Experiencing slow running in some aspects of Windows app

R

Rob G

Junior Member
Hi,

I'm on my last day of a Parallels Desktop trial, build 5068. I'm a freelance translator, and am running a translation application in Windows XP Home. (For info, the application is built to run using the .NET framework, though I don't think that's a factor here.)

Some aspects of the application are running fine, but some are running incredibly slowly. Things that run slow are:

- Saving - this should normally be almost instantaneous but is taking up to 30 seconds

- Various things that require elements of the on-screen environment to be redrawn. Changing between the various screens in the application, which should be instantaneous, is problematic - I frequently have to wait for 10-30 seconds for the new screen to show; other times, the required screen appears but is not correctly drawn (screen components wrong shape and/or size), and corrects itself after a few seconds' wait.

My machine is a 2.4 GHz iMac with 3 GB RAM.

It's been suggested to me that this is a memory/video memory allocation issue. I currently have 988 MB RAM allocated to the VM, but have tried various settings both higher and lower - makes no difference. Recommended video memory is "Up to 16MB" - I've tried with both 16 MB and 32 MB - no difference. I've also tried enabling virtual memory preallocation - again, no difference.

It's also been suggested that this could have something to do with Parallels not having its own dedicated video drivers? Aparentl Fusion does (see comments below about Fusion).

I've searched through this forums and tried just about all the suggested fixes/workarounds for "known issues". The interesting thing is that I know another translator who is using the exact same application (and same version/build) within the same build of Parallels, and isn't experiencing any of these problems. I'm at a loss.

The other interesting thing is that I've also been trialling Fusion, and don't encounter any of these issues there. There are various reasons why I'd like to buy Parallels rather than Fusion, but this issue is a real problem for me.

I would be very grateful if you can help me overcome these issues.

Thanks in advance,

Rob
 
1. Set memory for Virtual Machine to less than 1 GB
2. Perform Mac and Windows side disk defragmentation http://www.xvsxp.com/system/system_tools_defrag.php
3. Set Adjust memory limit from Auto to Manual at Parallels Desktop -Preferences-Memory, and set limit a bit more higher than VM memory
4. Disable Themes in Windows XP serives.msc stop Themes service
5. If you are running in Coherence, try to switch to Single Window, or lower Mac resolution
6. Some antivirus software can load CPU when Heuristic Prediction is set, or Tamper protection (Symantec, MacAffey), adjust settings to risk you are supposed, high security settings is not always good idea, as it can also affect software running
7. Run msconfig , and disable unneeded startup items
See http://www.netsquirrel.com/msconfig/msconfig_xp.html
8. Make sure that no VNC,or remote desktop connection is established to Mac, this can slowdown Parallels Desktop
 
Tried all that...

Hi John,

Thanks, but I've tried all that... hence why I said:

I've searched through this forums and tried just about all the suggested fixes/workarounds for "known issues".
Click to expand...

Any other ideas?

Rob
 
John,

The application is called MemoQ, and is available from http://en.kilgray.com/?q=node/download. (Look for the file "MemoQSetup.2.3.zip".)

It's a pretty specialised application so you may not be able to make much sense of it. However, you may be able to reproduce the problem. (Although, as I said above, I know another Parallels user who is having no problems with the same application.)

Rob
 
Hi John,

Any progress with this? You might need me to help you go through some steps to create a quick project in MemoQ so that you can then see where the problems are occurring. Let me know.

Thanks,

Rob
 
hi John,

The mystery is solved - I've discovered that it was accessing files on a network share from within Parallels that was slowing things down. Thanks for trying anyway.

Rob
 
Disable Themes in Windows XP serives.msc stop Themes service

Hey John - I am not sure what this means - may be misspelled? Also, is coherence really more intensive than single window?

Jim
 
Start -Run -services.msc
Scroll to Themes service, right click properties disable
Yes, coherence is more CPU intensive than full screen, or single window
 
John - that worked - made windows really ugly again. How much cpu would that save? How much cpu cycles would avoiding coherence save? Or would this savings be with memory rather than cpu?

It would be nice if parallels did some benchmarks on performance with macs with various ram configurations and various allocation to parallels. It appears that optimum memory allocation is a matter of voodoo religion not science.
 
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