Host: Windows 8.1 64-bit running VMWare Player 7.1
Guest: CentOS 7 64-bit
I would like to have a CentOS 7 guest VM automatically launch when a Windows user logs in (with the Player console window visible). I've tested this using the command "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Player\vmplayer.exe" "C:\path\to\Virtual Machines\CentOS 7\CentOS 7.vmx" - entered directly in a Scheduled Task that runs on logon, or launched via a batch file.
Either method works (including launching the batch file outside of a scheduled task) - the console GUI opens, and some automatic tasks in the guest OS run eventually. However, when launched this way, the VM is extremely slow - exponentially slower than the same VM launched manually via the Player GUI. Stopping the automatically- (or batch-file-) launched instance and immediately launching the GUI and running the same VM is noticeably faster (normal speed). The guest VM is running the latest VMware Tools.
Any idea why the speed of the VM would be so dramatically reduced when not launched using the Player GUI?