New User - Poor Performance

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EmeryK

Junior Member
Hi. I installed Parallells on a 2017 iMac (21 inch desktop). 8 GB Ram, Intel i5 processor and 1 TB SATA disk. I've been very disappointed with the performance. My main reason for the install of Parallels was to run Quicken for Windows (I don't like the Mac version of Quicken) and also Microsoft Office (not a big deal - but decided to run the Windows version since I had Parallels anyway and was more familiar with the keyboard shortcuts on Windows version).

After a lot of frustration with lag time I uninstalled Parallels and went with a boot camp install instead. Now about a month ago I reinstalled Parallels 14 since it was advertised as faster. So I'm using Parallels to run the Boot Camp installation. At first I thought it was great. But now the last couple weeks it is very sluggish. (Fresh bootup and startup of Quicken takes 5-7 minutes.) Both the Windows and Mac sides run slow. Keyboard often has ragtime in typing, etc. I'm new to Mac and don't know where to start. Is 8 GB really too little RAM? Is an SSD the only option? Is it some configuration setting I'm overlooking? Virtual machine is set at 2 processors and 2 GB RAM.

Any help or options much appreciated!
 
Hi @EmeryK, we would suggest you follow the steps mentioned below to fix the slow startup issue in a Windows virtual machine.
Inside the Windows press the Start button > Cogwheel Settings icon > System > Power and sleep > Additional power settings > Choose what power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > Turn on fast startup (recommended) > Uncheck > Save changes.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I cannot find that option. I followed all the sequences you suggest. When I get to the end my screen only shows "Sleep" and "Lock" in that section. There is nothing on the final screen to check "Fast Startup". I googled "windows 10 fast startup" and found some screen shots referencing what you instructed - and the screen and other options look like what my search turned up. So I'm reasonably sure I'm on the right screen but the option is simply missing. Windows 10, Home edition, version 1803, build 17134.285.

Any advice?

<<edit - further reading suggests this option is only available if "Hibernate is enabled"... dunno >>>
 
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EmeryK said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I cannot find that option. I followed all the sequences you suggest. When I get to the end my screen only shows "Sleep" and "Lock" in that section. There is nothing on the final screen to check "Fast Startup". I googled "windows 10 fast startup" and found some screen shots referencing what you instructed - and the screen and other options look like what my search turned up. So I'm reasonably sure I'm on the right screen but the option is simply missing. Windows 10, Home edition, version 1803, build 17134.285.

Any advice?

<<edit - further reading suggests this option is only available if "Hibernate is enabled"... dunno >>>
Click to expand...
Please take a screenshot of the 'Power Options' window from the Windows control panel and reply with the same.
 
OK. Thanks so much for following up. Here's an update: I did find that option WHEN I RUN WINDOWS DIRECTLY OUT OF BOOTCAMP (rather than using Parallels).
So in a bootcamp instance of running Windows I unchecked that option. Here is a screenshot of the power settings.

For what it is worth here is this morning's launch time:
I logged all other users out of the Mac (wife and kids) and then clicked the quicken icon. Parallels was not running at that point.
Windows login screen at 6:18
Windows icons loaded in windows task manager 8:46
Quicken was launched and ready to use at 11:46 from the time I first clicked the icon.

As I type this msg in Safari this morning my Mac is slow. Keyboard is lagging. Launching any app in Windows or Mac is sluggish at this point. I also noticed that Windows told me I did not have a registered copy since it launched via Parallels. (I've noticed that before - in a direct bootcamp / non-Parallels instance everything is good - it shows I'm registered. But running via Parallels it says it is not registered.
 

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EmeryK said:
OK. Thanks so much for following up. Here's an update: I did find that option WHEN I RUN WINDOWS DIRECTLY OUT OF BOOTCAMP (rather than using Parallels).
So in a bootcamp instance of running Windows I unchecked that option. Here is a screenshot of the power settings.

For what it is worth here is this morning's launch time:
I logged all other users out of the Mac (wife and kids) and then clicked the quicken icon. Parallels was not running at that point.
Windows login screen at 6:18
Windows icons loaded in windows task manager 8:46
Quicken was launched and ready to use at 11:46 from the time I first clicked the icon.

As I type this msg in Safari this morning my Mac is slow. Keyboard is lagging. Launching any app in Windows or Mac is sluggish at this point. I also noticed that Windows told me I did not have a registered copy since it launched via Parallels. (I've noticed that before - in a direct bootcamp / non-Parallels instance everything is good - it shows I'm registered. But running via Parallels it says it is not registered.
Click to expand...
Please increase the RAM assigned for the virtual machine to 4GB and check for the performance. Also, if there is any antivirus/firewall protection enabled on the Mac, please disable and check.
 
I have had problems with sluggishness when running the Windows 10 VM on my Mac with similar specs. I just turned off the firewall, and so far it seems to have really improved the situation. my question is: don't I need to be using a firewall in general to protect my computer?
 
Hi @mos11dbo , turning on Windows firewall depends on one's personal prefrence as firewall might interfere few applications installed on Windows virtual machine. However with firewall turned ON, your Windows virtual machine should work without any issues. Please let us know if this happens only when you running particular applications or all the applications.
 
Hello! It is actually the Mac firewall that I turned off, and there is a noticeable improvement. (The Windows firewall was also turned on, but I have since disabled it.)

The sluggishness I experienced when running Windows 10 occurred on both the Windows side of things and the Mac. In other words, if I had Parallels open with Windows running, then the entire computer ran slower. I only use Windows to run Microsoft Office programs, primarily Word and OneNote. I experienced slowness, delays, and the Mac spinning beachball when:
  • trying to switch between one program window and another (usually between a Windows program window and a Mac program)
  • opening new programs on either operating system
  • within Windows particularly, certain clicks would have observable delays before performing their tasks such as opening the Start menu or trying to move between features on the Ribbon within Word such as 'Review,' 'Insert' or 'Layout.'
As I said, since I have turned off the Mac firewall, these problems seemed to have largely disappeared. I will continue playing with it, but I would probably prefer to have my firewall on.
 
mos11dbo said:
Hello! It is actually the Mac firewall that I turned off, and there is a noticeable improvement. (The Windows firewall was also turned on, but I have since disabled it.)

The sluggishness I experienced when running Windows 10 occurred on both the Windows side of things and the Mac. In other words, if I had Parallels open with Windows running, then the entire computer ran slower. I only use Windows to run Microsoft Office programs, primarily Word and OneNote. I experienced slowness, delays, and the Mac spinning beachball when:
  • trying to switch between one program window and another (usually between a Windows program window and a Mac program)
  • opening new programs on either operating system
  • within Windows particularly, certain clicks would have observable delays before performing their tasks such as opening the Start menu or trying to move between features on the Ribbon within Word such as 'Review,' 'Insert' or 'Layout.'
As I said, since I have turned off the Mac firewall, these problems seemed to have largely disappeared. I will continue playing with it, but I would probably prefer to have my firewall on.
Click to expand...
Hi @mos11dbo , Thank you for the information please observe the behavior of your Windows virtual machine performance and let us know.
 
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