how to improve performance using virtualbox

[wsamh]

I need advice on what should I be doing do improve performance of my vm with windows xp as a guest os. Right now it runs pretty good. But I want to know if there is any way to make it a little better.

[tuxxy]

You could increase the RAM allocated to the virtualbox if thats being the problem.

[wsamh]

I have 1 gig of ram and the guest os is set at 256MB. I think that is enough for windows xp. It is not really slow. It is just there is a slight lag. I hava P4 1.7. should I expect that for that kind of processor.

[tuxxy]

I dont use virtualbox intensively so not experienced any sort of lag but when I installed a virtual XP it recommended 512 MB for me.

How does it lag, is it certain programs?

[wsamh]

It lags when it starts up and shutsdown, and doing windows updates.I don't have any programs installed just yet because I'm trying to figure out this lag problem, if it is a problem. After it starts up, it is fine ding normal things. The lag is like a fews seconds longer than it usually is when using a physical partition.

[00arthuryu]

With a 1.7, I would expect some lag, as it also lags on my 2.4GHz
Virtualbox does run slower than native windows. especially with bulky programs, itunes, limewire, java etc.
you could try and use the emulation abilities of your cpu though. Although this made mine even slower :s

[spencerlewis]

i'm also using virtual box with XP it laggs pretty bad. and in XPs system properties it says its running at 800mhz(my host is using 2.0ghz! u see a problem?) and using .99gb of ram.
how to turn up the processor?

ill have to tinker wit it

[HotShotDJ]

i'm also using virtual box with XP it laggs pretty bad. and in XPs system properties it says its running at 800mhz(my host is using 2.0ghz! u see a problem?)

Yes. I see a problem. But it is not what you think. This means that the CPU is not where the bottleneck is. The CPU is managed by the HOST os, not the guest. If any process, including VirtualBox and everything running within it, needs more processor speed, the Host will step up the CPU speed. If you don't believe me, you can test it for yourself. Try switching your CPU settings on your host from "On Demand" to "Performance." (You can do this by adding the applet "CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor" to your panel. Once it is in your panel, just click on it and adjust the settings). Now, restart your VM. You should see XP's system properties showing that the CPU is running at full throttle (2.0 Ghz). But you will see little, if any, performance improvement.

The bottle neck is almost certainly with your physical RAM. When using any virtualization software, you must keep two things in mind... 1) the memory needs of the HOST OS, and 2) the memory needs of the GUEST OS. With Windows XP, you MIGHT get ok performance (but certainly not optimal) with less than 512 Gig RAM. With Ubuntu, you MIGHT get ok performance (but certainly not optimal) with 512 Gig RAM. But when you run Windows in a Virtual Machine (with 256 Meg RAM assigned to it), you are also leaving only 256 Meg RAM for Ubuntu to use. You are going to have the VM doing its swapping thing with its virtual drive PLUS Ubuntu doing its swapping thing with its swap partition. Slow-Down + Slow-Down = INSANE SLOW-DOWN.

[iheartubuntu]

The problem is you have only one gig of total ram. Ubuntu recommends 512mb to operate smoothly, which only leaves you half to run virtualisations. I dont think 256mb is enough. You could up it, but Im sure your system will lag all together. You need at least 2gb of memory IMO.

[spencerlewis]

i totaly see what u guys are saying and i tried the preformance thing and it works! pretty neat