Fusion Vista x64 Bootcamp Partition vs VHD

[bleepjay]

Ok, first of all, I love my new MBP and I am totally converted... except for my work (.Net Development). I've installed Vista x64 in a boot camp partition and the performance when I boot up using Boot Camp is great, exactly what I was looking for. I also like the aspect of using Fusion in Unity Mode.

I've got Fusion 2.0 beta 2 installed and I like to be able to utilize Unity mode as much as possible but it seems as if it can be a lot slower at times. Boot up can take a while and sometimes freezes on me. I know that this is in beta and I should expect some of this, but I hear others talking about how the performance in Unity is great, but I just think it is ok. Is it because I am using the Boot Camp partition in Fusion that is making a difference? I'd hate to convert to a VHD instead because I like the ability to be able to boot up in Boot Camp and use Vista natively.

I was just curious if anybody else has tried both ways and noticed the VHD to be faster.

 

[ayeying]

Ok, first of all, I love my new MBP and I am totally converted... except for my work (.Net Development). I've installed Vista x64 in a boot camp partition and the performance when I boot up using Boot Camp is great, exactly what I was looking for. I also like the aspect of using Fusion in Unity Mode.

I've got Fusion 2.0 beta 2 installed and I like to be able to utilize Unity mode as much as possible but it seems as if it can be a lot slower at times. Boot up can take a while and sometimes freezes on me. I know that this is in beta and I should expect some of this, but I hear others talking about how the performance in Unity is great, but I just think it is ok. Is it because I am using the Boot Camp partition in Fusion that is making a difference? I'd hate to convert to a VHD instead because I like the ability to be able to boot up in Boot Camp and use Vista natively.

I was just curious if anybody else has tried both ways and noticed the VHD to be faster.

I use Vista x64 Business in VMWare Fusion with boot camp and I don't have any major lags when it comes to using unity. However, my specs are incredibly low so the fact it doesn't lag too bad is great for me.

 

[bleepjay]

What about startup? I've dedicated 2.5 GB of my total 4GB RAM and it takes about 5 minutes at least to startup. Is that normal?

 

[CWallace]

That sounds about right for Vista, to be honest, based on my experience running the 64-bit edition natively from the Boot Camp partition or via VM using the non-beta version of VMWare on my 4GB MacBook Pro. It's likely more three minutes or so, but it can certainly seem like five.

 

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

I was just curious if anybody else has tried both ways and noticed the VHD to be faster.

VHD is faster, sometimes much faster. And it can be suspended and "snapshotted".

But obviously they can't be booted via Boot Camp.

 

[ayeying]

What about startup? I've dedicated 2.5 GB of my total 4GB RAM and it takes about 5 minutes at least to startup. Is that normal?

I use 512MB ram dedicated to vista boot camp. Im running this on the air btw. It takes about 1.5-2 minutes to completely boot up to log on screen.

Try selecting the window during boot up and see if that speeds it up a little. I don't know if its just me but it felt like that booted the os faster.