If you are running XP mode in a Win 7 environment then there is an extra demand on system resources. Essentially you are running an OS in an OS which is probably pushing your laptop to its limits. Laptop devices share various controllers which is one of the reason they are slower than their desktop counterparts even if they are similar in specification. Now you have two OS's sharing controllers which are already been shared at a hardware level. In short your laptop probably does not have the hardware resources it needs to perform this task well.