Pops and Cracks

[Studio 919]

Hey Y'all,

Recently, when I open MC and load a song, when I press play it takes a few seconds before the song starts to play. I have also noticed a few pops and cracks during playback. After playing the song I hit rewind and (at least most of the time) the problems go away. Is this a sign that I should look at running defrag? I have never run this so I'm not sure how to proceed. (I looked at other threads but they didn't seem to answer my questions). So, here is my set up.

My C drive contains all my "operating software". For example: Windows 7 Home, 64 bit, MC7 Pro build 279, both 32 bit and 64 bit (only using 32 but for now), VST's (ezdrummer, etc).

My D drive is where all my MC projects (songs) are located.

So, if defrag is my option, does this mean that I run it on drive C, or D?

Do I need to do anything special to my projects (songs) BEFORE running defrag?

I thought that I would back up all my projects (songs) beforehand. Can this be done by simply copying them to a flash drive?

You can see by my questions that I am a rookie to this subject. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Barry

[Ianpb]

I experienced the problem of inexplicable pops and clicks at one time with Mixcraft 6, and strangely solved it by updating my video drivers.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

What are your sound device preference settings? ASIO? WaveRT? What's your playback device? Is this Mixcraft 7.1 build 279?

Greg

[Studio 919]

Thanks for the replies.

Ianpb - I'll check the video driver. Had not thought of that.

Greg - I'm using MC Pro Studio 7.1, build 279 32 bit. I have both 32 and 64 bit installed but so far I'm using 32 bit.
Device is a ZOOM R16 (with current driver) and I'm using ASIO.

Barry

EDIT: Graphics driver is also current.

[Studio 919]

My graphics driver is current.

I'm using a Zoom R16 for audio interface and control surface. The Zoom driver is also current.

Using ASIO on MC 7 Pro 32 bit build 279.

Thanks
Barry

[Studio 919]

Bump

This thread moved down the list due to a lot of forum activity.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Barry

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

Go into Mixcraft's Sound Device preferences and click "Open Mixer." Try increasing the buffer or latency settings there. Does that have any effect at all?

If you have a slower multi-core computer, you can try putting a check mark next to "Force Single CPU."

Greg

[Studio 919]

Thanks Greg,

I'll give that a try and post the outcome.

I still think I should probably run defrag since I have never run it. I need to know what preparation I need to take so I don't lose my recordings. All of my projects (songs) are on my D drive. All operating system software (Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, Mixcraft 7 Pro, EZDrummer, etc) are on my C drive. The way I see it I only "need" to run defrag on my D drive. Is this correct? How can I insure that I don't lose my recordings?

Barry

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

You can use the "Copy Project Files" option under Mixcraft's File menu to back up your projects. You'd have to do it for each project, then put them on a DVD, a removeable drive, or whatever. Everybody should be doing that from time to time anyway.

Most likely, defragging wouldn't cause you to lose files, unless you've got some serious hard drive issues.

Greg

[Mark Bliss]

Yeah the best insurance against losing project files is to maintain backup copies. Whether doing computer maintanance or not.

And yes, you shouldnt lose anything during a hard drive maint operation. All defrag really does is reorganize though. Id recommend cleaning out the trash first. Get rid of everything you dont need or use first, that might make a defrag more productive?
Generally, for me, while a defrag makes me feel better somehow, I cant say it ever improved performance as far as I can tell. Unlike some serious house cleaning when the drive is getting full!
They say it can make the HD more efficient, but it hasnt been proven in my practice.
I am good at burning a HD down from shear wear and tear I think.
Back up. You never know when its gonna strike.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

Good point, uninstall all those programs you don't want anymore before defragging, and empty the recycle bin.

And yes, defragging probably won't produce any noticeable results. It was more important back in the days of slow, small hard drives.

Greg

[Studio 919]

Hey Mark and Greg,

Thanks a lot for the replies. I had not thought about emptying the recycle bin. I had also not thought about uninstalling software that is no longer needed/wanted/used. Both good points.

I'll take a look at my buffer settings and latency before I do anything. If necessary, I adjust them and see what happens.

I'll post an update in the next day or so.

Thanks again.

Barry

[Studio 919]

Ok Guys,

I used the "Copy Project Files To" option in order to backup all of my MC projects (songs and all related files).

Here is the original file content.

Original File Content.PNG (11.97 KiB) Viewed 3750 times

Here is the backup file content.

Backup File Content.PNG (8.1 KiB) Viewed 3750 times

I thought the backup would be an exact copy of the original. As you can see some of the files are missing in the backup folder. Am I missing something? OFC, maybe?

Anyway, I did adjust the buffer as suggested but it didn't seem to eliminate the pops. Plus, when I pressed play it still took a few seconds before play actually started.

Then, I decided to run defrag on my D drive. This is where all my MC projects (songs) are located. When I analyzed the D drive it showed it was 18% fragmented. I ran defrag and now it is 0% fragmented.

Then I opened MC and loaded up a few songs and the play problem seems to have gone away. Plus, I did not notice the popping anymore. Yiiippppeeeee!!!!! (Fingers crossed).

Thanks again for all the help.

Barry