If you recently upgraded to 10.6.8, are running Parallels 6, and have noticed general slowness, don’t fret. This is a known issue and can be easily fixed. Many of the symptoms include constant slowness (with or without “beach-balling”) and a problematic dock. Some proactive users who check Activity Monitor will notice a 100% CPU usage by the dock.
The issue is with the “Windows Applications” folder on your dock. Parallels Knowledge Base describes the cause as: “Issue with Core Graphics API compatibility with icons larger than 128×128 pixels that causes Finder to work unstably when accessing files with such icons assigned.”
There is a quick work-around, and also a resolution.
Here’s the work-around: remove the folder from your dock (drag it off the dock onto the desktop until you see the virtual puff of smoke).
Here’s the resolution: upgrade to the latest (free) build of Parallels (12092), which can be found here.:http://www.parallels.com/download/desktop/