Troubleshooting a Fusion virtual machine that uses 100% of the Mac's CPU
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Troubleshooting a Fusion virtual machine that uses 100% of the Mac's CPU

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Article ID: 328427

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Updated On:

Products

VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

This article lists the troubleshooting steps to follow when a Fusion virtual machine is using almost none of its own CPU, but the Mac's CPU is showing high activity.
 
Note: For information about troubleshooting a Fusion virtual machine that uses 100% of the Guest CPU, see Troubleshooting a Fusion virtual machine that uses 100% of the guest CPU (1027674).


Symptoms:
  • Both the Fusion virtual machine and the Mac are slow to respond
  • 100% of the Mac's CPU is being used, but the virtual machine shows little or no activity
  • Applications on both the Mac and the virtual machine are frozen or do not respond


Resolution

To troubleshoot a Fusion virtual machine that uses 100% of the Mac's CPU:
 
Note: Each step below provides instructions and a link to a document, for performing the step and taking corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and to identify the proper resolution. They are also ordered in the most appropriate sequence to minimize data loss. After completing each step, restart the virtual machine and see if it is more responsive and uses less of the CPU. Work through each troubleshooting step in order, and do not skip a step.
  1. Check the Activity Manager and ensure that the VMware processes are using the CPU resources. For more information, see Investigating whether a Fusion virtual machine is powered on (1020743).

    Notes:
    • To see only the VMware processes, filter by the word VMware.
    • If one or more other processes are using the CPU resources and the Fusion processes are not, contact the manufacturer(s) of those processes.
       
  2. Ensure that you have not allocated too many resources many from your Mac to your virtual machine. If you have allocated too much RAM or too many CPUs, both the Mac and the virtual machine try to use the same resources and spend more time in switching back and forth than actually using the resources. For more information, see Investigating virtual machine resources in VMware Fusion (1022213).

    Note: In Fusion 7.x and 8.x, assigning more Shared Graphics memory to the virtual machine might cause performance issue because the Graphics Memory is actually given from Host Physical Memory. To change the graphic memory:
    • In the Fusion 7.x menu bar, go to Virtual Machine > Settings > Display.
    • Change the Shared Graphics Memory to the recommended Value or lesser.
  3. Ensure that AutoProtect is turned off. As a part of its process, AutoProtect writes the contents of your virtual machine's RAM to the disk.

    Note: For more information, see the Using Snapshots and AutoProtect and Set Up Automatic Snapshots with AutoProtect section in the Fusion Help.

    To turn off AutoProtect:
     
    • Fusion 10.x and 11.x:
      • In the Fusion menu bar, go to Virtual Machine > Snapshots > Snapshots
      • Click AutoProtect Settings on the top right corner
      • Check the box provided to enable Auto protect
         
    • Fusion 8.x, 7.x, 6.x and 5.x:
      • In the Fusion menu bar, go to Virtual Machine > Snapshots > Snapshots
      • Click AutoProtect Settings on the top right corner
      • Move the AutoProtect slider to OFF and click Done
         
    • Fusion 4.x:
      • In the Fusion menu bar, go to Virtual Machine > Snapshots.
      • Switch AutoProtect to OFF
         
    • Fusion 3.x and earlier:
      • In the Fusion menu bar, go to Virtual Machine > Settings.
      • Click AutoProtect.
      • Deselect Enable AutoProtect.
         
  4. Reboot your Mac.
  5. Rule out any conflicting third-party applications on your Mac by starting in Safe Boot. For more information, see Using Safe Boot (1004017).
  6. Re-install the latest version of Fusion. For more information, see Downloading and installing VMware Fusion (2014097).

    If the issue continues to exist after trying the steps in this article:



Additional Information

For information on troubleshooting general Fusion virtual machine performance problems, see Troubleshooting Fusion virtual machine performance issues (1015676).

Using Safe Boot
Investigating whether a Fusion virtual machine is powered on
Investigating virtual machine resources in VMware Fusion
Troubleshooting a Fusion virtual machine that uses 100% of the guest CPU
Fusion 仮想マシンが Mac の CPU を使い切ってしまう問題のトラブルシューティング

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