How to speed up virtual machines

Virtual machines provide virtual hardware for computers and can run multiple virtual operating systems simultaneously on one computer. At the same time, it has strict requirements on computer configuration (especially memory and processor ). Although improving hardware configuration can certainly improve the running speed of virtual machines, we can also achieve the goal through other methods.
 
This article will share some tips that can best use your machine configuration to achieve the best effect, no matter what kind of virtual machine software you use (VirtualBox, Parallels, VMware ).
Install the driver package for the virtual machine after installing the virtual machine's operating system, the first thing you need to do is to install the driver package for your virtual machine. For example, the Guest Additions of VirtualBox or VMware Tools of VMware. Some special drivers in these driver packages can help the virtual machine system run faster. The method for installing the driver package is very simple.

For example, in VitualBox, after loading the operating system, click the "Devices" menu and select "Install Guest Additions ". If you are using VMware, select "Install VMware Tools" from the VM menu. You just need to follow the prompts on the screen to complete the installation, just like installing applications on your computer.
 
Make sure that the virtual machine is in the latest version. If you see updates available for Guest Additions or VMware Tools, You need to upgrade them immediately.
When creating a new virtual machine, you can select two types of Virtual Machine disks. By default, virtual machine programs will use Dynamic Disk size allocation for you. For example, if you create a virtual machine with a maximum space of 30 GB and a dynamic disk size is allocated, it does not immediately occupy 30 GB of disk space. After installing the operating system and other programs, it may only use 10 GB. When you add more files to a virtual machine, the occupied space will also increase, but the maximum value will not exceed 30 GB.
This can bring convenience to users, because virtual machines do not immediately occupy so much of your hard disk space. However, this method is slower than creating a virtual machine with a fixed disk size. When you create a virtual machine with a fixed disk size of 30 GB, the 30 GB will be allocated immediately.
 
This requires the user to make a trade-off, because a virtual opportunity with a fixed disk size immediately occupies space. But the running speed is relatively fast, and you won't see a lot of file fragments. Because these spaces are immediately allocated as a large block instead of many small fragments.
Exclude virtual machines from antivirus software scanning items when the antivirus software scans, It scans virtual machine files, which reduces the running speed of virtual machines. Anti-virus software cannot detect viruses by checking the operating system files in the Virtual Machine. Therefore, scanning a virtual machine is effort-consuming.
You can exclude the Virtual Machine directory from the scan items of the anti-virus software. As a result, the anti-virus software will automatically exclude the virtual machine files during the scan.
 
Allocate more memory space the VM occupies a lot of computer memory. Microsoft recommends that the 64-bit Windows 7 system be equipped with 2 GB of memory, which is also applicable to virtual machines. If you need to run a program that occupies a large amount of memory in a virtual machine, you need more than 2 GB of memory.
 
You can allocate more RAM to the VM in the VM settings window. Note that the operating system of the VM must be disabled. If your computer cannot provide enough memory for Virtual Machine programs and other applications, your machine will be stuck.
Allocate more CPUs. If your computer uses a multi-core processor, you can allocate more CPUs to the virtual machine in the setting window. A virtual machine with a dual-core or even quad-core processor can respond more quickly, which is the same as the computer itself using a multi-core processor.
 
Adjust video settings adjust video settings, allocate a larger video processor memory to the virtual machine can significantly improve the running speed of the virtual machine. For example, enabling 2D acceleration in VitualBox can accelerate the response speed of video playback, and enabling 3D acceleration can be more handy when running 3D applications.
 
Make sure that your Intel VT-x or AMD-V is open to Intel VT-x and AMD-V is a special processor extended feature to accelerate virtualization. The new Intel and AMD processors have their own functions. Some computers do not enable VT-x or AMD-V automatically, You need to manually set in BIOS.
 
Storing VM files in other hard disk partitions limits the speed of your VM. Placing virtual machine files in a non-system partition can improve the performance of the virtual machine. In this way, your virtual machine and the computer master operating system will not compete with each other because they read and write files from the same disk.
 
Do not completely shut down the virtual machine operating system. When the virtual machine is used up, be sure to save the current status rather than completely shut down the virtual machine. In this way, you can directly restore to the original state when starting the virtual machine without re-loading the operating system.
 
This is just like using the sleep function of the computer. The VM program will save the status of the current file and automatically load it the next time the VM is started. To improve performance in a virtual machine, we can do the same in a virtual machine as in a computer. For example, reducing the number of background programs and startup items can accelerate the loading speed of the virtual machine operating system and reduce the amount of RAM occupied by the virtual machine.
If there is no Internet connection, we do not need to install anti-virus software for the operating system in the virtual machine. It only reduces the running speed of virtual machines. Of course, if you need to use a virtual machine to connect to the Internet, you can weigh the running speed and security to determine whether to install anti-virus software.
Using the disk cleanup program in a virtual machine you can use the disk cleanup program in the virtual machine to improve the performance of the virtual machine, just as using the disk cleanup program in the computer is a truth. However, if you select to allocate the disk size as needed when creating a virtual machine, the disk will be cleaned up for a long time. VMware comes with a disk cleanup program. When using VirtualBox, you need to consider using other disk cleanup tools.
 
Users have different opinions on which virtual machine is used at a higher speed when trying other virtual machine programs. In fact, the speed of virtual machines depends on many factors, including the main operating system, virtual machine operating system, system structure, and other factors. However, if you feel that the virtual machine you use has not achieved the expected results, you can try other virtual machines.