and 8GB RAM. I didn't move my VM, I am instead installing them all fresh. As soon as I load a VM, the "Disk" on the laptop runs up to 99-100%. As soon as I close the VM, it goes back down to a normal running speed. I have tried different VM settings- 1 core & 2 cores, 1GB RAM, 4GB RAM & 6GB RAM. Doesn't matter how I run it, it does the same. What am I doing wrong??

[dachilla]

What OS are you running on the guest?

Do you run host and guest on different drives (e.g. Host on SSD and Guest on HDD)?

What version of VMware?

[MM78]

If you are trying to run Windows 8 or 10 you going to have problems.

[ScottieBoi]

Thanks for the responses, but I figured it out. I really thought that I had tested the drive, but it was a bad hard drive. lol

[ScottieBoi]

Originally Posted by MM78

If you are trying to run Windows 8 or 10 you going to have problems.

You recommend not to use 8 or 10 in a VM? Why not? Too powerful?

[phaz0rz]

Originally Posted by ScottieBoi

You recommend not to use 8 or 10 in a VM? Why not? Too powerful?

They're too resource intensive. You can use an older, lighter weight operating system to do everything you would need to do on a stealth account VM, and it would run a lot smoother.

That's always been my opinion. Others here say they use current versions of Windows on their VM's so they can get Windows updates. Not something I care about.

[MM78]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

They're too resource intensive. You can use an older, lighter weight operating system to do everything you would need to do on a stealth account VM, and it would run a lot smoother.

That's always been my opinion. Others here say they use current versions of Windows on their VM's so they can get Windows updates. Not something I care about.

Agree 100%.....

[MM78]

Originally Posted by ScottieBoi

You recommend not to use 8 or 10 in a VM? Why not? Too powerful?

Windows 8 and 10 require a lot of resources, the idea is to use the least amount of your resources when running VMWares. All I use my VMWare is to:
1. Log into Ebay
2. Log into PayPal
3. Maybe USPS

There's no need to run a high end OS for those 3 things.

[ScottieBoi]

Yeah, I started mine off at the bottom- XP, Vista, 7. Haven't tried any newer ones yet

[MM78]

Originally Posted by ScottieBoi

Yeah, I started mine off at the bottom- XP, Vista, 7. Haven't tried any newer ones yet

I'm not a huge fan of Vista but it works fine as well....haven't had issues with Vista. Do you know how to use Linux?

[ScottieBoi]

I honestly don't. I have never messed with it. I have access to any specific version of Windows and not sure if I'm ready to learn a new OS

[phaz0rz]

Originally Posted by ScottieBoi

I honestly don't. I have never messed with it. I have access to any specific version of Windows and not sure if I'm ready to learn a new OS

Linux is a PITA to be honest. You have to go into the command line to do just about anything even in GUI versions of Linux. Stick to Windows.

[MM78]

Originally Posted by ScottieBoi

I honestly don't. I have never messed with it. I have access to any specific version of Windows and not sure if I'm ready to learn a new OS

Well, if you ever want to dive into Linux, Ubuntu is a great Distro to start with.

[ScottieBoi]

What setup do you use for VM? This laptop is dual core with 8GB of RAM. Should I use both processors and how much RAM should I use?

[phaz0rz]

This works exceedingly well for all my XP VM's (as long as VMWare tools is installed on each one) :

[MM78]

Mine is almost similar to Phaz0rz, For Windows XP I use 1.5gb Ram, 15gb HD Space, 1 CPU.

8GB of Ram is not a lot now a days.....I'm running 32gb DDR3 Ram.

[elmo]

Yup that looks good. 512 ram works just fine as well. Gotta love XP

[BiN4RY]

Originally Posted by elmo

Yup that looks good. 512 ram works just fine as well. Gotta love XP

Would not recommend using XP at this point. All browsers have dropped support for further updates already, and Microsoft themselves have stopped patching XP for security updates years ago.

[dachilla]

Originally Posted by BiN4RY

Would not recommend using XP at this point. All browsers have dropped support for further updates already, and Microsoft themselves have stopped patching XP for security updates years ago.

If you use it for AMZ and Ebay and Paypal only, I don't really see a problem. If you plan to surf on dubious porn sites with your Guest VM I'd agree with you.

[ScottieBoi]

Windows XP is my only VM that is running slowly now, really. I was using more RAM for it, though. I'm guessing that the less RAM you use in the VM, the less there is left for the system, causing problems?

[phaz0rz]

Originally Posted by ScottieBoi

Windows XP is my only VM that is running slowly now, really. I was using more RAM for it, though. I'm guessing that the less RAM you use in the VM, the less there is left for the system, causing problems?

That's pretty much true except you worded it backwards. The more RAM you allocate to your VM, the less RAM will be available to the rest of your system. You need a good balance between your host PC and your VM for optimal performance.

Unless you're on a 20yr old machine though you shouldn't have any lagging issues running XP. Did you install VMWare tools after you finished installing the OS on your VM? VMWare tools is absolutely vital for performance.

[ScottieBoi]

Yes, I worded it wrong. Glad you knew what I meant lol. Yes, it normally pops up and says its installing VMWare Tools automatically, I believe. I'll check to make sure. I have a Vista, Win 7 and Win 8 and they are all running fine. Strange that the XP is the one that is not running good. I think I was using like 3.5GB of my 8GB of RAM, though