macOS & Win 7 very slow after installing Win 7

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Bablooroyal Author

Level 1

19 points

macOS & Win 7 very slow after installing Win 7

Hei guys,

Mine is a Late 2011 15” MBP running High Sierra 10.13.1.

Installed Windows 7 Pro N via BCA few days ago.

Also installed couple of other programs like MS Office, Primavera immediately after completing Windows 7 installation.

Performance of Windows is horrible. It’s awfully slow. To find out the reason for this, I reinstalled Win 7 and progressively installed other programs, with considerable time gap between each. Also created restore points (some manually, some by system) at each stage so that computer can be restored when problems start.

Bare bone installation of Win 7 (no Bootcamp drivers, no internet connection, no Windows updates, no third party programs ) - Performance was fine.
Win 7 + BC drivers (BootCamp5.1.5621) - Performance was fine.
Win 7 + BC drivers + Wifi
- Windows updates installation was set to manual.
- Internet Explorer was very slow.
- Other things are ok.
Windows updates installed.
Computer slowed down.
Struggled to download Google Chrome via Internet Explorer. No matter how many times I tried, it couldn’t be downloaded.
Same struggle for downloading Microsoft .NET 4.0.

Performance is erratic. Sometimes, it is ok. Sometimes it’s awfully slow. In any case, the performance is worse than other Windows 7 PCs that we use daily. Looks like the problem started after installing BC drivers or Windows updates. I couldn’t pinpoint the start point.

Chrome (exe file) downloaded on another computer and installed here.
Same erratic behaviour continues
Tried to restore to a previous state. EVERY restore point failed.
Computer becomes hot.
Shutdown takes **** lot of time. Computer spends lot of time in “Logging off” and “Shutting down” stages.

Facing similar problems on macOS side also.

If I shutdown Windows and boot to macOS without any time gap, everything (including boot up) is quite slow. Can it be because the computer is hot?

Following are the observations when I boot in to macOS with some time gap after shutting down Windows:

Boot up is somewhat ok but slower than normal.
Programs launch slowly (bounce in the dock for considerable time).
After launching, programs aren’t working as fast as they were before installation of Windows
As a whole, macOS isn’t as fast as it should be and used to be.

Is this normal behaviour? If not, what can be the reason for this and what can be done to resolve this?

Since the performance issues started after installation of BC drivers and/or Windows updates, can we blame them for the problems? If yes, slow down of Windows is answered. But, why are there problems on macOS side?

Regards,

Babloo.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Dec 15, 2017 9:27 PM

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Answer 1

Bablooroyal Author

Level 1

19 points

Dec 18, 2017 3:25 AM in response to Loner T

Hei,

Loner T wrote:

Check Power Options -> Advanced and adjust Processor states.

The processor states are as below:

What should I adjust this to?

Loner T wrote:

Does the 2011 MBP have a mechanical HDD?

Yes, my MBP has a 1TB mechanical HDD.

Please note that this slowness didn't exist before installing Windows.

Loner T wrote:

Windows normally runs 'hotter' than macOS.

Does it mean my Windows is running fine and I've to live with this 'hot' computer?

Regards,

Babloo.

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Answer 2

Bablooroyal Author

Level 1

19 points

Dec 22, 2017 8:01 PM in response to Loner T

Hei,

Windows side problems are one thing.

Why are there performance issues on macOS side?

I'm more concerned about this.

The problems started after installing Windows only

Is it just because a BC partition exists?

Regards,

Babloo

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Answer 3

Bablooroyal Author

Level 1

19 points

Dec 24, 2017 10:09 AM in response to Loner T

Hei Loner T,

Thank you for the quick reply.

What was the version of macOS prior to the HS upgrade?

I was on Sierra before HS.

I generally install officially available update/upgrade ASAP 😝

If you are looking for a single silver bullet to fix your issues, there is none.

As a whole, I understand that "both macOS & Windows don't perform to their fullest after installing Windows.

I have to live with it.Whatever tweaks we do improve the performance slightly but not restore them to their best". Right?

Another option to consider, before a replacement, is to backup macOS, Windows and erase the whole disk, restore macOS, and then re-install Windows and test.

In May this year, I upgraded the internal HDD from 500 GB to 1 TB. Hence, the macOS install is relatively a fresh one. And, Windows installation is hardly one month old. You only supported me here when I faced problems during installation. So, I feel reinstallation won't of much help.

How will it be, if I install Windows on an external drive and remove from the internal HDD? I believe there won't be any effect, at least when the ext HDD isn't connected. What say? Windows on my MBP is not mandatory for me. It's just that I want to have it, in case I need it.

Regards,

Babloo.

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Dec 16, 2017 6:52 AM in response to Bablooroyal

You have an issue that started in #3 or #4. Can you re-install BC drivers (or rollback updates), and test? If you do not have WiFi/BT collaboration enabled, you will get slow performance using any task which uses a wireless network connection.

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Answer 5

Bablooroyal Author

Level 1

19 points

Dec 17, 2017 8:41 AM in response to Loner T

Hei,

Enabled the setting as suggested by you.

I've been using Windows since yesterday and it is working fine.

Didn't see any slow down. Hence, didn't roll back Windows updates & BC drivers.

All settings are same as before, when I faced the problem.

However, the problem of computer heating up remains.

Am using only Google Chrome & Internet Download Manager to download a series of files.

There's not much load on the computer.

Also, the problems on the macOS side still persist.

Regards,

Babloo

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Answer 6

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Dec 17, 2017 8:48 AM in response to Bablooroyal

Bablooroyal wrote:

However, the problem of computer heating up remains.

Check Power Options -> Advanced and adjust Processor states. Windows normally runs 'hotter' than macOS.

Bablooroyal wrote:

Also, the problems on the macOS side still persist.

Does the 2011 MBP have a mechanical HDD?

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Dec 18, 2017 5:43 AM in response to Bablooroyal

Change Maximum Processor states to 95% and test. Mechanical HDDs produce more heat. macOS tends to do much less disk i/o compared to Windows. If you replace the 1TB HDD with a 1TB SSD or SSHD, you will see better performance. Your usage patterns will also determine the heating/cooling of the Mac.

On a 2012 MBP, I replaced a 500GB HDD with a 512GB SSD. The battery lasts much longer and Windows boots/runs very well.

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Answer 8

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Dec 22, 2017 8:25 PM in response to Bablooroyal

Your 2011 Mac 'simulates' BIOS to allow Windows installation. This is an expensive and slow process, and as you upgrade to newer macOS versions, it can slow down further. HS has many new features including SIP and security in EFI, which also are a factor.

macOS issues are related to what is on the macOS side. There is a difference in Sierra vs HS vs older macOS versions. What was the version of macOS prior to the HS upgrade? I personally do not run Sierra/HS on anything older than 2015 Macs. On a 2012 Mac, I will stay on El Capitan.

You should consider replacing the mechanical HDD with a SATA SSD. Another option to consider, before a replacement, is to backup macOS, Windows and erase the whole disk, restore macOS, and then re-install Windows and test.

If you are looking for a single silver bullet to fix your issues, there is none. 😉

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