If you have memory to space, you can reduce I/O usage by editing the .vmx file in your VM and add the lines

mainMem.useNamedFile= "FALSE"
sched.mem.pshare.enable = "FALSE"
prefvmx.useRecommendedLockedMemSize = "TRUE"

• NOTE*: if you are using VMware Server, you may need to restart the VMware Authorization Service (vmware-authd) for changes to take effect.

See: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1008885