virtualbox.org

Greetings,

Short version: I am trying to run a Linux guest under a Linux host. It runs but is clearly slow.

Machine: 64-bit, 8-core I9 processor with 32 GB RAM.

Host & Guest OS: 64 bit LinuxMint 19.3

Guest config: 2-CPU, 8 GB RAM, PAE/NX enabled, Nested VT-x/AMD-V enabled, Nested Paging enabled, guest additions installed.

Logfile attached.

Longer description of the problem: The host runs fine. The guest works but is clearly sluggish. I've been using VirtualBox for years so I know what to expect. This is abnormal. For example, when I update the OS it gets stuck for a very long time (more than 5 minutes) at "Unpacking linux-headers...". Many other functions seem slower than they should be too. Booting and shutting down take longer than they should. I haven't done any other tests.

It is vitally important for me to get this working correctly. VirtualBox has always worked well for me and I've always liked it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Blake McBride

Problem solved.

I did a search on the net and discovered that others are having the same problem. One person said he fixed the problem by enabling "Use Host I/O Cache". I tried it by comparing the same VM with and without that setting. Here is what I found:

With "Use Host I/O Cache" disabled, booting took 40 seconds.

With "Use Host I/O Cache" enabled, booting took 12 seconds.


With "Use Host I/O Cache" disabled, doing a mini update took a few minutes.

With "Use Host I/O Cache" enabled, doing a mini update occurred nearly instantaneously.

I'm convinced.