Windows XP guest running slow in a Win7 host

[corcky]

I have noticed sometimes that Virtual Box runs quite slowly before an upgrade to VirtualBox is released.

Today the Win 7 host underwent a Windows Update, immediately after rebooting, the virtual XP inside VirtualBox 5.1.16 r113841 (Qt5.6.2) started to grind to a very very slow pace. Outlook is failing to load or taking very long times to update and applications are not talking to a server on a network.

Is an update VirtualBox due?

Otherwise what tips can you point me to?

[mpack]

Please post a VM log file. With the VM fully shut down, right click and "Show Log" in the GUI, save "VBox.log" (no other file) to a zip, and attach the zip here.

[corcky]

I think this may be the presence of 360 security on the host that has slowed the performance of the VM

Cheers

[corcky]

Vlog file

The VM is still running slow after I removed 360 security and replaced it with MS Essentials Security


However I noticed that there is a fresh release of VirtualBox just appeared 5.18-11402. I am hoping this is a fix:)

[corcky]

I upgraded Version 5.1.18 r114002 (Qt5.6.2)
The XP VM is extremely slow so as to be useless:(

I have attached the log file

[mpack]

Which guest or host processes are hogging the CPU or I/O?

[corcky]

I have several Chrome browsers between 5 - 10 open and several Opera Browsers say 3-4 open on the host
Outlook 2007, an access 2000 database on the VM XP guest machine

[mpack]

That isn't my question. I don't want to know which processes are running, I want to know which ones are hogging CPU (or I/O).

CPU and I/O time don't just disappear, something must be using it. It ought to be easy to identify that something in the task list instead of asking for guesses (with no data) from us. Of course if something in the guest is using CPU then this will appear on the host as VirtualBox wanting CPU, so in that case the guest tasklist is important.

My guess: Windows Update, like it usually is when this question is asked.

[corcky]

On the guest 99% cpu is taken up with svchost.exe

I have discovered how to disable the automatic updates and disabled that on the XP VM.

Is that the right track?

On the host CPU usage hops about between Virtual Box (30% max) and Chrome.

[mpack]

svchost is most likely Windows Update or other network traffic which is failing and retrying a lot.

[corcky]

Thanks for pinpointing it. Brilliant.

I did try to search for previous examples in the forum. There is a bewildering array to try to come to terms with

I downloaded processxp so I can have a look at things if it slows down again.

[AColza]

Hi corcky, did you manage to solve the problem? because I too have your problem and I no longer know how to do it.