Windows 10 running like a dog

[UncleBoarder]

For me Win10 is slow after a few days, maybe it's the number of apps I'm running. I've allocated 5.523GB for memory and when it starts slowing down, it slows my host (Ubuntu Mate 16.04) as well.

Host OS: Mate 16.04
VirtualBox: 5.0.24
Host memory utilization is about 90%

My WinXP guest runs fine, my Win7 ran fine, problem is only with Win10 (Build 10240)

When it gets slow, I reboot Win10 and all is fine for both the host and guest... for a few days or almost immediately if I run Outlook.

I do know that Photoshop has a minimum video memory requirement of 512 and VB maxes out at 256. I don't know if that might be related... since Win10 might be expecting more resources for general usage?

[mpack]

It seems to me that Windows Update runs more frequently in Windows 10 than in previous Windows versions. While updating it will hog network bandwidth and may also hog CPU, which you'll notice if only one core is assigned to the VM. Any other app that wants to use the network (e.g. your Internet browser) may seem very slow. If CPU is being hogged then of course everything slows down.

As has been mentioned several times already, you can pinpoint which tasks are going slower by looking at the task list in Windows.

[ryangorley]

Just to chime in for future travelers. I was having similar issues in Windows 10 on a Linux host with dual X5650 CPUs. When setting up the VM I had just assumed more processors would be better, but by reducing the number of processors in the virtual machine to 4 it corrected most of my performance issues. Thanks to prior posters who helped.

[mpack]

but by reducing the number of processors in the virtual machine to 4 it corrected most of my performance issues

If you reduced it to 2 you'd possibly correct the rest. You have provided no information, but the odds are that you have a quad core host (hyperthreads are not cores), and therefore by assigning 4 to the guest you've left the host with none. So every time the host needs more CPU it will have to fight your VM to get it. Assigning 2 to the host and 2 to the guest should ensure that both sides of the fence have enough CPU.

[smertrios]

I'm running into the same issue with Win10...

I'm currently getting better cpu% usage (and a bit better disk%) by changing the Win10 paging file size (min = ram-size, max = 2 x min)

now while the disk% has not dropped that much, Win10 is a lot more responsive.

[craig100]

It's me again. I'm more than happy to provide logs, details, etc. to help find out why VB runs Win 10 like a dog. Just let me know what you need. I'm currently experiencing a 5 second delay between typing into a form field in Google Chrome and anything happening on the screen. I'm now on Linux Mint 18.1 Cinnamon 3.2.7 64 bit with 16GB Ram, i7 proc on the Intel GPU. Dell M3800. VB is 5.0.32_Ubuntu r112930 with latest guest additions. Latest log and vdi file attached. Let me know if you need more.
Thnx

[socratis]

VB is 5.0.32_Ubuntu r112930 with latest guest additions.

Well, that's the Ubuntu fork of VirtualBox. If you want help here, you should uninstall it and install the official one from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads and then post an updated VBox.log.zip, after a "clean-boot"/"observe error"/"complete shutdown" cycle of the VM.

Oh, and you don't have to download the Guest Additions separately, but instead install them via the Devices » Insert GA CD...

[mpack]

I'm afraid you need to go to the Ubuntu forums for support, since you are not running VirtualBox but instead the Ubuntu fork.

[craig100]

My apologies. Have just rebuilt my machine and must have got Package Manager Happy! I'll download the proper version straight away. Any advice on transferring the W10 appliance over so it doesn't need reactivating or will it "just work"?

Thanks.

[michaln]

If the problem is specific to Chrome, you would probably be better off pursuing it with Google.

[socratis]

It will just work, as long as you haven't changed the defaults. If it doesn't, you simply re-register the .vbox file of the VM.

[craig100]

Now I remember why I installed the version from the package manager. The proper Oracle version gives a dependency error when trying to install: "Error: Dependency is not satisfiable: libqt5core5a(>=5.6.0~beta)"

[socratis]

That doesn't change the facts. You either have to satisfy the dependencies (sounds like a Qt5 one), or you're going to ask for help in the Ubuntu forums.

[craig100]

It seems I'm not the only one.

https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/16258

The answer given here is to use the Ubuntu version (if I read it right). Pity.

[socratis]

The answer given here is to use the Ubuntu version (if I read it right). Pity.

No, actually you didn't read it right. From the last comment by michael (emphasis mine):

And if you are trying to install to a distribution which is not fully supported by a distribution package you are probably better using the "all distributions" package, which bundles a copy of Qt. It is not quite as elegant, but it lowers the sort of stability risks you were talking about.