How to Get the Most Out of Your Computer

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:24 pm

Under this thread I would like for folks to post tips on maximizing your computer to get the MOST out of Mixcraft/Beatcraft etc.

Here are a buncha tips I found at:

http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php

If any of these are damaging, please let us know.

1. Processor scheduling should be set to background services and not Programs.
Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance Settings > Advanced Tab > Background Services

2. Visual effects should be set to a minimum.
Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance Settings > Visual Effects Tab > Adjust for best performance

3. Switch Off Desktop Background Image
Right Click Desktop > Properties > Desktop Tab > Background None

4. Disable Screen Saver
Right Click Desktop > Properties > Screen Saver > None

5. Disable Fast User Switching
Start > Settings > Control Panel > User Accounts > Change the way users log on or off > Untick Use Fast User Switching

6. Switch Off Power Schemes
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Options > Always On > Turn off monitor and turn off hard discs to Never

7. Switch Off Hibernation
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernate > Untick Hibernation

8. Disable System Sounds
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Sounds Tab > Sound Scheme to None.

9. Do Not Map Through Soundcard
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Hardware Tab > (highlight your soundcard from the list) > Properties > Audio Devices > (highlight your soundcard from the list) > Properties, and check the "Do not map through this device" checkbox.

10. Disable System Restore
Start > Settings > Control Panel> System > System Restore Tab. Tick the "Turn off System Restore on all Drives"

11. Disable Automatic Updates
Switch off Automatic Updates by going to Control Panel, System, Automatic Updates and ticking the box labelled "Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually.".

12. Startup and Recovery Options
Right click My Computer and click on Properties > Advanced > Start Up & Recovery Settings and uncheck "Automatically Restart".

13. Disable Error Reporting
Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced TAB > Error Reporting > Click the Disable Error Reporting box (Tick the "But Notify Me When Critical Errors Occur" if you prefer)

14. Disable Remote Assistance
Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Remote > Untick "Allow Remote Assistance Invitations to be sent from this computer"

15. Fixed Swap File (Virtual Memory)
Select the Advanced tab of the Systems applet and then select the Performance settings button. Then select the Advanced page. In here it is possible to customise the Virtual Memory. For custom size, this is often recommended to be 1.5 to 2 times the amount of your total RAM for both initial and maximum size. Set this to a fixed minimum and maximum value according to your existing RAM

16. Speed Up Menus
You can use this tip to speed up the Start Menu in Windows XP. You can customize the speed of the Start Menu by editing a Registry Key. Click Start, and then click Run. Type Regedit in the box, and then click OK. Expand the menu in the left panel and select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder. Scroll down in the right panel and double click on the MenuShowDelay file. In the Value Data box, change to default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1. Click OK.

17. Disable Offline Files
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Folder Options > Offline Files > Untick "Enable Offline Files"

18. Disable Remote Desktop
Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Remote > Untick "Allow users to connect remotely to this computer"

20. Disable Hide Inactive Icons
Start > Settings > Taskbar and Start Menu > Taskbar TAB > Uncheck "Hide Inactive Icons"

21. Disable Automatic Desktop Cleanup Wizard
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Desktop > Customise Desktop > Untick "Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days"

22. Disable NTFS Last Access Time Logging (NTFS Only)
Start > Run > regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CURRENTCONTROLSET > CONTROL > FILESYSTEM Add a new DWORD value - "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate" (without quotes) and set the value to 1. Then reboot to make changes effective

23. Disable Notification Area Balloon Tips
Click Start , click Run , type regedit , and then press ENTER. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced Right-click the right pane, create a new DWORD value, and then name it EnableBalloonTips . Double-click this new entry, and then give it a hexadecimal value of 0 . Quit Registry Editor. Log off Windows, and then log back on.

24. Disable CDROM Autoplay
One of the very important (and well documented) tweaks in Windows 98SE, was to disable CDROM autoplay (auto insert notification). Disabling CDROM autoplay no longer offers a significant performance benefit in Windows XP, and therefore you do not need to disable it. Just don't insert a CD during a crucial recording.
However, if you really want to disable it then here a few different methods.
Method 1
Start > Run > Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom
Set autorun to 0.
Method 2
Open My Computer Right Click on each CDROM and choose Properties Click on the Auto Play tab In the drop down box you can choose the Action for each choice shown in the drop down box
Method 3
Go to Start->Run->gpedit.msc Computer Config -> Administrative Template -> System Double click Turn off Autoplay Enable it.

25. Disable Disc Indexing
Text below taken from XP help.
Indexing Service is a service that extracts the information from a set of documents and organizes it in a way that makes it quick and easy to access that information through the Windows XP Search function, the Indexing Service query form, or a Web browser.
This information can include text from within a document, (its contents), and the characteristics and parameters of the document, (its properties), such as the author's name. Once the index is created, you can search, or query the index for documents that contain key words, phrases, or properties.

(I did most of these that I understood, some I didnt and I feared tearing up my computer. But I can say this thing faster already, feels new, looks retro).

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:28 pm

These are some of the tips commonly repeated on the MIXCRAFT thread:

**Zoom all the way out while recording.

**While overdubbing, turn off effects and mute non-critical tracks.

**Don't have any other programs running in the background while recording.

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:29 pm

Anybody have any specific advice about buffer settings?

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:33 pm

A tip I found on my own:

Open Task Manager by ctrl+alt+delete or by right clicking in the bottom menue.

From Task Manager, click Processes.
There you will see everything that is running. DO NOT CUT OFF ANYTHING UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS (you can crash your computer).
If you have iTunes, you'll notice that iTunes Helper, iTunes Store, and iPod Service is running. You can right click on the and click End Process. That should free up some CPU.

Anybody have other stuff that's safe to End Process?

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:36 pm

Don't forget to Defrag your disc every once in a while. Especially if you are adding & deleting huge files.

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:37 pm

If you are like me and leave your computer on 24/7... try shutting her down and bringin her back up before & after a big project or after defraggin your harddrive.

Post by **Acoustica Eric** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:03 pm

My own writings http://www.demondigital.com/backstage/xptweaking/

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 1:15 pm

Ever since I did what you guys recomended my computer keeps crashing when playing games like Vice City, while watching some DVDs, AND SOMETIMES WHEN I"M AT WORK FOR NO REASON. It just crashes (or turns off). When I turn in back on I get a message about Insuffient vcCAPI.dII and something abotu dvconfig.exe.

It's a pain in the arse. Any idea what I did.

YouTube · Post by **Acoustica Greg** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 4:55 pm

Hi,

The next time you see the error, write down the exact error message. You can try Googling for solutions based on the actual error message.

Greg

Post by **Acoustica Eric** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 6:19 pm

This error involving dvconfig.exe sounds like something that may need to be turned back on in MSCONFIG. try turning on anything (one at a time) that looks related to DVD playback or decoding.

I tried looking up vcCAPI.dII but it does not exist. Please give me the exact name of the file and as Greg said, the exact error message.

Mon1018 · Post by **Mon1018** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:12 am

I am wondering about this too,Any developments?

Post by **Acoustica Eric** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:21 am

Since he had not answered back since October of 2006, i assumed the issue was resolved for him.
Mon1018, are you experiencing something similar?

bvalentine · Post by **bvalentine** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 2:49 am

Acoustica Eric wrote:Since he had not answered back since October of 2006, i assumed the issue was resolved for him.
Mon1018, are you experiencing something similar?

Yeah, time flys.

The problem with that old computer... Something I did messed with the computer and caused it to overheat. Maybe a fan setting. Can't remember. I've been through about 5 laptops since then.

I haven't had that problem since then... but then again (because of that crash) I've been too scared to adjust my computer settings since then.