DJ Coco
Hi,
Here you have a small list of some tweaks you can try to get the best performance of VirtualDJ in Win 2000.
If you are using VirtualDJ and you don´t have any problem, I suggest you to do not do anything of this.
But if you are having the skipping problem, you could try this list of suggestions:
The first you should know is that the problem comes from your computer and not from VirtualDJ !
So before doing and changing anything, i recommend you to unplug every single device you have connected to your pc (such as ZIP drive, external hard drive, external cd-r; printer, fax, etc), reboot and try virtualdj again.
Also test your RAM in order to be sure it (they) are working well.
· The more RAM you have - the better.
With today's memory prices you might want to optimize your current memory system. I recomend you to get 512 MB of RAM (minimum)
Be sure your RAM is working well. You can test your RAM downloading this windows´ aplication:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
· Don't upgrade over your old OS, install fresh
Install the last DirectX version (from microsoft website)
update your video and sound card(s) drivers
Do not use bigger files (in KB)
· Before doing any significant number of “tweaks” it is advisable (and actually beneficial to performance success) to do a number of preparatory items. This places the OS in a more responsive- receptive mode for “tweaking”.
1.) Do a disk scan and repair to clear up bad sectors.
2.) Do a (system) disk defrag to compact and un-fragment data.
3.) Scan registry for fragments and compact (compress).
· A “Quirk” of Windows 2000
It is advisable that you go and check each hardware component driver to insure you have the latest version (even though – you think you loaded the right one). To do this – right click My Computer > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Double click on each device – select the Driver Tab and look at the version & date.
· Virtual Memory:
What is Virtual memory? It is a hidden file on the hard disk that Windows 2000 uses to hold parts of programs & data files (that do not fit in physical memory). The paging file & physical memory (RAM), comprise virtual memory. Windows 2000 moves data from the paging file to memory as needed & moves data from memory to the paging file to make room for new data. The Paging file is also called a swap file.
Setting the swap file size isn't hard. Right-click on the My Computer icon, select Properties, click the Advanced tab, and press the Performance Options button. The existing virtual memory size will be listed there; to change it, click Change. You'll be able to specify page file sizes for each volume in your system. The initial size should typically be set to the "Recommended" number listed under "Total paging file size for all drives". Windows calculates the recommended at just about 1.5 X physical RAM. Maximum size can be about anything your drive can hold. I suggest to set the same number to initail and maximum. Where it goes is what’s very important.
The most basic and obvious trick with the swap file is don't put it on the same hard drive as your operating system. The idea is that the operating system is seeking or writing instruction while also moving data to or from the paging files. The most efficient thing you can do with a swap file is to put it on a drive other than the drive holding Win2K itself. This will speed things up noticeably, because two totally different physical drives will handle calls to the OS and calls to the swap file. This is not a must on some systems and it will become obvious later.
NOTE – This is not the same as placing it on a separate hard drive(s). If you have multiple hard drives try either placing the Page file Partitioning to a hard drive that your system file is on.
· Disabling Background APPS from Startup
Background applications can destroy performance in several ways. The only applications you want open are your music application, your sound cards driver application (if any), System Tray, and Explorer. To get a glance at programs running in the background you can press Ctrl + Alt + Del. If you are in Windows 2000, you will have to select Task Manager and then select the Application tab after pressing Crtl + Alt + Del. You can also use a utility called msconfig.exe (If you are using Win2000, you must look for msconfig.exe utility file over internet). Click on the START button and select RUN. Type in msconfig.exe. When the msconfig utility opens, select the Startup tab. Here you can deselect all programs that start-up automatically when you power on the computer.
· Enabling DMA for IDE Hard Drives
DMA stands for Direct Memory Access. In short, it allows the Hard Drive to transfer data without having to interuppt the processor. Enabling DMA increases overall system performance and the number of audio tracks that can play simultaneously. If DMA is not enabled, you may hear pops, clicks, drop-outs, or stuttering in your audio. To check if DMA is enabled do the following...START > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL. Double click on the System icon.
In Windows 2000 select the Hardware Tab and then select the Device Manager button. Click on the '+' next to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. Double click on the IDE channel in question and choose the Advanced Settings tab. Make sure DMA is chosen as the 'Transfer Mode'.
· Identifying and fixing IRQ sharing conflicts
IRQ sharing conflicts can cause numerous problems with digital audio playback such as Pops, Clicks, Stutters, Freezes, and Error Messages. IRQ stands for Interupt Request. For each CPU in a computer, there are 15 IRQs. Each device is assigned an IRQ by the Motherboard and/or Windows. In Windows 2000 there is a utility called msinfo32.exe that is used to identify if your computer has an IRQ sharing conflict. Click on the START button and select RUN. Type in the word msinfo32.exe (You can also access msinfo32.exe by clicking on the START > PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS > SYSTEM INFORMATION). In the left side of the msinfo32.exe window, Click on the + sign next to Hardware Resources. Below Hardware Resources, select IRQs. In the left side of the screen find your Sound Card in the list. Just to the left of the Sound Card is the IRQ number. Your computer has an IRQ sharing conflict If the same number appears with another device such as the Graphics Card, Network Card, or SCSI controller card. If there is IRQ sharing with something called 'ACPI holder for PCI steering', this is not considered a conflict.
There are 3 ways to fix an IRQ sharing conflict.
-1. Turn off the computer and unplug the power cable. Open up the computer case and physically remove the card from the motherboard and place it into a different PCI slot. Check msinfo32.exe for changes.
-2. Enter the Motherboard BIOS setup (Refer to your Computer or Motherboard's User Manual for specific instructions on how to enter the Motherboard BIOS). Select PnP/PCI configuration in the BIOS setup. In the following screen, there should be selections to switch to a Non PnP OS and to manually assign IRQ to PCI slots. Refer to the Motherboard manual regarding the assignment of IRQ per PCI slot.
-3. In the Motherboard BIOS, you can disable any Devices or Ports on your computer that you do not use. Some examples include COM ports 1 & 2, Built in Audio, and even USB. By disabling these devices or ports, you free up IRQs for other more important devices such as your Sound Card.
· Optimizing Performance for Background Applications
By default, Windows 2000 is designed to give more attention to applications that you are currently working on. The program appears to be more responsive at the expense of ignoring the other services/programs running in the background such as your sound card driver. It may sound counter intuitive, however, it is recommended to set Windows to be optimized for Background Services while working with Audio programs. Here is how to set this up in Windows 2000/XP.
Click on START > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL. Double click the SYSTEM ICON. Click on the ADVANCED TAB and in the Performance section, click on the SETTINGS button and select the ADVANCED tab. Select the option to Optimize Windows for Background Services. Click on the OK button and then Restart Windows.
NOTE: At this point, many users has reported that selecting Best performance for background task they got a better performance. So you can try both and see the results
· Reducing Graphics Acceleration
Some Graphic cards require that you reduce the Hardware Acceleration in order for Digital Audio to playback smoothly while the graphics change on screen. Technically speaking, the graphics card can 'hog' the bandwidth from the Audio card while trying to stream digital audio.
In Windows 2000, you would select START > SETTINGS > CONTRL PANEL > DISPLAY. Select the 'SETTINGS' tab, click on the advanced button.
Select the tab labeled 'TROUBLESHOOT'.
Move the slider all the way to None, click on OK or CLOSE, and restart the computer. If everything sounds good, try increasing the slider one-by-one until there is a workable balance between graphics and audio performance.
· Turning off Windows2000 services
Windows 2000 uses services that run in the background as well. Services are different than programs, however, in that they provide services to programs. There are some services that most DAW do not need active and we can turn them off to free up memory and make the boot-up time faster. You can do so going to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Look for any unneeded service with automatic startup type, and change it to manual. With this setting, the service will not start automatically at Windows startup, but can be started if needed.
Typical services that might not be necessary:
-Distributed Link Tracking Client (networking, tracks file transfers across NTFS volumes for computers in NT domains)
-DNS Client
-IPSEC Policy Agent (networking, to manage IP security)
-Remote Registry Service
-Task Scheduler
A-dditionally, if you aren't using a LAN (local area network), you should be able to disable:
-Computer Browser (networking, to list computers in a LAN)
-DHCP client (networking, to get automatically the IP address and DNS from a DHCP server)
-TCP/IP NetBios helper (LAN)
In an ideal world everyone would have 2 computers. One for internet surfing and general use, and another for making music. Since this is not always the case, we have to come up with a solution for Device Management on one computer system. Having unused devices available on your system is unnecessary and sometimes problematic. One example would be a situation where the Network card and Audio Card share an IRQ. This is not really a problem for the Network card, but for the Audio Card, this can cause snap, crackles, and pops during audio playback and recording. One solution would be to move the cards to different PCI slots on the motherboard or go inside the BIOS and try to force and IRQ number to a particular PCI slot.
Another quick solution involves Creating 2 Hardware Profiles in Windows, one for Network usage and another for Music Production.
The following description uses Windows 2000 as an example.
Right Click on the My Computer Icon and Select Properties.
Click on the Hardware Tab.
Click on the button named Hardware Profiles... located at the bottom.
If you haven't already created a new Profile, you should see the words 'Profile 1 (Current)' in the display.
Click on the Copy button and give it a name such as 'Music' or 'Audio' or 'Music Production'.
Below are some more options that affect how Windows boots up. If you select 'Wait until I select a hardware profile', Windows will not boot until you select a Hardware Profile from the list above. If you select 'Select the first profile listed if I don't select a profile in', then Windows will boot to the first profile listed in the window above after the specified amount of time below. You can use the arrows to the right to decide which Profile should be first in the list.
A nice setting is around 10 seconds - this can always be adjusted.
Click on the OK button and reboot your computer. During reboot you will see a screen allowing you to choose one of the Hardware Profiles. Choose the Music one that you created.
When Windows boots up, goto your Device Manager and disable the Network Card. Now, while you are working with Audio, your Network card will not disturb the data transmission to and from the Audio Card.
If you reboot back into the Original Profile, you will notice that your Network card is Enabled and you can surf the net as before.
· USB, Parallel, Network Cards & Modem ports
Various software programs can be integrated with USB & Parallel Port Hardware as well as Modems & Network Cards. These may inadvertently produce unnecessary polling along the PCI bus. When operating in audio Mode disable your USB, Parallel Port, Network Card and/or Modem. If using a USB port mouse may consider getting standard PS/2 type. If these items are frequently needed you may set up various user bootup profiles to avoid having to go into Device Manager to enable.
* Record in MP3 instead of WAV !
Bye,
DJ Coco
Support Team
Note: I´ve tested all this tweaks and all of them works great on my pc. I can´t assure you that they will work on every pc so i suggest you to do a backup before changing anything. Just in case.
Here you have a small list of some tweaks you can try to get the best performance of VirtualDJ in Win 2000.
If you are using VirtualDJ and you don´t have any problem, I suggest you to do not do anything of this.
But if you are having the skipping problem, you could try this list of suggestions:
The first you should know is that the problem comes from your computer and not from VirtualDJ !
So before doing and changing anything, i recommend you to unplug every single device you have connected to your pc (such as ZIP drive, external hard drive, external cd-r; printer, fax, etc), reboot and try virtualdj again.
Also test your RAM in order to be sure it (they) are working well.
· The more RAM you have - the better.
With today's memory prices you might want to optimize your current memory system. I recomend you to get 512 MB of RAM (minimum)
Be sure your RAM is working well. You can test your RAM downloading this windows´ aplication:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
· Don't upgrade over your old OS, install fresh
Install the last DirectX version (from microsoft website)
update your video and sound card(s) drivers
Do not use bigger files (in KB)
· Before doing any significant number of “tweaks” it is advisable (and actually beneficial to performance success) to do a number of preparatory items. This places the OS in a more responsive- receptive mode for “tweaking”.
1.) Do a disk scan and repair to clear up bad sectors.
2.) Do a (system) disk defrag to compact and un-fragment data.
3.) Scan registry for fragments and compact (compress).
· A “Quirk” of Windows 2000
It is advisable that you go and check each hardware component driver to insure you have the latest version (even though – you think you loaded the right one). To do this – right click My Computer > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Double click on each device – select the Driver Tab and look at the version & date.
· Virtual Memory:
What is Virtual memory? It is a hidden file on the hard disk that Windows 2000 uses to hold parts of programs & data files (that do not fit in physical memory). The paging file & physical memory (RAM), comprise virtual memory. Windows 2000 moves data from the paging file to memory as needed & moves data from memory to the paging file to make room for new data. The Paging file is also called a swap file.
Setting the swap file size isn't hard. Right-click on the My Computer icon, select Properties, click the Advanced tab, and press the Performance Options button. The existing virtual memory size will be listed there; to change it, click Change. You'll be able to specify page file sizes for each volume in your system. The initial size should typically be set to the "Recommended" number listed under "Total paging file size for all drives". Windows calculates the recommended at just about 1.5 X physical RAM. Maximum size can be about anything your drive can hold. I suggest to set the same number to initail and maximum. Where it goes is what’s very important.
The most basic and obvious trick with the swap file is don't put it on the same hard drive as your operating system. The idea is that the operating system is seeking or writing instruction while also moving data to or from the paging files. The most efficient thing you can do with a swap file is to put it on a drive other than the drive holding Win2K itself. This will speed things up noticeably, because two totally different physical drives will handle calls to the OS and calls to the swap file. This is not a must on some systems and it will become obvious later.
NOTE – This is not the same as placing it on a separate hard drive(s). If you have multiple hard drives try either placing the Page file Partitioning to a hard drive that your system file is on.
· Disabling Background APPS from Startup
Background applications can destroy performance in several ways. The only applications you want open are your music application, your sound cards driver application (if any), System Tray, and Explorer. To get a glance at programs running in the background you can press Ctrl + Alt + Del. If you are in Windows 2000, you will have to select Task Manager and then select the Application tab after pressing Crtl + Alt + Del. You can also use a utility called msconfig.exe (If you are using Win2000, you must look for msconfig.exe utility file over internet). Click on the START button and select RUN. Type in msconfig.exe. When the msconfig utility opens, select the Startup tab. Here you can deselect all programs that start-up automatically when you power on the computer.
· Enabling DMA for IDE Hard Drives
DMA stands for Direct Memory Access. In short, it allows the Hard Drive to transfer data without having to interuppt the processor. Enabling DMA increases overall system performance and the number of audio tracks that can play simultaneously. If DMA is not enabled, you may hear pops, clicks, drop-outs, or stuttering in your audio. To check if DMA is enabled do the following...START > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL. Double click on the System icon.
In Windows 2000 select the Hardware Tab and then select the Device Manager button. Click on the '+' next to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. Double click on the IDE channel in question and choose the Advanced Settings tab. Make sure DMA is chosen as the 'Transfer Mode'.
· Identifying and fixing IRQ sharing conflicts
IRQ sharing conflicts can cause numerous problems with digital audio playback such as Pops, Clicks, Stutters, Freezes, and Error Messages. IRQ stands for Interupt Request. For each CPU in a computer, there are 15 IRQs. Each device is assigned an IRQ by the Motherboard and/or Windows. In Windows 2000 there is a utility called msinfo32.exe that is used to identify if your computer has an IRQ sharing conflict. Click on the START button and select RUN. Type in the word msinfo32.exe (You can also access msinfo32.exe by clicking on the START > PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS > SYSTEM INFORMATION). In the left side of the msinfo32.exe window, Click on the + sign next to Hardware Resources. Below Hardware Resources, select IRQs. In the left side of the screen find your Sound Card in the list. Just to the left of the Sound Card is the IRQ number. Your computer has an IRQ sharing conflict If the same number appears with another device such as the Graphics Card, Network Card, or SCSI controller card. If there is IRQ sharing with something called 'ACPI holder for PCI steering', this is not considered a conflict.
There are 3 ways to fix an IRQ sharing conflict.
-1. Turn off the computer and unplug the power cable. Open up the computer case and physically remove the card from the motherboard and place it into a different PCI slot. Check msinfo32.exe for changes.
-2. Enter the Motherboard BIOS setup (Refer to your Computer or Motherboard's User Manual for specific instructions on how to enter the Motherboard BIOS). Select PnP/PCI configuration in the BIOS setup. In the following screen, there should be selections to switch to a Non PnP OS and to manually assign IRQ to PCI slots. Refer to the Motherboard manual regarding the assignment of IRQ per PCI slot.
-3. In the Motherboard BIOS, you can disable any Devices or Ports on your computer that you do not use. Some examples include COM ports 1 & 2, Built in Audio, and even USB. By disabling these devices or ports, you free up IRQs for other more important devices such as your Sound Card.
· Optimizing Performance for Background Applications
By default, Windows 2000 is designed to give more attention to applications that you are currently working on. The program appears to be more responsive at the expense of ignoring the other services/programs running in the background such as your sound card driver. It may sound counter intuitive, however, it is recommended to set Windows to be optimized for Background Services while working with Audio programs. Here is how to set this up in Windows 2000/XP.
Click on START > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL. Double click the SYSTEM ICON. Click on the ADVANCED TAB and in the Performance section, click on the SETTINGS button and select the ADVANCED tab. Select the option to Optimize Windows for Background Services. Click on the OK button and then Restart Windows.
NOTE: At this point, many users has reported that selecting Best performance for background task they got a better performance. So you can try both and see the results
· Reducing Graphics Acceleration
Some Graphic cards require that you reduce the Hardware Acceleration in order for Digital Audio to playback smoothly while the graphics change on screen. Technically speaking, the graphics card can 'hog' the bandwidth from the Audio card while trying to stream digital audio.
In Windows 2000, you would select START > SETTINGS > CONTRL PANEL > DISPLAY. Select the 'SETTINGS' tab, click on the advanced button.
Select the tab labeled 'TROUBLESHOOT'.
Move the slider all the way to None, click on OK or CLOSE, and restart the computer. If everything sounds good, try increasing the slider one-by-one until there is a workable balance between graphics and audio performance.
· Turning off Windows2000 services
Windows 2000 uses services that run in the background as well. Services are different than programs, however, in that they provide services to programs. There are some services that most DAW do not need active and we can turn them off to free up memory and make the boot-up time faster. You can do so going to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Look for any unneeded service with automatic startup type, and change it to manual. With this setting, the service will not start automatically at Windows startup, but can be started if needed.
Typical services that might not be necessary:
-Distributed Link Tracking Client (networking, tracks file transfers across NTFS volumes for computers in NT domains)
-DNS Client
-IPSEC Policy Agent (networking, to manage IP security)
-Remote Registry Service
-Task Scheduler
A-dditionally, if you aren't using a LAN (local area network), you should be able to disable:
-Computer Browser (networking, to list computers in a LAN)
-DHCP client (networking, to get automatically the IP address and DNS from a DHCP server)
-TCP/IP NetBios helper (LAN)
In an ideal world everyone would have 2 computers. One for internet surfing and general use, and another for making music. Since this is not always the case, we have to come up with a solution for Device Management on one computer system. Having unused devices available on your system is unnecessary and sometimes problematic. One example would be a situation where the Network card and Audio Card share an IRQ. This is not really a problem for the Network card, but for the Audio Card, this can cause snap, crackles, and pops during audio playback and recording. One solution would be to move the cards to different PCI slots on the motherboard or go inside the BIOS and try to force and IRQ number to a particular PCI slot.
Another quick solution involves Creating 2 Hardware Profiles in Windows, one for Network usage and another for Music Production.
The following description uses Windows 2000 as an example.
Right Click on the My Computer Icon and Select Properties.
Click on the Hardware Tab.
Click on the button named Hardware Profiles... located at the bottom.
If you haven't already created a new Profile, you should see the words 'Profile 1 (Current)' in the display.
Click on the Copy button and give it a name such as 'Music' or 'Audio' or 'Music Production'.
Below are some more options that affect how Windows boots up. If you select 'Wait until I select a hardware profile', Windows will not boot until you select a Hardware Profile from the list above. If you select 'Select the first profile listed if I don't select a profile in', then Windows will boot to the first profile listed in the window above after the specified amount of time below. You can use the arrows to the right to decide which Profile should be first in the list.
A nice setting is around 10 seconds - this can always be adjusted.
Click on the OK button and reboot your computer. During reboot you will see a screen allowing you to choose one of the Hardware Profiles. Choose the Music one that you created.
When Windows boots up, goto your Device Manager and disable the Network Card. Now, while you are working with Audio, your Network card will not disturb the data transmission to and from the Audio Card.
If you reboot back into the Original Profile, you will notice that your Network card is Enabled and you can surf the net as before.
· USB, Parallel, Network Cards & Modem ports
Various software programs can be integrated with USB & Parallel Port Hardware as well as Modems & Network Cards. These may inadvertently produce unnecessary polling along the PCI bus. When operating in audio Mode disable your USB, Parallel Port, Network Card and/or Modem. If using a USB port mouse may consider getting standard PS/2 type. If these items are frequently needed you may set up various user bootup profiles to avoid having to go into Device Manager to enable.
* Record in MP3 instead of WAV !
Bye,
DJ Coco
Support Team
Note: I´ve tested all this tweaks and all of them works great on my pc. I can´t assure you that they will work on every pc so i suggest you to do a backup before changing anything. Just in case.
Posted Fri 22 Aug 03 @ 9:28 pm