computer question

[K Barrett]

I have a macbook laptop I only use for orchid judging. Operating systems are OSX, Parallels 3.0 and XP Pro. It has Intel core 2 duo 2.00 ghz, 2 Gb SDram memory, and a 200 Gb harddrive. So it should be quicker than it is. It seems like I'm always the last person to pull up an award at the judging table.

I think the trouble may lie in Parallels. I've updated once or twice and it got slower after that. I have some time off, so I was thinking about deleting all virtual machines, reinstalling the first version of Parallels, and then reinstalling all my programs - argh - no I won't do that.... its a pain in the ass to reinstall these proprietary orchid programs, they always need new access #s.

So that leaves me with trying to repair Parallels without disturbing the virtual machine..... and I don't know if that can be done....

Can I just reload the original Parallels program in the mac's OSX without disturbing the virtual machine? It'll just overwrite itself, right? Or can I delete any upgrades, leaving the original Parallels intact and the virtual machine intact?

Maybe I should just leave well enough alone.

K Barrett

[pakrat]

[SNEEP]. Okay, nothing in what you wrote explains why you are running something under Windows XP under OSX. Nor do you explain what is involved in pulling up an award, whether the application is up and running already and you then pull up an award and whether you retrieve that award from a database on the local harddisk, or from a database residing on the network, or from a web application.

Possibilities.

1) Judging software only runs under Windows XP 2) Judging software requires win32 APIs 3) Judging software requires IE6 4) Everyone else is using hibernate and suspend to ram, you're booting it from a cold stop each time. 5) Handwaving relating to the network and DNS. 6) Handwaving relating to memory.

Let's start with the easy one, #4. If you're waiting to boot the thing until you get there, stop doing that. Get everything ready to go when you pack, and preferably suspend to ram. If travel time is longer than the battery will keep the suspended state in ram, hibernate, or invest in an inverter to provide juice while you travel.

#1, #2, #3) If orchid judging requires something microsoft windows specific, then start with something that runs Microsoft Windows natively. The options would be. a) Get a new non-mac laptop and add the Vista to XP upgrade to the purchase. b) Obtain 'bootcamp' from Apple and have the laptop run XP natively. (You get a little boot menu to pick whether to boot to OSX or to boot to XP). c) Obtain 'bootcamp' from Apple, and a replacement harddrive so you can setup XP to run natively without dorking up whatever you've currently done.

#2, #3) If just the win32 APIs are needed run the software under WINE instead of a full machine emulator see

The products from CodeWeavers may be an other option if you're one to call for support.

#3) Contact me offline if you need IE6 pre-bundled to run under WINE.

#6) I found XP to be an unpleasant experience with less than 1G of ram devoted to it, and that's with as much garbage turned off as possible. See if you can get Parallels to allocate 1.5G of ram to the virtual machine.

#5) I know nothing about how parallels virtualizes the network and insulates the user from such things. I do know that OSX has some adhoc nameservice capabilities that can slow things down if they are the first to be used and noone else is using them on the network.

[K Barrett]

The orchid programs are written for the Windows operating system. Parallels is like Bootcamp or Virtual PC, Its a program that allows a 'virtual machine' to be created, so you can run windows and your windows programs.

Nor do you explain what is involved in pulling

The award data is stored in teh program's database on the computer's harddrive from an application that is running already. No network. No web application.

Parallels asks if you want to optimize the computer to run under OSX or XP. I can't recall which I chose, but suspect it was OSX. I have given the maximum amount of memory and hardisk space to the XP side of the computer, which should be 1GB memory. The second Parallels upgrade allowed access of some programs from one operating system by the other. I think I mis installed that upgrade becasue it got slower after that. I didn't know how to answer some of the installer wizard's questions, so made a best guess. I think I guessed wrong, *G*.

I wound up searching the Parallels support FAQs and there's a way to delete teh 3.0 upgrade, which I barely understand.... so for right now I'm just going to leave it.

Thanks for answering, Chris. The WINE idea seems very simple. And I'm all for KISS.

K Barrett

[pakrat]

bootcamp allows other operating systems to run natively on Intel based Apple hardware. Parallels provides the ability to create a virtual machine.

"If your only tool is a hammer, after a while, everything starts looking like a thumb." That you may have mistuned optimization on parallels is somewhat irrelevant as you have hardware that can run XP natively. Native is roughly equivalent to being fluent in Spanish. Virtualized is roughly equivalent to giving the illusion of being fluent in Spanish over the phone as you flip through the dictionary. Optimized virtualization is where you've memorized important phrases like "Where are the toilets?"

Unless you're talking IBM mainframe hardware or commodity microcontrollers, the general rule of thumb is "A virtualized current machine runs slower than a native current machine."

You paid more money, have twice as much computer software to maintain, and probably violated the license agreement for Microsoft Windows XP to be able to run the judging software slower. I like fiddling with computers and I like virtualization, but unless the goal is to pack fewer laptops in my luggage or save money in a server room, when I'm forced to use Windows to get a job done I run it natively. If it were me using a laptop only for judging, I would have just bought the cheapest XP laptop that ran fast enough and been done with it. If I was also planning to use the laptop for other things once judging was done, well windows makes a great dumb terminal to my colo box :-). If I didn't have that option, I'd dual boot (The point of boot camp).

The other option since it's supposedly only a single application is to see if it can be made to work under WINE. Think of that as being a quebecer driving in the rest of Canada. Most of the driving is the same, just sometimes you have to look further down the road signs to tell what's going on.

By the KISS principle. If the laptop is only to be used for orchid judging and the orchid judging software only runs under Microsoft Windows, then get the cheapest laptop that is sufficient to run Microsoft Windows and the judging software. If there is insufficient budget for another laptop, then using bootcamp to make the laptop dual boot OSX/XP is probably the wiser option.

[BIO-Dex Consulting]

Karen,

My professional opinion is that Pakrat is 100% correct and the bootcamp is the exact same solution that my Mac tech offered for this problem when I posed it to him.

Yours Sincerely

Kye Tanson