I'm not sure exactly what's happening, but I did a clean install yesterday and forgot to add the VC_Redist packs and everything seems to be running much more smoothly

A few days ago somebody mentioned installing a certain version in a different thread and immediately my Ableton locked up. Every time I clicked the 'File' menu it froze for a second before I could select it, which was an issue I've had in the past. This format seems to have cleared that out

One side effect is that I couldn't install FG-X, which I can live without. Reading the posts on the sister site it looks like its related to those VC things again, so a faster PC seems like the logical option

I don't know if the system will hold up but on first playback it seems to be running much better so I thought it might be worthwhile discussing why this is, if anybody knows why missing off essential software might be better... And assuming that it holds up it might help others

 

I can only assume from what you've said and from my own experience, the more you put on a computer, the slower it gets. The trick is to only put on what you need and nothing more!

 

It's running more smoothly because it's a fresh Windows, not because you didn't install a VC redist package. Usually it's also not necessary to install them manually, as software that relies on them will install the corresponding version itself. If you take a look at your "Programs and Features", you might already find one or more of these runtimes installed there.

 

Please install this one:

Visual C++ Redistributable Runtimes All-in-One
www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/

 

Windows includes registry redirects, so older softwares should find functional libraries,
VC (VisualC) is already included in Windows 10/11, if a software needs specific version, it's usually included within its installer, and still may get skipped as newer version is already present in stock Windows system now,

you can still do the VC AIO as suggested above, but I'd bet your issue would be related to DirectX/OpenGL/OpenCL graphics libraries or graphics driver itself - make sure to have those up-to-date

 

I doubt its specifically related to VC and more about the fact that you haven't installed all of the things you had running previously.

 

The runtime distributables are for compatibility only, if a suitable one is not found the software won't run. The only thing you'll lose is some hard disk space, but that's pretty much nothing.

Having all of them won't hurt.

 

I should probably clarify a bit... The software runs with all of the VC's, its just that I've been getting a delay with sister site stuff for a while. Its only a second or so but sometimes it causes Ableton to lock up for even minutes at a time. My previous install was fine until I added a random VC, no idea why, and the delay came back...

I did a few formats yesterday, trying to install iLok with hardware and Spark plugins, online authorising I kept getting issues, so I just started again and in the end couldn't be arsed adding the VC's, or forgot...

At one point I got Ableton running and came across a random issue and came across that lockup again. I think I installed the full VC Redist Pack and got the lockups, I can't remember because I had 2 hours of hell with Spark, but I remember it coming up again. Its only a small delay and most people might not even spot it. It might be an iLok call or something, bearing in mind that I installed legit iLok earlier in the day

From the replies it looks like any plugins that were causing issues just don't launch without VC and in that case that feels like a win. Its pointless installing a troublesome pack to get troublesome plugins working and put up with a delay if its running smoother without

I always run offline btw and after 2 hours of smashing my head against the wall with Spark its staying that way. Whatever is working in the combination of OS and plugins is a success if it holds up. It sounds like the VC shouldn't be directly influencing my setup, but whatever I have in my plugins and DAW combi the VC causes a short hang... It might not be the VC itself, but there is a tiny hang related to it somehow... It seems that nobody else is making the same connection, which is cool, but worth bringing up in case it helps anybody else with troubleshooting

I think my OS might be quite old. I installed it in August last year I think and I've no idea when I created the USB stick... And my graphics is AMD RX570 but I ripped the driver from the install and saved that, so on clean installs I install 'driver only' now. This might also help with a clean system. None of that Adrenaline crap

Cheers for all the comments

 

Hallo @reziduchamp, You have to take action yourself and optimize yourself, here is a wealth of links.
Better you use the following links to optimize your computer for music production.

1.) Don't let audio glitches ruin your performances! www.cantabilesoftware.com/glitchfree/
1.) The Ultimate Guide to Optimize your Windows PC for the Stage
https://gigperformer.com/docs/ultimate-guide-to-optimize-windows-for-stage/index.html
2.) LatencyMon 7.20
The LatencyMon software analyzes and identifies which device, which driver or which service is causing audio dropouts or malfunctions. Real-time audio suitability checker for Windows 10/8.1/8/7/2016/2012/2008 (x86 and x64)
Scroll Down to: System Monitoring Tools www.resplendence.com/downloads
3.) Windows Tuning Tips for Audio Processing
https://support.native-instruments....1729-Windows-Tuning-Tips-for-Audio-Processing
4.) PreSonus - Optimizing Your Computer for Audio - Windows 10
https://support.presonus.com/hc/en-...Optimizing-Your-Computer-for-Audio-Windows-10
5.) Ableton - Optimizing Windows for Audio
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071469-Optimizing-Windows-for-Audio
6.) FL Studio - Optimizing FL Studio performance
www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/app_opt.htm
7.) Steinberg - Windows: How to set-up and optimize a Digital Audio Workstation
https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/...t-up-and-optimize-a-Digital-Audio-Workstation
8.) Focusrite - Optimising your PC for Audio on Windows 10
https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207355205-Optimising-your-PC-for-Audio-on-Windows-10

 

These are the tips that I usually follow... It seems to work better without

This could be a combination of one new MS 'fix' screwing up something else, so we get these new drivers to fix that and MS screws up those updates with their new update and on and on...

It makes me wonder if Windows 7 still works with a lot of software then did we really need the latest of everything else? Especially if you keep the computer offline

 

links broken

 

All links are working for me except 7.) Steinberg

 

here is the correct one: https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/...t-up-and-optimize-a-Digital-Audio-Workstation

 

If that build is placed on the internet with all the out-of-box garbage-ware running it into the ground, you can have the barest of installs and eventually it will simply break itself.