Category: Windows 10

Slow Performance VMware Workstation 17.0.x – Windows 10 / Windows 11

Noticed horrible performance using VMware Workstation 17 on my system. I was running Hyper-V side-by-side, so I decided to nuke Hyper-V and the subsystems from that.

  1. Removed the Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, and Windows Hypervisor Platform from Windows Features.
  2. Checked to see if Memory Core Isolation was disabled, and it was. Start > Core Isolation
  3. Disabled power throttling for the VMware process:
powercfg /powerthrottling disable /path "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\x64\vmware-vmx.exe"
  1. Turned off ULM/Hyper-V mode
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off
  1. Disabled Accelerated 3D Graphics in the VM settings in VMware Workstation 17.0.2.

Step 5 was the winner, for me.

I had noticed before that my GPU (Intel UHD 630 Graphics) was pegged 80%+ when attempting to work with a VMware Workstation 17.0.x virtual machine. I never put the two together. You can add the following configuration value, mks.enable3d = "FALSE", to your .vmx file, or you can edit the VM and uncheck Accelerate 3D Graphics in the Display portion of the VM configuration in VMware Workstation.

Block Windows 11 Update

The easiest way to block the Windows 11 update on a Windows 10 system is by adding a policy via the Registry.

In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, navigate to SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

Create a new Key named WindowsUpdate

Add the following items in the WindowsUpdate key:

  • REG_DWORD named TargetReleaseVersion with a value of 1
  • REG_SZ named TargetReleaseVersionInfo with a value of 21H2
  • REG_SZ named ProductVersion with a value of Windows 10

Below is a registry file example. You can also download a copy if you’d like.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
"TargetReleaseVersion"=dword:00000001
"TargetReleaseVersionInfo"="21H2"
"ProductVersion"="Windows 10"

If you are using ManageEngine’s Desktop Central, you can create a configuration to deploy to computers with the Desktop Central agent. Here’s an example of the configuration in the Manage Engine Desktop Central web administration panel.

Sage Peachtree 2013 crashes when posting Receipt

Sage Peachtree 2013 was crashing every time while attempting to save a Receipt entry.

This occurred only via Remote Desktop. Peachtree 2013 is installed on a Windows 10 1903 system, 8GB RAM and Intel 530 Graphics. Remote machine is a Windows 8.1 system, 4GB RAM and Intel Graphics.

Resolution was to change RDP properties to color of 24bit Color instead of 32bit and also uncheck Use Persistent Bitmapping.

Disable Windows 10 First Sign-in Animation

To disable the Windows 10 first sign-in animation screen, use one of the two following methods. Through Group Policy or the Registry.

Group Policy

  1. Run the Local Group Policy Editor (Start > type gpedit.msc)
  2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System
  3. Select Logon

  4. Double-click Show first sign-in animation
  5. In the Show first sign-in animation window, select Disabled and click OK
  6. Close the Local Group Policy Editor

Registry

Navigate to the following key in the registry using regedit.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Create a new DWORD (32bit) value named EnableFirstLogonAnimation and set the value to 0.

You can also use the REG ADD command:

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v EnableFirstLogonAnimation /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f