made that leap from xp to win7-64 on my main machine yesterday (had 7 on my laptop for years).
i know many of you have been there, please share your expertise, which settings, services to disable, anything for that extra bit of audio/asio performance boost and stability.
running on an older asus am3 board with phenom x4 965 cpu and creamware/soniccore pci cards.
thank you.

 

Hi panaman,

You can start here: https://support.presonus.com/hc/en-...ur-Computer-for-Audio-Windows-Vista-Windows-7

Additionally, here are some special tweaks to make your Windows 7 even more otimized for audio

Spoiler: Windows 7 Advanced Optimizations

General optimisation:


1. Set your computer's power for high performance

If your computer is set to conserve energy, the CPU may not be running at full speed all of the time. This can have a detrimental effect on your computer's audio performance. To set your computer's power for high performance:

- Go to: Start>Control Panel>Power Options

- Choose "High Performance"

- Click the "Change plan settings" button.

- Make sure both power options are set to "Never"


2. Disable system sounds

System sounds can interrupt audio. Ensure that they are disabled by doing the following:

- Go to control panel and select "Sound"

- Go to the sounds tab

- Under sounds scheme, select "No sounds"

- Click "Apply" then, "OK"


3. Enable DMA (Direct memory access) on each IDE channel

This allows data to be transferred directly into the memory and can improve audio performance. To ensure that DMA is enabled:

- Open device manager

- Expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers category then double click on each one of the IDE channels

- Under the 'Advanced settings' tab, make sure the 'Enable DMA' box is ticked in device properties

Please note: this only applies to some hardware and if this option is not available, you should not worry about completing this step.


4. Set processor scheduling to "Background services"

This will improve the performance of your audio drivers on your computer. To do this:

- In control panel select "system"

- Go to "Advanced system settings" and then the "Performance" tab

- Set processor scheduling as "Background Services"

- Click "Apply" then "OK"


5. Disable Windows Firewall, anti-virus and spyware software

These should all be disabled to ensure that no interferences occur during audio recording or playback and to ensure that maximum resources are available. To remain secure while your firewall and antivirus disabled, it is advisable to temporarily disconnect from any internet connections when working with audio.



Advanced optimisation:


If you wish to optimise your system further, or you are using a system that is particularly lacking in resources you can follow the tips below for advanced optimisation.


Disable Visual effects

The visual features in Windows 7 can use resources that could otherwise help to improve audio performance. As a start, it is good idea to disable some of the visual features by doing the following:

- Press start and in the search box type: "SystemPropertiesPerformance" and press enter

- On the visual effects tab select "custom"

- Untick: "Animate windows when minimising and maximising" to help prevent glitches when minimising and maximising. You can also experiment with disabling other visual effects in the custom list to see how they improve audio performance.

- Once finished, press "OK"


If you wish to optimise your Windows 7 graphics for the best performance use the "Adjust for best performance". Although improving computer performance, this will make your Windows 7 appear a lot less aesthetically pleasing.


Disable Windows services

One way in which you can make more resources available to improve audio performance, is to disable unnecessary Windows 7 services as these use valuable resources. The following site has a comprehensive guide to the services running on Windows 7 and helps locate the services that are safe to disable:

Windows 7 Service Configurations by Black Viper

#control panel / sound and audio devices


sounds sound scheme, no sounds, uncheck play windows startup sound

communications do nothing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# set plugins location in Windows 7

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\VST

reset VSTPluginsPath to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 5\VSTPlugins"


# Background Services

Processor scheduling should be set to background services and not Programs.

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance Settings >

Advanced Tab > Background Services


# swap file

put on drive that is not os or audio writing drive like samples drive

set to 1.5x ram 4gb ram = 6.139 gb swap fixed size, not system managed.



# video for nvidia geforce 9800 gt

3d Settings / Adjust image settings with preview / use my preference emphasizing / performance

set physx configuration / disabled


# Visual Effects for best performance

Advanced tab: Press Settings tab under Performance Visual Effects tab: set to Adjust for Best Performance.

Special note: to maintain sync on my rme 9562 check:

Enable Desktop composition

Smooth edges of screen fonts (enable clear type)

Use visual styles on windows and buttons


# System protection

Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings ->

System Protection -> Protection Settings Configure -> Turn off System Protection (make backups)


# Remote Assistance

Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings ->

Remote - Disable Remote Assistence


# Disable audio drive write caching

Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings -> Hardware ->

Device Manager -> Select Audio Drive -> Right Click -> Properties -> Policies -> Disable Write Caching


# Indexing

Control Panel -> Performance Information and Tools -> Adjust Indexing Options ->

Modify -> click on bottom entries and deselect all checkboxes


# Power settings

Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Performance Information and Tools ->

Adjust power settings -> Change plan settings -> Set everything to Never (don't save power)

Change Advanced Power Settings and manually go through each one.


# Messages

Control Panel -> System and Security -> Action Center ->

Change Action Center Settings -> Turn off all messages


# Notifications

Control Panel -> System and Security -> Action Center ->

Change User Account Control Settings -> Never notify


# Disable unused hardware

Control Panel -> Hardware and Sond -> Device Manager ->

Disable all devices you don't use (ie. integrated SoundCards and such)


# Disable defrag schedule

Start -> type 'defrag' and select Disk Defragmenter -> Configure Schedule -> Deselect 'Run on a schedule'



# Disable Windows Defender

Click the “Start Orb” and type in defender into the text box.

Select Windows Defender from the items that appear in the window above.

Select Tools from the main Windows Defender screen. Select Options from the Settings section.

From the left navigation pane, select Administrator.

Now remove the check mark from the box labeled Use this program. Click the Save button in the bottom right corner.

Click Yes when prompted to make the change. And now Windows Defender is turned off

If you check the Services section of the Task Manager you’ll see that Windows Defender has been stopped.


#Disable Screen Saver

Click on the Screen Saver tab, Set Screensaver to None, Press the Power button near the bottom


#Disable Fast User Switching

run gpedit.msc

Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon

To Disable Fast User Switching:


Set Hide entry points for Fast User Switching to Enabled. By enabling the policy, Administrators can hide the Switch user button in the Logon UI, the Start menu and the Task Manager.

To Enable Fast User Switching:


Set Hide entry points for Fast User Switching to Not configured for enabling Fast User Switching.


#Disable Automatic Updates

Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Windows Update\Change settings \ Never check for updates


#Disable Error Reporting

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced TAB > Error Reporting > Click the Disable Error Reporting box (Tick the "But Notify Me When Critical Errors Occur" if you prefer)



#Run Disk Cleanup

Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools \ Open disk cleanup


#Disable offline files

Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Sync Center \ Manage offline files \ disable


#Disable Autoplay

* Type gpedit.msc in the Start Search box and then press ENTER to open the Group Policy Editor.

* Under Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components > click Autoplay Policies.

* In the RHS Details pane, double-click Turn off Autoplay to open the Properties box.

* Click Enabled, and then select All drives in the Turn off Autoplay on box to disable Autorun on all drives.

* Restart.


#Disable Disc Indexing

Indexing Service is a service that extracts the information from a set of documents and organizes it in a way that makes it quick and easy to access that information through the Windows XP Search function, the Indexing Service query form, or a Web browser.


* Open My Computer. Right-click your hard drive icon and select Properties.

* At the bottom of the window you'll see "Allow indexing service to index this disk for faster searches"

uncheck this and click ok. A new window will pop up and select Apply to all folders and subfolders.


#Disable background applications - Background applications start up when your computer starts up and can use up unneccesary resources. To prevent these from starting up go to Start » Run and type "msconfig" in the run box. Click on the "startup tab" and disable (uncheck) programs such as "taskmon", "load power profile", "real player", "office startup", "winamp agent" and so on. Keep programs like "scan registry", "system tray" and programs relating to interfacing with your audio card (such as console software to control its features).



#Switch Off Desktop Background Image ( i use a background anyways and don't turn it off )

Right Click Desktop > Properties > Desktop Tab > Background None


#Disable Remote Desktop (I enable this for my convenience)

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Remote > Untick "Allow users to connect remotely to this computer"


#Disable Internet Synchronise Time (it updates once a week or so, so i leave it on)

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Date and Time > Internet Time > Untick "Automatically synchronize with an internet time server"

 

any thoughts on direct x version, would that make a difference?

 

have it upto date incase there's gpu update that help with the visual processing in daws and plug-ins. for some reason my graphic card made all my daw ran 10x smoother with heavy sessions (tracks & plugins) once i had upgraded and updated.

 

Try downloading the free Glitch Free PDF from

https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/glitchfree/

 

In short:

- disable all software and OS auto updates
- disconnect from the internet, and disable the network drivers
- disable all the unnecessary services (see Black Viper suggestions ...google for it)
- disable all antiviruses and similar TSR stuff
- overclock Your CPU
- dedicata a phisical drive only for Your samples and similar stuff
- defragment Your drives from time to time if they are not SSD
...good to go.

(for internet use another windows or linux installation)

 

Hello,

Stick on Win 7 is IMO a mistake.
You have a better hardware management in Win 10.
If you think to change to Win 10, wait some weeks, maximum end of April, you have a brand new version of Win 10 (Redstone 4).

https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-redstone-4-changelog

Answers :

https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/pc-optimization-guide-for-windows-10/

Utilities Win 10 :

Do Not Spy 10 : https://pxc-coding.com/donotspy10/
or
DisableWinTracking : https://github.com/10se1ucgo/DisableWinTracking/releases
or
Ashampoo AntiSpy for Windows 10 : https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/1004/security-software/antispy-for-windows-10

This is basicaly the same for Win 7.

My 2 cents

 

Last edited: Mar 29, 2018