VMware GSX Server 2.5.2

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Windows 95 and Windows 98 Guest Operating System Performance Tips

This section offers advice for configuring a Windows 95 or Windows 98 guest operating system for better performance inside a GSX Server virtual machine.

Note: This section pertains to the guest operating system that is running inside a virtual machine. It does not describe actions that should be taken on a client.

Guest Operating System Selection

Make certain you have selected the correct guest operating system in the Configuration Editor — Settings > Configuration Editor > Options (on Windows hosts) or Settings > Configuration Editor > Misc (on Linux hosts).

VMware Tools

Make certain VMware Tools is installed. VMware Tools provides an optimized SVGA driver and sets up the VMware Tools service to run automatically when the system starts. Among other things, the VMware Tools service allows you to synchronize the virtual machine's clock with the host computer's clock, which can improve performance for some functions. You install VMware Tools by choosing Settings > VMware Tools Install.

DMA Mode for IDE Disks

Windows 95 OSR2 and later (including Windows 98) can use direct memory access (DMA) for faster IDE hard disk access. However, DMA may not be enabled by default.

You can turn on DMA access using the guest operating system's Device Manager.

Right-click My Computer and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
Click the + sign beside Disk Drives to show your virtual machine's individual drives.
Right-click the entry for each IDE drive to open its properties dialog box.
Under Settings, check the DMA box and accept any warning Windows displays.
Restart Windows for the new settings to take effect.

Full Screen Mode

Run your virtual machine in full screen mode. Click the Full Screen button on the local console toolbar. You can use full screen mode only when the virtual machine is running in a local console.

Swap File Usage

In your system.ini file, in the [386enh] section, add the following line:

ConservativeSwapFileUsage=1

Disconnect CD-ROM and /dev/rtc

Using the Devices menu, disconnect your CD-ROM drive if you do not need to use it.

If you are using a Linux host and have a Windows 95 guest, also disconnect /dev/rtc. Do not disconnect it in a Windows 98 guest.

Disconnecting these devices reduces CPU usage.

Note: The time synchronization feature in VMware Tools does not rely on /dev/rtc.

Visual Effects

Windows 98 has a number of visual effects, designed to be attractive, that place unnecessary demands on the graphics emulation in GSX Server. Some users have seen performance improvements when they turn off these special effects.

To modify these settings, right-click on the desktop of your virtual machine, then select Properties from the pop-up menu. Click the Effects tab and uncheck the Animate windows, menus, and lists check box.

Also, if you have Show window contents while dragging checked, try unchecking that check box.

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