Hi: I Have an HP OMEN 16 Gaming Laptop with the following specs: * OS Windows 11 Pro x64 * RAM 16 GB * Storage 512 GB SSD * Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU and Integrated Intel UHD Graphics NOTE: I keep all my VMs (and their HDD files) on an external Western Digital USB 3.0 HDD that is ~4TB to conserve on SSD Write cycles and to allow me to port the VMs a lot easier. My question is: What can I do (e.g. disabling services, going through startup tasks, etc.) to free up as much resources (mainly RAM) to be able to run as many VMs comfortably to where performance in the VMs are not impacted. If there is a list of services I can turn off, apps I can run, etc. That would be great as I practically live out of various VMs for medical reasons and I don't need them impacted. Basically I want to squeeze every last possible bit of performance out of my machine and only really run VMWare Workstation, FirreFox Browser, Office, and certain other medical apps directly in the hardware everything else should be virtualized in a VM Any help in that matter would be much appreciated.
Hello, Sorry for going little off topic but pointing out few things according to my understanding. Wrong Question VMWare itself doesn't need that much of optimization to free up resources since its your Windows which needs optimizing so question is how to reduce Windows 11 Pro RAM / Resource footprint. There are multiple articles here in this forum already that concentrates on how to trip down Windows 11 down to bare minimum. Wrong HyperVisor If Virtualization is the main need, then Windows + VMWare may not be the best choice. If you really need Windows as your HyperVisor, then Windows + Hyper-V may be something you need to look into. If VMWare is something you need, then VMware ESXi. Bare metal HyperVisors like Proxmox, VMware ESXi will consume next to nothing in terms of platform Host OS and let the VMs use the entire hardware Wrong Hardware Laptop platform is really not meant for VMs for living. You needed at least a Desktop (High core count CPU) with min 4 RAM Slots to allow more RAM. 16Gb won't cut it for multiple VMs. Consolidate Consider consolidating your workloads in single VMs. Using technologies like Docker and such containers. Every VM you deploy will have it's own overhead resource consumption. With your tight budget of 16GB RAM, that is something you need to cut down on. Upgrade the RAM Add more RAM ASAP. Consider Used Market -> Desktop PCs / Old Servers Long term solution for you need would be dedicated Desktop / Server. If budget is a concern, then look in used market for some older generation but consumer grade business desktops with lucrative deals. Older generation Intel i7 PCs with 4 RAM slots should be a target. Add MAX possible RAM and deploy Bare Metal Hyper Visors. Thanks.
On it! In response to it all: 1) Windows is required for certain medical apps (e.g. the body-camera software to pull video off it) 2) I don't have the room or the best environment plus budget is the killer so I'm stuck with running it all on a laptop that sits on the kitchen table that I practically sit in front of all day dealing with this crap 3) One of my medical apps that is virtualized needs AD, MS SQL, and at least 1 dedicated box (MS CRM 4.0) 4) All my software is old AF due to another of my medical conditions... change in workflow is the enemy. I am one of those "back in my day..." type people who only moves either 1) when I'm good and ready to and/or 2) if I have no choice (e.g. Windows 7 won't run on this machine to the best of my knowledge so I'm stuck on Windows 11 whether I like it or not) 5) My dream setup would be period-correct hardware in a dedicated closet and then I just RDS into the one machine and off I go thus actually using my laptop as intended (as a client device). Since my dream setup is not possible or even anything remotely close to it; my next best action is to upgrade the RAM to the max this machine will handle which is 32 GB. But yes you do bring up valid points. and you're right the question I asked is the wrong question indeed
Spending hours in trying to trim down Windows 11 or downgrading to unsupported and most importantly out dated Windows 7 may not be the best choice. Trimming down Win 11 may have it's own risks of unstable system. Since it's your bread n butter, its better to look for stability over possibility of trimming down few hundred MB of RAM consumption. Most viable option seems upgrading to 32GB. That should allow enough headroom for multiple legacy OS VMs !! Thanks.
Let's just be honest for a second: if those VMs stop... my whole world stops right along with them as without my CRM to manage scheduling, contacts, service incidents, medical appointments, security incidents, etc... I'm sunk! I have severe memory loss and thus the body-camera, CRM, OneNote 2010, and my iPhone notes and reminders apps have all become my red and white life preserver keeping me afloat in a sea of constant change. I've found having most of the VMs on 512 MB RAM is not enough :-( having the CRM Server (IIS) on 1.5 GB, and the SQL 2005 in 1 GB is barely pushing it... hell, I'd love to throw in MS exchange for shared calendar and share point and run multiple instance of this (OK maybe the multiple instances is a dream to allow me to practice client networking, AD etc. so I don't blow up my "real" system) Given all my medical conditions, just imagine this (it's how I see myself in my head anyway definitely NOT my reality by a long shot): iPad, phones, etc. all mounted up where I can easily see them and interact with them, computer on my back acting as the "medical backbone", DVR mounted to my chest, and having it all wired up and connected to the back of my head with like CAT-6... like some sort of cyborg. That's the effect of it but less dramatic since even modifying how my devices work (i've had hospitals literally rip out the very iPad I use to communicate from my hands) so if I were truly "fully integrated... they'd have a hard(er) time doing that considering that the devices would literally be part of me. My doctors have said it best: my hardware is like an extension of my body. You wouldn't rip someone's arm out the socket because of "hospital policy" so why do the same with my gear? and sadly my body and my devices bear the physical scars of trying to fight back against unreasonable people in hospitals. So yeah... since I practically live out of various VMs... I think I'll see if the doctors can write me a note for a RAM upgrade (OK they cannot do that... but I'll just save up for it after replacing other critical systems that were damaged during the last hospital incident) So all of that leaves me with the question of: What's my next best action in the interim until I can get that RAM upgrade?
Pardon me, I apologies, I didn't get the meaning when you first wrote living out of VM. There is only so much one can do when it comes to RAM consumption on bare minimum level. But still, kindly list in details, point by point, how many VMs you are running. Which OS on each VM along with what software (version, type etc). Ideally speaking, when you LIFE depends on these things. It is best to have some professional handle your setup, and do that physically on site!! It is really not a good idea to have some random stranger on an Internet forum advice you setup instructions!! Thanks.
OK let's see here: [Initial Response] 1) "Living out of VMs" means that a lot of my most critical activities are handled inside of VMs. The only activities that I do on the host computer are web browser, MS Office 2010, Axon Evidence Sync, iTunes, and The Sims 3 2) I had an on-site department when I lived in 2 previous locations; but since I moved elsewhere to get better medical care my entire operations team is remote so no local ITS team for me :-( Plus this computer is a new one and not the one given me initially by IT (that computer is long dead). My IT department can advise me over the phone and over email or IM but if they need to come out then it "better be a damned good reason...." since they'd be on the hook for their own gas, travel time, etc. Our head of IT basically said "You run your own infrastructure so it's closer to you at all times and is not impacted by events here at central or your jank internet connection. We can help to the best of our abilities by phone, email, ticket, or chat; but you should learn how to troubleshoot it on your own. We encourage you to use google to find more immediate solutions especially on Microsoft's website since you're completely in a MS environment. Should that fail you, don't be afraid to reach out on user-specific forums. If you don't need immediate help, contact us." Basically how I see this thread is "just a giant support ticket with a wider, more diverse set of IT pros." more so more "random strangers on the internet", and the more diverse set of thoughts, opinions, and suggestions I can get (since it's not life-and-death urgent) the better. My IT department has already said "your next best action after fixing other critical systems that are down is to upgrade the RAM" so until I can do that; I guess taking whatever suggestions I can get my hands on the better. [VM Setups] It is important to note that I work on "Configuration Profiles" meaning that I activate different VMs for different tasks so I'll describe each profile. [Casual Computing:] No. of VMs: 0 [SetupBuilder Developer Workflow] No. of VMs: 1 OS Windows 7 (32 Bits) RAM 2 GB Processor Cores: 2 Network: Bridged Apps: Lindersoft SetupBuilder 10 Developer (2019.7) which is an installation IDE [Medical Workflow] No. of VMs: Min: 8 // Max: 10 Unless Otherwise noted all VMs in this config are the following specifications: * OS: Server 2008 Enterprise or standard * RAM: 512 MB * CPU Cores: 2 * Networking: Bridged * Storage: 512 GB virtual disk (VMDK) 2GB Split Dynamically allocated ** Border Router >> OS: Windows Server 2003 Standard >> RAM 256 MB >> HDD 80 GB >> Network Bridged >> Network #2 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> Server Roles DNS Server, DHCP Server ** Site Router: >> OS: Windows Server 2008 Standard >> RAM 512 MB >> HDD 80 GB >> Network #1 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> Server Roles DNS Server, DHCP Server * (2x) Site DCs >> OS: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise >> RAM 512 MB >> HDD 256 GB >> Network #1 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> Server Roles DNS Server, DHCP Server, AD DS, TS Licensing^^ ^^ NOTES: Only one box runs TS Licensing * SQL Server >> OS: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise >> RAM 1.5 GB >> HDD 80 GB >> Network #1 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> SQL Server 2005 Enterprise (Database Services, Reporting Services), IIS * CRM Server >> OS: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise >> RAM 1.5 GB >> HDD 80 GB >> Network #1 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Enterprise, IIS * Exchange 2003[^^2] >> OS: Windows Server 2003 Standard >> RAM 1.0 GB >> HDD 80 GB >> Network #1 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> Exchange Server 2003 SP2, IIS * Sharepoint 2007[^^2] >> OS: Windows Server 2003 Standard >> RAM 1.9 GB >> HDD 80 GB >> Network #1 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> SharePoint Server, IIS * RDS (Formerly Terminal Services) >> OS: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise >> RAM 2.5 GB >> HDD 80 GB >> Network #1 Bridged >> Network #2 LAN Segment (Rack 00 Production) >> Network #3 Host-Only >> Remote Desktop Services[^^3] running IE, Office 2010, FileMaker 12 Advanced, Inspiration 9.0, Adobe PhotoShop, DreamWeaver CS3, Edline GradeQuick, ExamView 8.1, Office 2010 Enterprise NOTES: ^^2: These VMs can be powered off and unless I _absolutely_ need them, they remain powered off ^^3: Not all apps run simultaneously, workloads vary based on number of active connections. Hope this more detailed plan out helps see where the bottle neck is! Thanks again for your help.
Hi, Wow, with that many VMs, it's a miracle that you are managing with 16GB total system RAM. Add more RAM ASAP. Thanks.
i have a great script to take down vmware workstation any version any build to use very minimal resources on any host os. i wont share it
my dear friends sorry to say that i restrict myself to share anything because of a person always behind me to defame my script coding as well as insult me for hard work i do on any special MDL project. i hope all of you know who i am reffering to here. i will share it on some other domain forums tmrw cuz those turkish forum people always appreciate my work . Edit : as an example i have shared a very very small part of that script here a long ago. [REPO/HOW-TO/CHAT] Audit/Sysprep/Generalize; Setupcomplete/Firstlogon; Silent Install
@(\_/)^(\_/) Whatever reason is good Those turkish forum people will hopefully meet your satisfacitaton They will anyway get the knowledge through MDL
UPDATE: Just wanted to pop in and say that I got the 32 GB RAM. Next Actions now that iPads and other systems are fixed is to get another SSD internal and look at external USB SSDs and transitioning the VM storage to them. Sorry for the late reply, been having health issues :-(
Frankly if your main concern is to minimize the ram used/maximize the number of WM you can run at the same time you're just using the wrong tool. Vmware does it's best for personal usage, as an easy tool to do retrogaming or to have easy usb connectivity On the other hand if you use mainly work applications on many VMs Hyper-V is a way better choice, mainly because the dynamic RAM (the machines uses only the ram they need in a definite moment, not the ram you configured initially), but also because a sane way to autostartup/shutdown/restore VMs. And last but not least because the convenience ov VHDX that can be mounted natively, can be accessed by tools like DISM/Wimlib and also because VHD[X] can be booted natively not just on VM but also on baremetal, with next to zero effort.
thank you very much for the suggestion! Is there an easy way to transition from vmware to hyper V? Also, a feature I use in VMware that I do not know if it exists or not is the private LAN segments that allow only the virtual machines on them basically a blank virtual switch
With recent OS there is little to transition. Just convert your vmdk to vhdx using the Starwind converter, create a HV machine, add that converted disk to it, and boot With older OS like XP/server 2003/Vista you have to add also the equivalent of the vmware tools, and that ISO isn't provided on Win10/Server 2016-2022 (but you can easily grab it from a w8.1/Server2012R2 media). BTW the main access in HV is intended as RDP connection, not trough the HV console. More or less the networking is not that different using any of the most common virtualization SW. Just try on a single machine to familiarize and understand if it fits your needs, before going full steam to mass conversions P.S. Remember that Hyper-V and VMware can run at the same time only starting from VMware 15.5.5 and starting from Windows 19041.242, and even with those requirements statisfied, take in account that even if for the user they are running side-by side, technically the whole baremetal OS and then also VMware are running INSIDE HV, hence the performance of VMware are reduced when HV is enabled.
awesome! I will definitely work on this a but later this week. I am rebuilding the infrastructure anyway so this could’ve come at a better time