Win7 Registry tweaks

[matt]

I found these online. So far they have made a dramatic difference.

Lower Menu Show Delay:

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop key\
3. Right-click the MenuShowDelay item and select Modify.
4. In the Edit DWORD dialog box, change the value to 100.
5. Click OK.



Turn off low disk space checking:

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies key.
3. If the Explorer key exists, select it. If not, right-click in the rightmost pane and select New, Key. Name this new key Explorer, and then select it.
4. Right-click in the rightmost pane and select New, DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name the new DWORD NoLowDiskSpaceChecks.
6. Right-click the new NoLowDiskSpaceChecks item and select Modify.
7. In the Edit DWORD dialog box, change the value to 1.
8. Click OK.



Move the Windows Kernel into Memory

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\
3. CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management key.
4. Right-click the DisablePagingExecutive item and select Modify.
5. In the Edit DWORD dialog box, change the value to 1.
6. Click OK.

You must reboot your system for this tweak to take effect.

[Microstudio]

Nice thanks!

[Rabbit]

I've been considering upgrading my SAW machine to Win 7 and if I do this info should be very useful. Thanks for the tip.

[matt]

np guys:)

Here are a couple of os changes I made that have fixed screen redraw issues:

1. Control Panel\System\Advanced system settings\Advanced\(Performance)Settings\Advanced tab\Adjust for best performance for: Background services.

2. Control Panel\System\Advanced system settings\Advanced\(Performance)Settings\Data Execution Prevention tab\Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:\Add... SAWStudio (and any other apps used in conjunction eg:WAVESTATION

Many of the other XP tweaks are beneficial also.

[IraSeigel]

np guys:)

Here are a couple of os changes I made that have fixed screen redraw issues:

1. Control Panel\System\Advanced system settings\Advanced\(Performance)Settings\Advanced tab\Adjust for best performance for: Background services.

2. Control Panel\System\Advanced system settings\Advanced\(Performance)Settings\Data Execution Prevention tab\Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:\Add... SAWStudio (and any other apps used in conjunction eg:WAVESTATION

Many of the other XP tweaks are beneficial also.

Are you absolutely sure about #1? I believe the recommendation has always been to "Adjust for Best Performance: Programs". This recommendation directly contradicts one of Bob's tweaks,.

[Dave Labrecque]

Are you absolutely sure about #1? I believe the recommendation has always been to "Adjust for Best Performance: Programs". This recommendation directly contradicts one of Bob's tweaks,.

Bob doesn't have any Windows 7 tweaks, does he?

[IraSeigel]

Bob doesn't have any Windows 7 tweaks, does he?

I believe he says to use his XP tweaks for Win7. I don't think he's made a separate list for Win7

[Craig Allen]

I believe he says to use his XP tweaks for Win7. I don't think he's made a separate list for Win7

He does on the SAC site. And yes, you're right Ira - that does contradict his tweaks. If you go with background tasks as priority, I believe the SAW mixdown times will get a lot longer.

[IraSeigel]

I just did these tweaks (not the "Background Services" one) to a Win7/SAC laptop, and I'll report back shortly. I'm hoping these solve some of my problems.

[matt]

Are you absolutely sure about #1? I believe the recommendation has always been to "Adjust for Best Performance: Programs". This recommendation directly contradicts one of Bob's tweaks,.

For whatever reason it seems to improve my system. I have always set it up for Programs in the past... could be a video card thing. Clearly the option is there for a reason. If it doesn't work for your system, don't do it.;)

[dbarrow]

Windows 7 SP1 just came out. I wonder if it fixes anything (for us) or just makes it worse.

[IraSeigel]

I just did these tweaks (not the "Background Services" one) to a Win7/SAC laptop, and I'll report back shortly. I'm hoping these solve some of my problems.

After a 45 minute test on my T500 Win7 SP1 laptop, running SAC at 4/64, 2 inputs (CD playback) and no cursoring, fader changes or other movements, I had about 12% CPU load and 170 dropped buffers.

No improvement at all. Still totally unusable for SAC.

Back to XP next...

[Warren]

It would seem Win 7 has a considerable amount of bloat that takes up to many cpu cycles in the background, making it almost useless for audio, at least for some of us. I went back to XP awhile ago for that very same reason.

Chris

[matt]

Windows 7 SP1 just came out. I wonder if it fixes anything (for us) or just makes it worse.

It's been good to me so far... I'm sure in time all the bugs will be worked out and the hardware drivers will normalize. I have found that 32bit is much more stable to date.

[Bill Park]

It would seem Win 7 has a considerable amount of bloat that takes up to many cpu cycles in the background, making it almost useless for audio, at least for some of us. I went back to XP awhile ago for that very same reason.

Chris

Hardly useless, as many audio apps run just fine under Win7/32 or /64. I'm beta testing one now. I don't think I need to list the others.

Of course, new operating systems take more resources than old operating systems.. nothing surprising there. That takes away from what is available to the DAW. But there is an expectation that the old computer will get replaced with the OS, sooner or later.

My two studio machines are XP and will stay so for the foreseeable future, until the DAW that I use becomes 64 bit. But I've been running various DAWs and other audio apps on a pair of laptops, one Win 7/32, the other Win 7/64, and there have not been a lot of issues. The 64 bit computer is really underpowered to start with, I would not normally pick such a machine for audio work at all, and it is okay with DAWs, just don't ask it to be happy with 32 bit sample player-type apps in it's 64 bit no-ram-to-speak-of configuration... and the lack of RAM may be the biggest impediment to performance rather than the wimpiness of the machine itself.

I don't see a reason to upgrade just to do it. If your applications exist in a 64 bit format, that makes sense to me. But if you are trying to wrest the most performance you can from your computer and a 32 bit DAW and are currently on XP (or Win2k for that matter), why change? As Bob has mentioned more than once, there is a lot going on under the hood of Win7 that is inaccessible. The 'tweaks' seem to be of minimal value, and seem to provide inconsistent results from machine to machine. (for example, Areo is typically listed as a service to turn off. But one of the US reps for another DAW says that his performance improved when he turned it on. But another user of the same DAW listed "turn off Areo" as a recommended tweak. Did he really experience an improvement doing this, or was he just going along with everybody else?)

[MikeDee]

After a 45 minute test on my T500 Win7 SP1 laptop, running SAC at 4/64, 2 inputs (CD playback) and no cursoring, fader changes or other movements, I had about 12% CPU load and 170 dropped buffers.

No improvement at all. Still totally unusable for SAC.

Back to XP next...Ira, what if you had tried switching to Background Services (the tweak you skipped originally)? Perhaps your particular machine/config might respond favorably as a result...or...perhaps not.... :o

[IraSeigel]

Ira, what if you had tried switching to Background Services (the tweak you skipped originally)? Perhaps your particular machine/config might respond favorably as a result...or...perhaps not.... :o

Thanks Mike. You're right, I should try that and I will.

I fear, tho, that I made a major mistake when I decided to get the laptop with integrated graphics rather than with a discrete video card. I'm understanding that there may be a way to add one in, but I'm not quite sure. I keep asking users who have had success with Win7 if they have machines with integrated or discrete graphics. I think I'm getting a sense that the successful users have discrete video subsystems rather than Intel Integrated Graphics 4500MHD chipset.

[brettbrandon]

I have Win 7 64bit on my host machine and the remote laptop. I also use a netbook with Win 7 Starter. Been using Win 7 for over a year without any problems...

[Brent Evans]

I have Win 7 64bit on my host machine and the remote laptop. I also use a netbook with Win 7 Starter. Been using Win 7 for over a year without any problems...

My current host PC has 7-64, and has been running fine now since Christmas. Stays up 24-7, no slipped buffers unless I add certain plugins, which I know to avoid while live.

I did find out that you can (at least sometimes) install 7-32 from a retail disc with the OEM key off a new PC... so that's good to know. I haven't yet felt the need to do so on my host.

[matt]

I fear, tho, that I made a major mistake when I decided to get the laptop with integrated graphics rather than with a discrete video card. I'm understanding that there may be a way to add one in, but I'm not quite sure. I keep asking users who have had success with Win7 if they have machines with integrated or discrete graphics. I think I'm getting a sense that the successful users have discrete video subsystems rather than Intel Integrated Graphics 4500MHD chipset.This got me thinking about my vidio card (GTS450) So I adjusted the Nvidia control panel to Performance and switched back to "Programs" in scheduling. Seems to have fixed my problem. Try setting your onboard graphics to performance and turn off any shaders.

[IraSeigel]

This got me thinking about my vidio card (GTS450) So I adjusted the Nvidia control panel to Performance and switched back to "Programs" in scheduling. Seems to have fixed my problem. Try setting your onboard graphics to performance and turn off any shaders.

Thanks Matt. I'd done this previously as one of Bob's tweaks. However, YOUR post got ME thinking that I need to check the Intel Graphics control panel, which I'll do when I have my T500 in front of me next time. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm also going to find out if the laptop can have a video card installed in it either by me or by a service center. Otherwise, it'll become a home machine and I'll carry on with my T42 and T43, as noted in my updated "signature".