<h2> </h2> <ol type="1"> <li>Classic View is used in the Control Panel. There is a link on the left-hand pane in the Control Panel window to engage Classic View. </li> <li>When navigating Vista, the "&gt;" symbol is used to show the next step. For example, instead of seeing "double-click on Computer, then double-click on C:, then double-click on Program Files," you will see this: "Go to Computer &gt; C: &gt; Program Files." </li> <li>It is assumed you can access the The Device Manager. Here are a number of ways: <ul><li>Right-click on Computer &gt; Manage &gt; Device Manager. </li><li>Start &gt; type in "Device Manager" and press "Enter." </li><li>Start . Control Panel &gt; Device Manager. </li></ul></li> </ol> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>Performance</h3> <p>These adjustments are some of the more sweeping optimizations you can make to a Vista installation. They address the visual aspects, processor handling, and DEP for the Vista OS. One of the most highly-touted aspects of Vista has been the new visual effects, or "eye candy." As cool and impressive as they are, Aero effects do take a significant amount of system resources therefore CPU processing. These are <span style="font-weight: bold;">valuable resources</span> that can instead be used by your audio software.<br /></p> <p> <span style="width: 540px; height: 6899px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: auto;" class="undefined undefined" contenteditable="true">The default setting of </span>Processor scheduling is to devote more high priority to your programs. However, audio drivers run in the background, and NOT as separate programs. It is best to set your processor to handle background services first. </p> <p>Now this is a very important aspect. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Data Execution Prevention</span> (DEP) is a set of hardware and software technologies that perform additional checks on memory to help prevent malicious code from running on a system. While this is great in theory, DEP can sometimes see audio applications as "malicious code." Leaving it on to prevent attacks on essential Windows files is preferable. </p> <p>To change this, right-click on Computer &gt; Properties &gt; Advanced System Settings &gt; Performance &gt; Settings, and select: </p> <ul> <li>Visual Effects &gt; Adjust for best Performance (this disables all Aero effects). </li> <li>Advanced &gt; Processor Scheduling &gt; Background Services. </li> <li>Advanced &gt; Data Execution Prevention &gt; Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only. Press OK when done. This will disable the Windows Aero™ theme. If you would like to enable it again, rightclick on the desktop and choose Personalize &gt; Theme &gt; Windows Vista. Resource usage from the Vista theme is negligible. See the section on Personalization for more details. </li> </ul> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>User Account Control</h3> <p>The new (and boring) User Account Control in Vista is among the more controversial features. It is beneficial for preventing unwanted changes to the system, and especially for protecting against unauthorized installations and file executions. Constantly prompts asking to allow or deny access, can interfere with overall workflow; all activity is suspended while the prompt waits for a reply. Furthermore, the user account monitoring uses extra CPU cycles (in fact, almost a negligible amount), so disabling the feature improves performance ever so slightly. To disable UAC, go to Start &gt; Control Panel &gt; User Accounts (your account) &gt; "Turn User Control on or off" &gt; Uncheck "Use UAC" &gt; OK &gt; Restart. </p> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>Windows Security Center</h3> <p>Another enhancement in Vista is the increased efficiency and centralized configuration of the Security Center. It is great for keeping out intruders, spyware, viruses, etc., but does so at the cost of CPU cycles. If you are online, it is best to leave the Security Center alone and active. Otherwise, you risk losing data, the integrity of your system drive, and even your identity. If you are not online with your Vista DAW, then disabling the Security Center features will free up some extra resources for you. The following instructions are for the offline user. </p> <p>To access the Security Center, go to Start &gt; Control Panel &gt; Security Center. There are several adjustments to be made from the Security Center window: </p> <ul> <li>Click on Windows Update on the left-hand pane &gt; Change Settings &gt; Never Check for Updates... &gt; OK &gt; close the update window. </li> <li>Click on Windows Firewall &gt; Change settings &gt; Off &gt; OK &gt; close the Firewall window. </li> <li>Click on Windows Defender &gt; Tools &gt; Options &gt; uncheck "Automatically scan my computer" &gt; Save&gt; close the Defender window. You can manually scan at any time by pressing the "Scan" button from the main Defender window. Again, this is not an issue if you're offline. </li> <li>Note that if you make these adjustments, Windows will continually remind you that your computer is at risk. To stop these reminders, go to "Change the way Security Center alerts me" &gt; "Don't notify me and don't display the icon." </li> </ul> <p>Antivirus software is another subcategory of Windows security. While not included as part of the Security Center, antivirus software is another near-necessity for everyday computing. For the online DAW user, it is best to disable antivirus software before using an audio applications. Since you will not be actively online, Windows Firewall and Defender (provided they are up to date) will be enough to monitor the background. For the offline DAW user, it's best to not install it in the first place. </p> <p>In Vista Ultimate and Enterprise editions, another relevant security feature is BitLocker drive encryption. While it is a fantastic tool to prevent theft and piracy, the added encryption is not suitable for a high-performance DAW. It is best to leave BitLocker off on any drive that will actively be running DAW applications or streaming audio.</p> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>Virtual Memory and ReadyBoost</h3> <p>Virtual memory (or paging files) is a technique that involves using a dedicated section of the hard drive as though it were additional RAM. The downside is that hard drive invariably process data slower than RAM, so using paging files does decrease performance. This can be beneficial for low-performance, high-data applications, where lots of material is loaded into RAM, but does not process extremely quickly. With audio applications, this is not a good idea. As they are very demanding on system resources, using a lower-speed hard drive is not a viable solution. However, some applications may require the use of a paging file, for one reason or another. If this is the case, then make sure to set all of your buffer sizes in your audio application as high as possible to compensate for the hard drive's latency. </p> <p>Right-click on "Computer" (either from desktop or Start button) &gt; Properties &gt; Advanced System Settings. This will bring you to the Advanced tab in the System Properties window. Under the Performance section, go to Settings tab and select Advanced, the press the "Change" button under Virtual memory. Uncheck "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives." For each drive listed, click on "No paging file" and "Set." You will be warned that a crash file may not be recorded if you have no paging file. Choose "Yes" to this message. Once all drives have been modified, choose "OK." Restart your computer for the changes to take effect. </p> <p>One alternative to paging files is a new Vista technology called ReadyBoost. It essentially uses a USB flash drive as a high-speed paging file. Not all flash drives will work, though. A device must have the following minimum specifications: </p> <ul> <li>The device must be at least 64 MB </li> <li>The device must be USB 2.0 </li> <li>It has to be able to read at 3.5 MB/s </li> <li>It has to be able to write at 2.5 MB/s </li> </ul> <p>To activate ReadyBoost on a USB flash drive, go to Computer &gt; right-click on the drive &gt; Properties &gt; ReadyBoost &gt; select "Use this Device" and choose the amount of space you wish to dedicate to ReadyBoost &gt; "OK" when finished. As with paging files, it is best to stay with multiples of 2. </p> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>Hard Drive Performance</h3> <p>Vista has an option to boost the normal performance of ATA and SATA drives by enhancing write caching. One problem with this is that if power is interrupted to the hard drive, then the risk of data loss or corruption is greatly increased. However, if you use a battery backup or some other type of uninterruptible power, then you should not have anything to worry about. To speed up your dives, navigate to the Device Manager. Click on the "+" next to Disk Drives, then right-click on the drive you wish to change and choose Properties &gt; Policies &gt; check the box next to "Enable advanced performance." </p> <p>There are also two other drive properties to consider. These can be accessed by going to Computer and rightclicking on the drive in question, and: </p> <ul> <li>Under the General tab, make sure "Compress this drive..." is unchecked. </li> <li>Under the Quota tab, you have "Do not limit disk usage" selected, but nothing else. </li> </ul> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>Indexing Options</h3> <p>Another feature in Vista is its ability to automatically index all the files in the Start Menu, user profile folders, and files setup for offline access. Too many files in these locations, especially when the files change often, causes the indexing service to add to the overall CPU load. While this change speed up your overall performance, it will also adversely affect your searching speed in those locations. However, with a good file management strategy, this will be irrelevant for the DAW user. To adjust your indexing options, go to Start &gt; type in "indexing options" &gt; press Enter &gt; Modify. In the "Change selected locations" window, uncheck everything except for the Start menu, located in C: &gt; ProgramData &gt; Microsoft &gt; Windows. </p> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>On-Board Devices</h3> <p>An on-board device is any device built in to the computer. Most of these are fairly benign, but some have the potential to interfere with digital audio software and hardware. It is recommended disabling these, at least while using your software. On-board wireless internet cards periodically send and receive information when activated, and these bursts of data transfer take CPU cycles, to the point of causing audible pops and clicks in DAW applications. On-board audio cards can cause driver conflict problems, and are not as high in quality as professional interfaces.<br /></p> <p>In the Device Manager, you can right-click on any device and choose "Disable." This will essentially turn that device off, releasing its drivers and stopping any resources from being used to run it. </p> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>Windows Sidebar</h3> <p>Windows Sidebar's gadgets provide some very useful information. They also take up some very useful CPU cycles. For the serious DAW user, it's best to have Sidebar disabled, at least while working on audio. This will not only allow for extra CPU power, it will also clear the desktop to make room for applications to be seen.<br /></p> <h3> <br /> </h3> <h3>Startup Service and Applications</h3> <p>By default, recent versions of Windows pre-load applications and services from installed programs and deposits icons in the system tray. The goal is to both decrease load times and provide easy access to a variety of programs. While very helpful in theory, these partially launched applications are a major CPU drain. Disabling them helps Windows allocate more resources to running applications. Vista will also load faster, since it is not bogged down by pre-loading every application during startup. To disable these applications from loading on startup, do the following. </p> <p>CAUTION: Make absolutely sure you follow the directions EXACTLY as printed below. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Startup configuration is powerful stuff</span>, and if used carelessly, can cause problems.</p> <p>Start &gt; in the search box, type in "msconfig" &gt; press "Enter." </p> <ul> <li>in the Startup tab, choose "Disable All." </li> <li>In the Service tab, check the box near the bottom of the screen to "Hide all Microsoft services." Then choose "Disable All." </li> <li>Click "OK," then "Restart." Check the "OK" box on reboot. </li> </ul> <p>When your PC boots back up, you will see a message on the screen regarding your use of the System Configuration utility. read through it, and decide if you would like to be reminded every time the PC boots. Check the box and press "OK" if you don't. </p> <p>In case you accidentally disable something that you need to have enabled, don't worry; msconfig is always reversible. Simply check the items that you need in either section, or to fully reverse the process, choose the "Enable All" option in each tab.</p>