How to Fix Lag on Mac OS X in VMware

If you're experiencing lag issues while running Mac OS X under VMware, you're not alone. This problem has been reported by numerous users across various operating systems, including OS X 10.6-10.9, Windows XP, and Windows 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit). The good news is that there are a few potential solutions you can try to fix this issue.

One approach is to set the hardware version of your virtual machine to version 10. This recommendation has been suggested by other users who have successfully resolved similar problems. However, it's worth noting that even with this setting, the lag issue may still occur in certain situations.

Another possible cause of lag is saving a snapshot of your system and then later restoring it. In some cases, restoring a snapshot can trigger poor performance, which may require you to fully shut down the guest OS and restart it to resolve the issue. On the other hand, shutting down the guest OS and restarting it may help restore normal performance for a short period of time.

In general, basic interactions with your Mac OS X system can become very difficult when lag is present. For example, clicking on a menu in the menu bar may take several seconds to trigger the menu's appearance, and then additional seconds to complete the action. Similarly, moving a window around can take several seconds to complete, during which time you may see the screen slowly updating as the window moves.

The frustrating thing about this issue is that it often begins with normal performance, only to degrade over time. You may find that your system starts out running smoothly, but after an hour or two, it becomes unusably slow.

If you're experiencing similar symptoms on your own system, there are a few potential factors to consider. For example, the age of your hardware can play a role in performance issues. I'm using an early 2009 Mac Pro with 10 GB of RAM and a 2.66 Quad-Core Intel Xeon CPU, running OS X 10.10.2.

Regardless of the underlying cause, there are a few potential solutions you can try to improve performance and fix lag on your Mac OS X system in VMware. By experimenting with different hardware settings, snapshot management strategies, and system shutdown and restart procedures, you may be able to identify and resolve the root cause of the issue.

How to fix lag on mac os x in vmware