Written by
Connie Yang
Summary: Our post discusses why the Windows VM runs slow on Mac and concentrates on how to fix the Windows VM's sluggish performance. Notably, insufficient Mac storage space is usually the culprit, use iBoysoft DiskGeeker to clean up junk files on your Mac and get more space.
A virtual machine (VM) allows you to run multiple operating systems on one device, such as using Windows 10 on a Mac. However, you might notice the Windows VM runs slow on your Mac, making tasks feel tedious and productivity takes a hit.
Why is the Windows 10 VM on a Mac so sluggish? In this guide, we'll break down the common causes and, more importantly, provide feasible ways to enhance the Windows VM performance.
Whether you're using Parallels, VMware Fusion, or VirtualBox, our tricks can help you achieve a smoother and faster virtual machine experience on your Mac.
Windows VM runs slow on Mac, what to do?
When Windows VM runs slow on your Mac, you can follow these tricks to optimize it, including restarting your Mac, closing resource-hungry apps, adjusting the resource allocation for the virtual machine, freeing up disk storage space, updating the virtualization software, updating macOS, and switching to use Bootcamp to directly install Windows on Mac.
To explore the detailed steps of each method, please focus on this part. The solutions we concluded here are after duplicate tests and heat discussions.
Restart Mac
Temporary glitches in your Mac can cause the VM to run improperly. You can simply restart your Mac. This will close all the apps and refresh the system. Then, run the Windows VM and check if it performs smoothly.
Quit unused and resource-hungry apps on Mac
If your Mac runs numerous apps, they preempt resources of the virtual machine software and eat too much memory and CPU. Consequently, VirtualBox, VMware Fusion, or Parallels Desktop slows down.
Going to close those apps that you don't use or are memory-consuming is a simple trick to boost the Windows virtual machine's performance.
Adjust the resource allocation for your VM
A VM requires a significant amount of RAM and CPU to function smoothly and efficiently. Insufficient RAM, CPU, and graphics assigned to the Windows VM usually are the main reasons for poor performance.
To fix that, you should change the memory and processor settings for your virtual machine.
On VMware:
- Turn off the Windows machine in VMware.
- Right-click the Windows virtual machine and select Settings (or Edit Settings).
- Navigate to System Settings and choose Processors & Memory.
- Adjust the processor's number.
- Type a larger amount of RAM.
On VirtualBox:
- Power off the virtual machine in VirtualBox.
- Open the Windows virtual machine's settings.
- Select System.
- Change the base memory to a larger size.
- Adjust the amount of the processors to the Windows VM.
On Parallels Desktop:
- Turn off the Windows virtual machine in Parallels Desktop.
- Choose Actions > Configure > Hardware > CPU & Memory.
- Move the slider to a larger value and choose the desired number of processors.
- Restart the Windows virtual machine.
Free up more storage space on your Mac
Running a VM on a Mac is space-intensive, requiring the Mac to allocate part of its space to store the VM's related files. If your Mac doesn't have a substantial amount of disk space, the Windows VM runs slowly on your Mac.
Thus, you can free up more space on your Mac by cleaning up junk files, such as app cache files, user logs, user cache, trash, etc. However, these files are scattered throughout your Mac's home folder, and it is hard to clear them completely.
iBoysoft DiskGeeker for Mac can help you clean up junk files on your Mac with a few clicks. This Mac cleaner can directly delete app cache files, user logs, unused user preferences, trash, useless downloads, and more from your Mac and immediately free up space.
- Download, install, and launch iBoysoft DiskGeeker for Mac on your Mac device.
- Select the user data volume (Macintosh HD - Data or macOS - Data) on the left sidebar and click Clean Junk on the right side.
- Wait for it to scan the junk files on your Mac.
- Select your unwanted files from the scanning results and click Clean.
Update the virtualization software
Perhaps, the virtualization software you use like Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or VirtualBox is out-of-date, making Windows 10 VM run slow on your Mac. Just go to check if there is any update of your virtualization software available and update it.
Update your Mac
Updating your Mac is another trick to fix the problem as potential errors in the current system can make the Mac performance issue, and consequently, VMware Fusion runs slow on Mac.
Use Bootcamp to directly install Windows on the Mac
When VMware Fusion is running slow on your Mac, VirtualBox Windows 10 is slow on your Mac, or Parallels slows down your Mac, change to install Windows on your Mac with the built-in Boot Camp Assistant.
Here's how:
- Ensure your Mac is equipped with Intel processor and is one of the following models.
MacBook ( 2015 -2017)
MacBook Air (2012-2020)
MacBook Pro (2012-2020)
Mac mini (2012-2018)
iMac (2012-2020)
iMac Pro
Mac Pro (2013-2019) - Ensure your Mac startup disk has at least 64GB of free space.
- Prepare a clean USB drive with at least 16GB of storage space.
- Prepare a 64-bit version of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro on a disk image (ISO) on the Mac.
- Check if your Mac's Secure Boot setting is Full Security.
- Use Boot Camp Assistant in Launchpad > Other to create a Windows partition.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to format the Windows partition and install Windows.
- After the Mac starts up in Windows, follow the guide to install Boot Camp and Windows support software.
Now, you can switch between Windows and macOS by pressing down the Option or Alt key during the Mac startup.
Why does Windows VM run slow on Mac?
A Mac's hardware specifications largely determine the performance of the Windows VM. Older Macs with limited processors, RAM, and graphics capabilities often struggle to allocate enough resources to the resource-intensive virtual machine program.
Here are common reasons why a Windows VM runs slow on a Mac:
- Insufficient resource allocation. Not enough RAM or CPU has been assigned to the Windows VM during the setting.
- Limited storage space of your Mac. VMs are resource-hungry apps and need significant disk space to save app cache, user logs, scripts, etc., and maintain their performance.
- Outdated virtual machine software. Using outdated versions of the VM software can lead to inefficiencies and slowdowns.
- Interference from other programs. Running a lot of programs on your Mac can slow down the VM software as they share the resources of the Mac.
- System bugs. Temporary errors in the current macOS lag the performance.
Conclusion
Windows VM runs slow on your Mac can result from multiple reasons. Follow the solutions in our post is the quickest way to troubleshoot the issue. Among the causes, insufficient resource allocation for your VM and lack of storage space on your Mac are the most common ones.
Simply reset the RAM and processor settings in the virtualization software and free up disk space on your Mac with iBoysoft DiskGeeker for Mac will help you quickly handle this trouble.
