I have a 2019 iMac with Intel Core i5 that was running a Windows 11 VM with single application. The performance was fine and I was satisfied with this setup for years. I recently updated to the latest OS that my Mac supports, Sequoia 15.5. My VM got incredibly slow and suddenly there are multiple "Creedence Cryptex" disks showing up on the desktop. On the VM, opening a simple app like Notepad or Task Manager, for example, took 5 to 10 minutes. The Windows application that I needed to use was essentially frozen and unusable. Task Manager showed CPU and disk stuck at 100%. I decided to wait and 2 hrs later it was still at 100%. I treated these two symptoms - slow VM and appearance of DMGs as separate issues. I forcibly ejected the disks and built a new VM. Everything was fine on this new VM for a couple of days then suddenly these disks appeared on the desktop again and the performance of the VM has ground to a halt. The activity in Task Manager in Windows shows the same again. I've checked to make sure Parallels is up-to-date and so is the iMac. Any ideas of what's ruining the performance? Is the performance and the appearance of DMGs related?
