How to speed up Ubuntu 13.04 on VMware

Posted: Sunday 15 September 2013

If you've ever used Ubuntu with VMware and have been consistently frustrated by the amount of lag that comes with each and every incremental distribution (as a result of additional features added into Ubuntu, such as the eye-candy UI, Unity), then fear not, here's a few simple way to solve the issue of lag regarding virtualized usage of Ubuntu:
Allocate Ubuntu more RAM, 1GB should be a bare minimum - any lower and you should consider using an older version of Ubuntu. or a different distro, such as CrunchBang Linux:
Enable the "Virtualize Intel VT–x/EPT or AMD=V/RVI" option, also, having only one processor core should be enough:
and last but not least, enable "Accelerate 3D graphics" under the display tab:
Boom, now opening up the menu and taking screenshots in Ubuntu 13.04 will be silky smooth, just like a normally-installed version of the OS!
Why should you be here? You may be wondering about how:

  • Ubuntu is laggy in VMware
  • Laggy Ubuntu VM
  • to make Ubuntu run faster in VMware
  • to make virtualized Ubuntu run faster
  • get Ubuntu on Windows
  • run Linux on Windows 8.1
  • does virtualization work on Windows 8.1?