Please provide comments on the following tips for optimizing XP for multitrack audio recording...

I've just built a new PC, specifically for multitrack audio recording (recording studio).  On an audio forum, someone has posted a long list of tweaks for optimizing XP for audio.  Gamers measure the success of their overclocking and tweaking the OS in frame rates.  Computer Audio people measure performance in number of tracks and the how low you can make the latency (essentially the audio throughput) and still get the system to run reliably.  I could very well be running 48 tracks of audio, a half dozen tracks of MIDI, and a handful of software synthesizers, all at the same time.  My PC is based on a Gigabyte GA-K8NSXP-939 mobo with a nForce3 Ultra chipset, an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual core processor, 2x1G 2-3-2-5 OCZ PC3200 DDR RAM, and two 250GB hard disks... one for OS and Apps and the other just for audio.

One question is this:
Considering how cheap hard disks are and that I've got three unused SATA150 ports on my mobo, I'm thinking about getting another drive just for the Swap space.  Is that likely to give me a performance benefit?

Below, I will put in the list.  I would like to ask you to comment on each of the tweaks, specifically:

1. their safety, and
2. whether they would be likely to provide a resonable performance improvement (i.e. which tweaks are not worth the effort).

Here we go:

I found these Tweaks for Windows XP for DAW configuration. Have not tried it yet but thought I would post it as an FYI....

Please read all of the following before attempting to change any settings in Windows XP. We are not responsible for any thing that may render your computer system unusable. We provide this information as suggestions to increase performance and get the best user experience possible. For your convienece, we have provided links to sections on this web page.

Installing Windows XP
FAT 32 vs NTFS
Turning of Windows Messenger
Switching to Classic Mode
Optimizing the Start Menu
Optimizing Computer Properties
Modifying Windows XP services
Modifying the Registry
Other Windows XP tweaks


Installing Windows XP


When you see the installation tell you to
press F6(Third Party SCSI or RAID Drivers)
press F5 instead. You will see Press F2 for Automated System Recovery(DONT press F2)
Right after that you will see a list
Press the UP arrow key to highlight Standard PC
Hit Enter..
Hit Enter to Continue
Hit F8 saying you agree.
Now, if this is an existing OS of say Win2k or a previous install of XP you will see options for
Esc=Don't Repair; R=Repair F3 to Quit
Well, we're doing a fresh install so we want to hit Esc for Dont Repair
Now, you'll see your drives and partitions here..
If you have Two "physical" drives it will show you these drives as C and D
Highlite C Drive
If you had an existing Install from any other OS press D for Delete Partition.
Press Enter to Continue
Press L for Delete

Now, we're back at the drive selection screen again and this time we see Unpartioned space..
We're ready to create a partition.

Typically you want to the OS drive to be as small as possible for drive reading purposes.
Reccomended OS and Application drive should be around 12GB tops.
If you have a 20GB drive partition it into two parts..
the first part being 10,000MB and the remaining to the
Second partition(comes to around 9500MB)...Which can be used for extra storage

Once the drive is partitioned and the main Parition is highlited press Enter to Install
Now we have to decide what File System do we use...NTFS or FAT32


FAT32 vs. NTFS

You have the option under W2k and XP to choose the file system that best suits your needs, FAT or NTFS. FAT (File Allocation Table) is the native file system based on the Windows 9x kernel (including 95, 95a, 95b, 95c, 98, 98se and ME). NTFS (New Technology File System) is the native file system for operating systems based on the Windows NT kernel (including NT4, 2000 and XP). During the installation, Win2K or XP will ask if you want to convert the installation partition to NTFS. If you need compatibility for Windows 98 – especially if you want to dual-boot – don't convert.

While NTFS offers a number of improvements over FAT32, most of these advantages are not all that applicable to audio, and you are unlikely to see a major performance difference between the two. Moreover, defragmenting your drives (something you should do on a regular basis anyway) is substantially quicker in FAT32. Be aware that Windows 9x cannot read data on NTFS-formatted drives. Generally speaking, you should use FAT32 if you are doing a parallel installation with Windows 9x/ME, or if you will need to work with files created with a FAT32 system (opening old song files, working with others using FAT32-based systems, etc.) leave everything with FAT32.

One exception would be if you’ll be working with video or other large files in excess of 4GB; or if you also use your PC to browse the internet or the computer is part of a LAN running XP Professional. Only NTFS can limit access rights to your files and therefore provide the security needed for a networked computer. In this case, select NTFS for all partitions except those which are to accommodate your audio data later.

One other interesting point: NTFS can read the "resource fork" of SDII files from MacOS, and can therefore recognize the timecode stamps used in these files; FAT(32) can’t do this. If you do a lot of work with ProTools or other MacOS-based DAW applications, you should consider at least one NTFS partition in your system. (Note that this does not imply that your NTFS-based system can mount/read from a MacOS drive; simply that individual SDII files imported to an NTFS drive will retain their time-stamp information.)


Windows will begin it's file copying, once it's done it will restart your machine.
It's a good idea from here to enter into the BIOS to stop the CDRom from being the
first boot device Set the Hard Drive as the main boot. Exit out and restart to begin the XP
installation Enter your Name and Orginzation(If Applicable..you can leave it blank)
Enter your Windows Key
Name your computer!
Hit Next
Continue Installation
If you have a NIC card it will ask you what type of Installation do you want to choose
Typical or Custom
Do Typical for faster install

Ok. so now we have a fresh install of Windows XP.

When XP starts up everytime you get that anoying Take the XP Tour pop up...
click on it to open the tour..once in the tour simply exit out and it wont open up anymore.

Turning of Windows Messenger from start up


Double click on the Messenger icon in the system tray to open it. Skip thru the internet and sign up stuff, just cancel it. When Messenger loads go to tools and Options then Preferences and uncheck 'Run this program when windows starts'

Switching to Classic Mode


Swithcing to Classic Mode is better for system performance because it uses as little colors or graphics as possible:

Right-click on your desktop, and then click Properties.
Click on Themes tab
Set Themes to Windows Classic
Click on the Screen Saver tab
Set Screensaver to None
Press the Power button near the bottom
Power Schemes..you can have the monitor turn off but set Turn Hard Drives off to NEVER Hibernate..If this is Enabled uncheck it. This is mainly for Laptops but uses a very large chunk of data. (I've seen this not show up on the first boot of XP..when you restart it will be there but it's disabled) APM..Enabling this will allow your computer to shut down properly when in Standard PC mode Hit OK
Click the Appearance tab.
On the Windows and Buttons menu, select Windows Classic
Press Effect button
Deselect all options.
Hit OK
Click the Settings tab
Set your bit depth to 16Bit. This is optimal for Audio machines due to less colors for video drawback which in turn gives you better audio performance


Optimizing the Start Menu


Right–click the Start button, and then click Properties.
Click Classic Start menu.
Click the Customize button to select items to display on the Start menu.
By default, selecting the Classic Start menu also adds the My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, and Internet Explorer icons to your desktop.

Optimizing Computer properties


Right Click My Computer and select Properties:
System Restore tab:
Check the Turn System Restore on all drives.
Automatic Updates tab:
Turn Off Automatic Updates.
Remote tab:
Uncheck all options to turn off Remote Assistance.
Advanced tab:
Press Settings tab under Performance
Visual Effects tab:
set to Adjust for Best Performance.
Advanced tab:
Processor Scheduling:
Set this for Background Services
Memory Useage:
Set this for System Cache
Virtual Memory:
Press Change...
Depending on how much RAM you actually have is what you are going to enter here

If you have 256MB RAM set this to 512 for Min and Max
If you have 512MB RAM set this to 768 for Min and Max
If you have 1024MB RAM set this to 1536 for Min and Max
Once entered hit SET..Hit OK and then Hit OK..

Restart your machine at this point in time...
When you come back the first thing you should do is defrag the main drive even if it doesnt say it needs it. This way the swap file has been truly set and you're ready to continue.


Modifying the Windows XP Services


********FIRST THINGS FIRST!! MAKE A BACK UP OF YOU REGSITRY ***BEFORE ***DOING ANY REGEDIT OR SERVICES TWEAKS OF ANY KIND!!!!!!!!*********

Start Menu, Run...type in regedit and hit OK...
Hit the Drop menu for Registry and select Export Registry..
save this to another drive for safe keepings.

Now, let's stop that annoying balloon from popping up from our system tray
This is a Registry Tweak we have to do..

Start menu>Run...type in regedit
Hkey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre nt Version\Explorer\Advanced
If enableballoontips is there set the value to 0
If it doesnt enter it in as a new DWORD and put the value to 0

What we want to do is turn off certain "services" that are running in the background that we dont need while recording or playing out Audio Software.

Control Panel>Administrative Tools:
Double Click on Services
Here is a list of what to disabled.
Keep in mind this list is for a computer that doesnt use the internet or a network in any way. If you have an Network Card or modem of any sort, pay attention to those services and what settings are selected.

Alerter Disabled
Application Layer Gateway Service Disabled
Application Management AppMgmt Manual
Automatic Updates Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service Disabled
ClipBook Disabled
COM+ Event System EventSystem Disabled
COM+ System Application Disabled
Computer Browser Disabled
Cryptographic Services Disabled
DHCP Client Disabled (Set this to Manual for Internet)
Distributed Link Tracking Client Disabled
Distributed Transaction Coordinator Disabled
DNS Client Disabled (set this to Manual for Internet)
Error Reporting Service Disabled
Event Log Automatic
Fast User Switching Compatibility Disabled
Fax Service Disabled
Help and Support Disabled
Human Interface Device Access Disabled
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service Manual
Indexing Service Disabled
Internet Connection Sharing Disabled
IPSEC Services PolicyAgent Disabled
Logical Disk Manager Manual
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service Manual
Messenger Disabled
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Disabled
Net Login Disabled
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Disabled
Network Connections Manual
Network DDE Disabled
Network DDE DSDM Disabled
Network Location Awareness (NLA) Disabled
NT LM Security Support Provider Disabled
Performance Logs and Alerts Disabled
Plug and Play PlugPlay Automatic
Portable Media Serial Number Disabled
Print Spooler Disabled
Protected Storage Disabled
QoS RSVP Disabled
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager Disabled
Remote Access Connection Manager Disabled
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Disabled
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Automatic
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator Manual
Remote Registry Service Disabled
Removable Storage Disabled
Routing and Remote Access Disabled
Secondary Logon s Disabled
Security Accounts Manager Disabled
Server Disabled
Shell Hardware Detection Disabled
Smart Card Disabled
Smart Card Helper Disabled
SSDP Discovery Service Disabled
System Event Notification Disabled
System Restore Service Disabled
Task Scheduler Schedule Disabled
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service Disabled (set this to Manual for Internet)
Telephony Disabled
Telnet Disabled
Terminal Services Disabled
Themes Disabled
Uninterruptible Power Supply Disabled
Universal Plug and Play Device Host Disabled
Upload Manager Disabled
Volume Shadow Copy Disabled
WebClient Disabled
Windows Audio Automatic
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) Disabled
Windows Installer Manual
Windows Management Instrumentation Automatic
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Manual
Windows Time Disabled
Wireless Zero Configuration Disabled
WMI Performance Adapter Disabled
Workstation Automatic


Once you have set all of these close out of the services and restart


Modifying the Registry


****Again...it may be a good idea to make a back up of the registry *****


Intel Chipsets need to have UDMA 66 enabled for Win2k and XP. This also enables UDMA100
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\
{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000
You will need to add this value in
Right click and select New..DWORD
Type EnableUDMA66 and hit Enter..and Double click it and put the value to 1
It should the look like this:
EnableUDMA66=dword:00000001
Again, this is really only for intel chipsets.


Remove the Shared Documents folders from My Computer:
Windows XP user interface provides links to all of the Shared Documents folders on your system,
right at the top of the My Computer window.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\
NameSpace\DelegateFolders
Delete this Key
{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}


NTFS Disk Performance
The NTFS file system is the recommended file system because of its advantages in terms of
reliability and security and because it is required for large drive sizes. However, these advantages
come with some overhead. You can modify some functionality to improve NTFS performance as follows:

1. Disable creation of short names. By default,NTFS generates the style of file name for compatibility
with MS-DOS and Windows 3.x clients. If you are not supporting these types of clients, you can turn off
this setting by changing the default
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Filesystem
NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation set value to 1

2. Disable last access update. By default NTFS updates the date and time stamp of the last
access on directories this update process can slow performance. To disable:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentContolSet\Control \Filesystem
You will need to enter this as a new Dword:
NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate set value to 1

3. Reserve space for the master file table.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\FileSystem.
You will need to enter this as a new Dword
NtfsMftZoneReservation set to 1

Reboot after making changes.

Speed up the Start Menu in Windows XP.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Desktop
MenuShowDelay file set to 1
Click OK.
A restart is needed to see the results


Increase IRQ Priority of CMOS Real-time Clock
Improve overall system performance by increasing the IRQ priority of the CMOS real-time clock.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\PriorityControl
You will need to enter this as a new Dword:
"IRQ8Priority" set to 1


Windows Explorer caches DLLs(Dynamic-Link Libraries)in memory for a period of time after
the application using them has been closed. This can be an inefficient use of memory.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer
Create a new DWORD sub-key named
"AlwaysUnloadDLL" set to 1
Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Speed up CD Copying to Hard Drives
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\FileSystem
You will need to create a Key here. Right Click on the FileSystem folder and select New>Key
Name it CDFS
CacheSize, this must be added as a binary value, then type in this value: ff ff 00 00
Prefetch, this key must be added as a DWORD value, then type in this value: 4000 hex
PrefetchTail, this key must be added as a DWORD value, then type in this value: 4000 hex


To Disable Dr. Watson
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cu rrentVersion\AeDebug
Delete the AeDebug key


Other Windows XP Tweaks


Now is the time to Install your hardware drivers if you havent done it allready.
It makes no difference what order you install the drivers in.
After all the hardware drivers are done install your software.

Turn off CD Autoplay
Go to Start->Run->gpedit.msc
Computer Config -> Administrative Template -> System
Double click Turn off Autoplay
Enable it.


Control Panel>Double click Sounds and Audio Devices...Go to the Audio tab
Set the Playback and the Recording settings to either
Your built in soundcard or a soundblaster(If Applicable)
Check Only Use default devices down below
Go to the Sounds tab
Under Sound Scheme choose No Sounds
Press No to saving the previous Scheme
Hit Apply

Do this for all NTFS drives:
Open My Computer>Right Click on Crive and select Properies.
Deselect Allow Indexing Servicing....Hit Apply
Select Apply Changes to C:\ subfolders and files
You might get a message that says Access Denied...press Ignore All


By default, Windows 2000 logs the I/O traffic of your hard drive.
While this is a very useful setting for servers, for workstations it
doesn't do anything except use up system resources.
To disable it, go to the run menu and type
diskperf -n
Hit Enter to disable this logging.

Disable Error Reporting
Control Panel>Performance and Maintenance.
System>Advanced tab
Error-Reporting button
Select Disable Error Reporting.
Click OK
Click OK

Uninstall unwanted components (good for non networked computers)

Locate sysoc.inf (windows\inf\sysoc.inf) on the main drive and make a backup of it
Open the Sysoc.inf file. Each line of text in the file represents a component that
can be displayed in the Add/Remove Windows Components dialog. Delete the word HIDE for any component that you want to see in the dialog (do not erase the ommas). Save the Sysoc.inf file, then close it, and reboot your computer.

The Add/Remove Windows Components dialog will now display the items you want to remove.