Windows XP (VPC 2007 SP1) guest REALLY slow/hangs!!

Hi,

I created a guest, running Windows XP Professional, using VPC 2007 SP1.
This was on Windows 7 64-bit.

That VPC guest is/was running fine.

I shutdown the guest, and copied the VHD files (there are 3 for this
guest) and the VMC file, and took them to the office.

At the office, I have a machine running Windows 2003, also with VPC 2007
SP1.

I copied the VMC and VHD files, and added the guest to VPC 2007 SP1
using "Add an existing virtual machine".

When I tried to run the guest, it was REALLY slow, and actually after
shutting down the guest and starting it again, it eventually got to the
point that during the startup, when it's displaying the scrolling bar,
the bar stopped scrolling completely. I waited quite awhile, but the
guest just hung at that point ...

I removed the guest from VPC, and re-copied the files, and each time, it
did the same thing.

When it hangs, the status on the bottom of the guest window shows no
disk or network activity.

I also tried setting the guest network to "Local only", and still the
same thing.

I also tried setting processor affinity on VirtualPC.exe to a single
CPU, but same thing...

I haven't tried using just the VHD files, without the copied VMC file,
yet, but has anyone seen anything like that, and know what to do about
this problem?

Thanks,
Jim

On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:33:05 -0500, ohaya <> wrote:

>I haven't tried using just the VHD files, without the copied VMC file,
>yet, but has anyone seen anything like that, and know what to do about
>this problem?

That is exactly what you should have done!
Never copy the vmc file when you move a virtual machine to a different
host! Just create a new one on the new host and then let it use the
existing VHD files.

--

Bo Berglund (Sweden)

On 1/26/2010 9:04 AM, Bo Berglund wrote:
> On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:33:05 -0500, ohaya<> wrote:
>
>> I haven't tried using just the VHD files, without the copied VMC file,
>> yet, but has anyone seen anything like that, and know what to do about
>> this problem?
>
> That is exactly what you should have done!
> Never copy the vmc file when you move a virtual machine to a different
> host! Just create a new one on the new host and then let it use the
> existing VHD files.
>


Bo,

Yes, that was what I thought about AFTER I got home ...

I'll give it a try again when I'm back in the office.

Thanks,
Jim

On 1/26/2010 2:26 PM, ohaya wrote:
> On 1/26/2010 9:04 AM, Bo Berglund wrote:
>> On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:33:05 -0500, ohaya<> wrote:
>>
>>> I haven't tried using just the VHD files, without the copied VMC file,
>>> yet, but has anyone seen anything like that, and know what to do about
>>> this problem?
>>
>> That is exactly what you should have done!
>> Never copy the vmc file when you move a virtual machine to a different
>> host! Just create a new one on the new host and then let it use the
>> existing VHD files.
>>
>
>
> Bo,
>
> Yes, that was what I thought about AFTER I got home ...
>
> I'll give it a try again when I'm back in the office.
>
> Thanks,
> Jim


Bo,

Actually, I've noticed that this same problem is happening on the
original guest, on the original machine where I created the guest. I
just was doing some work with the guest today, and I had shut it down
about 1/2 hour ago, and I tried starting it again, and now it's hung on
that scrolling bar page !!


I'm running VPC 2007 SP1, and I have a lot of other guests, and it's
only having this problem with this one Windows XP Pro guest. The VPC
Additions are installed on the guest.

Any idea why this is happening? Is there something about WinXP Pro when
it's a guest (this may be the only XP Pro guest I have..).

Thanks,
Jim

On 1/27/2010 7:58 PM, ohaya wrote:
> On 1/26/2010 2:26 PM, ohaya wrote:
>> On 1/26/2010 9:04 AM, Bo Berglund wrote:
>>> On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:33:05 -0500, ohaya<> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I haven't tried using just the VHD files, without the copied VMC file,
>>>> yet, but has anyone seen anything like that, and know what to do about
>>>> this problem?
>>>
>>> That is exactly what you should have done!
>>> Never copy the vmc file when you move a virtual machine to a different
>>> host! Just create a new one on the new host and then let it use the
>>> existing VHD files.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Bo,
>>
>> Yes, that was what I thought about AFTER I got home ...
>>
>> I'll give it a try again when I'm back in the office.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jim
>
>
> Bo,
>
> Actually, I've noticed that this same problem is happening on the
> original guest, on the original machine where I created the guest. I
> just was doing some work with the guest today, and I had shut it down
> about 1/2 hour ago, and I tried starting it again, and now it's hung on
> that scrolling bar page !!
>
>
> I'm running VPC 2007 SP1, and I have a lot of other guests, and it's
> only having this problem with this one Windows XP Pro guest. The VPC
> Additions are installed on the guest.
>
> Any idea why this is happening? Is there something about WinXP Pro when
> it's a guest (this may be the only XP Pro guest I have..).
>
> Thanks,
> Jim


Hi,

This is getting a little strange ... After about 4 minutes stalled,
the guest started running again...

I've tried this a couple of times, and it's similar each time. Win XP
Pro stalls at startup for about 3-4 minutes.

Any ideas?

My host is Win7 64-bit Ultimate.

Thanks,
Jim

On 1/27/2010 8:16 PM, ohaya wrote:
> On 1/27/2010 7:58 PM, ohaya wrote:
>> On 1/26/2010 2:26 PM, ohaya wrote:
>>> On 1/26/2010 9:04 AM, Bo Berglund wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:33:05 -0500, ohaya<> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I haven't tried using just the VHD files, without the copied VMC file,
>>>>> yet, but has anyone seen anything like that, and know what to do about
>>>>> this problem?
>>>>
>>>> That is exactly what you should have done!
>>>> Never copy the vmc file when you move a virtual machine to a different
>>>> host! Just create a new one on the new host and then let it use the
>>>> existing VHD files.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Bo,
>>>
>>> Yes, that was what I thought about AFTER I got home ...
>>>
>>> I'll give it a try again when I'm back in the office.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Jim
>>
>>
>> Bo,
>>
>> Actually, I've noticed that this same problem is happening on the
>> original guest, on the original machine where I created the guest. I
>> just was doing some work with the guest today, and I had shut it down
>> about 1/2 hour ago, and I tried starting it again, and now it's hung on
>> that scrolling bar page !!
>>
>>
>> I'm running VPC 2007 SP1, and I have a lot of other guests, and it's
>> only having this problem with this one Windows XP Pro guest. The VPC
>> Additions are installed on the guest.
>>
>> Any idea why this is happening? Is there something about WinXP Pro when
>> it's a guest (this may be the only XP Pro guest I have..).
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jim
>
>
> Hi,
>
> This is getting a little strange ... After about 4 minutes stalled,
> the guest started running again...
>
> I've tried this a couple of times, and it's similar each time. Win XP
> Pro stalls at startup for about 3-4 minutes.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> My host is Win7 64-bit Ultimate.
>
> Thanks,
> Jim


Hi,

Now, it seems to stall completely at startup, on the windows where
there's the scrolling bar. The bar scrolls for awhile, but then it
stops completely, and no disk activity.

I've tried setting processor affinity for VirtualPC.exe, but still the same.

Is this a problem with VPC 2007 on a Win7 host, or is it a problem with
the VPC guest itself?

Thanks,
Jim

P.S. I have other WinXP Home guests that always startup fine. It's
only this one WinXP Pro guest (and this is my only WinXP Pro guest, BTW)...

I have a XP Pro session that started the same thing this weekend. It won't let me change to the Last Known Good Configuration as I am VNCed into the Host computer. The host is XP Pro as well. Not sure what the issue is or why it just started.



ohaya wrote:

On 1/27/2010 8:16 PM, ohaya wrote:Hi,Now, it seems to stall completely at
01-Feb-10

On 1/27/2010 8:16 PM, ohaya wrote

Hi

Now, it seems to stall completely at startup, on the windows wher
there is the scrolling bar. The bar scrolls for awhile, but then i
stops completely, and no disk activity

I have tried setting processor affinity for VirtualPC.exe, but still the same

Is this a problem with VPC 2007 on a Win7 host, or is it a problem wit
the VPC guest itself

Thanks
Ji

P.S. I have other WinXP Home guests that always startup fine. it i
only this one WinXP Pro guest (and this is my only WinXP Pro guest, BTW)...

Previous Posts In This Thread:


Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
Dr. Dotnetsky's Cool .NET Tips and Tricks # 14
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...-cool-net.aspx

Hi,

Does it eventually get all the way into Windows, ever?

A couple of things I've tried are:

- If your system has more than 1 CPU, start Task Manager and right click
on "VirtualPC.exe" in processes, and select "Affinity", and check only
one CPU.

- Try to shutdown the guest, and then re-create the guest (.VMX file)
again from scratch.

Those haven't worked for me all the time, but doing those, and killing
the guest, and starting again, I can *SOMETIMES* eventually get all the
way into Windows.

For now, I have tried to avoid shutting down Windows, and do "Save"
instead, if I can.

I wish I could figure out whether the problem is XP Pro, the XP Pro
installation, or VPC 2007 ...

Good luck,
Jim



On 2/1/2010 11:20 AM, Damian Lake wrote:
> I have a XP Pro session that started the same thing this weekend. It won't let me change to the Last Known Good Configuration as I am VNCed into the Host computer. The host is XP Pro as well. Not sure what the issue is or why it just started.
>
>
>
> ohaya wrote:
>
> On 1/27/2010 8:16 PM, ohaya wrote:Hi,Now, it seems to stall completely at
> 01-Feb-10
>
> On 1/27/2010 8:16 PM, ohaya wrote:
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Now, it seems to stall completely at startup, on the windows where
> there is the scrolling bar. The bar scrolls for awhile, but then it
> stops completely, and no disk activity.
>
> I have tried setting processor affinity for VirtualPC.exe, but still the same.
>
> Is this a problem with VPC 2007 on a Win7 host, or is it a problem with
> the VPC guest itself?
>
> Thanks,
> Jim
>
> P.S. I have other WinXP Home guests that always startup fine. it is
> only this one WinXP Pro guest (and this is my only WinXP Pro guest, BTW)...
>
> Previous Posts In This Thread:
>
>
> Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
> Dr. Dotnetsky's Cool .NET Tips and Tricks # 14
> http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...-cool-net.aspx

On 2/2/2010 12:20 AM, ohaya wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Does it eventually get all the way into Windows, ever?
>
> A couple of things I've tried are:
>
> - If your system has more than 1 CPU, start Task Manager and right click
> on "VirtualPC.exe" in processes, and select "Affinity", and check only
> one CPU.
>
> - Try to shutdown the guest, and then re-create the guest (.VMX file)
> again from scratch.
>
> Those haven't worked for me all the time, but doing those, and killing
> the guest, and starting again, I can *SOMETIMES* eventually get all the
> way into Windows.
>
> For now, I have tried to avoid shutting down Windows, and do "Save"
> instead, if I can.
>
> I wish I could figure out whether the problem is XP Pro, the XP Pro
> installation, or VPC 2007 ...
>
> Good luck,
> Jim
>
>
>
> On 2/1/2010 11:20 AM, Damian Lake wrote:
>> I have a XP Pro session that started the same thing this weekend. It
>> won't let me change to the Last Known Good Configuration as I am VNCed
>> into the Host computer. The host is XP Pro as well. Not sure what the
>> issue is or why it just started.
>>
>>
>>
>> ohaya wrote:
>>
>> On 1/27/2010 8:16 PM, ohaya wrote:Hi,Now, it seems to stall completely at
>> 01-Feb-10
>>
>> On 1/27/2010 8:16 PM, ohaya wrote:
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Now, it seems to stall completely at startup, on the windows where
>> there is the scrolling bar. The bar scrolls for awhile, but then it
>> stops completely, and no disk activity.
>>
>> I have tried setting processor affinity for VirtualPC.exe, but still
>> the same.
>>
>> Is this a problem with VPC 2007 on a Win7 host, or is it a problem with
>> the VPC guest itself?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jim
>>
>> P.S. I have other WinXP Home guests that always startup fine. it is
>> only this one WinXP Pro guest (and this is my only WinXP Pro guest,
>> BTW)...
>>
>> Previous Posts In This Thread:
>>
>>
>> Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
>> Dr. Dotnetsky's Cool .NET Tips and Tricks # 14
>> http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...-cool-net.aspx
>>
>


Hi,

I don't know exactly what the problem was, but I was just able to kind
of get around my problem.

I happen to have a backup image of my very original installation of
WinXP. I restored that backup image, and that boots "normally" (no more
2 minute stalling on the scrolling bar).

I think that the problem I had was on this same WinXP, but where I had
installed all of the MS updates, including SP3. As I said, the image I
restored was an image of XP immediately after I did the XP installation,
which was XP SP2.

Anyway, as I said, I don't know if one of more of the updates might've
caused the stalling problem, but, I figured I'd post this info in case
it might help someone else who encounters this problem.

Jim