04:28
edenmusic
This is one of the few essential Windows XP tweaks, since it benefits the performance of ASIO drivers, which run as background tasks.
Navigate to the Advanced page of the System applet. Click on the Performance Settings button, select its Advanced tab and click on 'Background Services' for Processor Scheduling
For anyone using ASIO drivers (and nowadays that includes just about every PC musician), this is the most essential tweak of all, because ASIO drivers run as background services in Windows. Music software and hardware developers Steinberg rely on this setting to ensure low latency without dropouts, and you may be able to run your audio interface at a significantly lower latency after this tweak.
Navigate to the Advanced page of the System applet. Click on the Performance Settings button, select its Advanced tab and click on 'Background Services' for Processor Scheduling
For anyone using ASIO drivers (and nowadays that includes just about every PC musician), this is the most essential tweak of all, because ASIO drivers run as background services in Windows. Music software and hardware developers Steinberg rely on this setting to ensure low latency without dropouts, and you may be able to run your audio interface at a significantly lower latency after this tweak.
Minimise Visual Effects
System applet, Advanced Tab, Performance Settings button, Visual Effects page, select 'Adjust for best performance'.
This will disable a whole clutch of graphic bells and whistles, the most important of which are the various animations — exploding windows when minimising and maximising, fading and sliding menus, buttons and boxes. These all rely on your computer's processor for the entire duration of their moves, and can therefore tip your PC over the edge when its CPU overhead is already near 100 percent running plug-ins and soft synths.However, 'Adjust for best performance' also disables various other features that are rather more useful and yet impose microscopic overheads. Some musicians still prefer the rectangular Windows Classic look, but you can reinstate the XP look, with its soft-sculpted windows and buttons with rounded corners, by switching to the 'Custom' button on the Visual Effects page and ticking the 'Use visual styles on windows and buttons' option.
This will disable a whole clutch of graphic bells and whistles, the most important of which are the various animations — exploding windows when minimising and maximising, fading and sliding menus, buttons and boxes. These all rely on your computer's processor for the entire duration of their moves, and can therefore tip your PC over the edge when its CPU overhead is already near 100 percent running plug-ins and soft synths.However, 'Adjust for best performance' also disables various other features that are rather more useful and yet impose microscopic overheads. Some musicians still prefer the rectangular Windows Classic look, but you can reinstate the XP look, with its soft-sculpted windows and buttons with rounded corners, by switching to the 'Custom' button on the Visual Effects page and ticking the 'Use visual styles on windows and buttons' option.
Switch Off Power Schemes
In the Power Options applet, choose the 'Always On' power scheme. Change the settings for monitor and hard disk turn off and System standby to 'Never', so that your PC doesn't unexpectedly conk out during song playback (see screens below).
The wrong setting here can cripple the processing performance of many modern PCs, because of over-clever power schemes that throttle your processor to a slower clock speed to keep it cool and, in the case of laptops, prolong battery life. In theory, such throttling schemes should let your CPU clock speed ramp up smoothly on demand, but in practice there's a short time lag before this happens, sufficient to result in audio interruptions and, therefore, clicks and pops. The only safe way to prevent this happening is to make sure your processor always runs at its top speed.
The wrong setting here can cripple the processing performance of many modern PCs, because of over-clever power schemes that throttle your processor to a slower clock speed to keep it cool and, in the case of laptops, prolong battery life. In theory, such throttling schemes should let your CPU clock speed ramp up smoothly on demand, but in practice there's a short time lag before this happens, sufficient to result in audio interruptions and, therefore, clicks and pops. The only safe way to prevent this happening is to make sure your processor always runs at its top speed.
Disable Hibernation
From the Power Options applet, select the Hibernation page and un-tick the box labelled 'Enable hibernation'.
Disable System Sounds
Select the 'No Sounds' scheme on the Sounds tab of the Sounds and Audio Devices applet.
Disable Taskbar Auto-hide
Right-click on a blank area of the taskbar. Choose 'Properties', and un-tick the box labelled 'Auto-hide the Taskbar' (above left).
Although you lose a little screen space by leaving the Taskbar permanently on display, your audio will no longer be interrupted each time the Taskbar is hidden or reappears.
Although you lose a little screen space by leaving the Taskbar permanently on display, your audio will no longer be interrupted each time the Taskbar is hidden or reappears.
Turn Off Automatic Updates
Select the Automatic Updates tab from control panel in the System applet if your music PC isn't Internet-enabled. If it is Internet-enabled, instead select the 'Notify me but don't automatically download or install them' option. If you hear of a particular update file that will improve audio performance, you can still download and install it manually.
Disable Fast User Switching
From the User Accounts applet, click on 'Select the way users log on or off'. Un-tick the 'Use Fast User Switching' box and then 'Apply Options'. This will ensure that if you have multiple users logging on and off your PC, they will be forced to close down their applications before they log off, so that there are none still running in the background and consuming system resources when you log on and start your audio ones.
Remove Desktop Background Image
Select the Desktop page of Display applet and select '(None)' for the Background wallpaper setting.
Disable Screensaver
To permanently disable the screensaver, just open the Display applet, navigate to its Screensaver page and select '(None)'.
Disable Internet Synchronise Time
Navigate to the Internet Time page of the Date and Time applet and un-tick the option labelled 'Automatically synchronise with an Internet time server'.
Ignore Driver Signing
Ignore Driver Signing
On the Hardware page of the System applet, click the Driver Signing button and select 'Ignore — Install the software anyway and don't ask for any approval'. Few audio developers pay Microsoft for the privilege of getting their products Windows Logo Tested, so this tweak will bypass all those annoying 'are you sure?' messages each time you install new software.
Disable Error Reporting
Disable Error Reporting
In the advanced page of the System applet, select the Advanced page, click on its 'Error Reporting' button and select the radio button labelled 'Disable error reporting'. In the event of an application fault, this will prevent your PC attempting to send a report to Microsoft.
