what settings to get performance up to 90%

Steve B · Post by **Steve B** » 8 Feb 2001 7:42 am

So I just got my computer up and running again, but the performance (under settings, system, performance) is only about 85%. For trouble free use of my .wav recording software I need 90-92%. The last time I set everything up for max performance, my brother in law talked me through it on the phone. Can anyone here tell me what to do to get my computer up to speed? I guess that recording .wav files must take alot of ram, because when I try recording a song with the performance at 85%, the song has pops ( errors I guess) that you can hear in the playback.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 8 Feb 2001 9:29 am

Close all unnecessary applications when recording. You might have stuff in your Startup folder that runs all the time. remove or disable those programs.

You don't need a virus checker running when you're recording, for example.

Microsoft Office automatically installs things like FindFast and the Office toolbar. These things improve Office at the expense of performance of other applications. I can live with slower launching of Word. I remove all of that stuff from the Startup folder.

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Jonathan Cullifer · Post by **Jonathan Cullifer** » 8 Feb 2001 9:33 am

Does it tell you your system settings are configured for optimal performance? If so, this may be a RAM problem or a virtual memory problem. I used to have 64 megs of RAM in my machine and working with 300 megabyte audio files was not exactly fun. Most of the time was spent seeking and waiting for the files to update. Since then, I have added 128 megs (to bring it up to 192), and it is a lot better.

Another tool you can use in Windows 9x is the Resource Meter. I will tell you if your system resources (not necessarily RAM) are sufficient. You can access this tool by going to Start>Programs>Accessories>Systen Tools>Resource Meter.

I also like TClockEx for monitoring RAM usage, and it is a pretty good system tray clock. You will probably want to disable it from loading when your computer starts, but it is really nice for just checking on RAM. And it is customizable.

Hope this helps,
Jonathan

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Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 8 Feb 2001 10:28 am

My PC has 82% free resources at startup. I've "recorded" my entire "Gulf Coast Steel Guitar" album to wav files on my hard drive. I do not have any pops/clicks/exteraneous garbage, etc.

However, when I do "record" I turn off unnecessary programs such as the virus program, etc to eliminate any potential interference. Same way when I burn a CD, I turn off the unnecessary stuff to eliminate potential problems. Some of the biggest potential problem programs, if you have them active at startup (icon in bottom right of task bar) is the AOL Instant Messenger, MS Messenger, RealPlayer, automatic update programs such as Norton antivirus live update, etc, as they all periodically check to see if there is an internet connection

Bear in mind that even if you have 100% free resources at windows startup, once you run any program or even the windows explorer after you exit the program(s)and go back and check system resources they will less than what was available at start up.

Graham · Post by **Graham** » 8 Feb 2001 2:30 pm

Steve:
Also be aware that NOT all the items that start when Windows opens will show up in your Startup Folder, but they will be available for you to see if you click on "Start", "Run" and then type in "msconfig" (quotations not needed) then click ok. In the box that opens, click on the "Startup" tab. Everything that loads when Windows starts up is listed there and each has a check box beside it. If the box is ticked, that item is enabled. You can disable pretty much everything in there EXCEPT "Scan Registry", "System Tray" and possibly "Load Power Profile" (I haven't tried disabling this one yet). If you do this, you will be required to re-start Windows for changes to take effect and when it does, nothing will load at start-up except Windows and anything else you left enabled. You can re-enable by doing this in reverse and checking the boxes, re-booting.
Like Jack, I burn CD's all the time with 76% resources free and experience no difficulties nor abnormalities in the sound.

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[This message was edited by Graham on 08 February 2001 at 02:31 PM.]

Marty Pollard · Post by **Marty Pollard** » 8 Feb 2001 10:16 pm

Also, every icon on the desktop and in the sys tray consumes resources.

Rich Paton · Post by **Rich Paton** » 9 Feb 2001 12:28 am

You can safely disable any instances of "Load Power Profile" as well. The "Scan Registry"
& "System Tray" selections mentioned by Graham are all that's needed.
Speaking of icons, etc., while recording, you might also gain a bit more "headroom" by choosing a plain background for the desktop. I had a beautiful, but huge "Netscape Wallpaper" BMP image on mine, until I realized that the complex screen image was being re-drawn on the screen constantly. That was causing a noticable system-wide slowdown, even with a 32 MByte AGP 2X type video card...which typically handles with aplomb anything you can throw at it, in 32-bit "true color"
I recently installed a CD-recorder drive and software, and initally I had pops and cracks in my cd dubs. Since I had also been experiencing random "losses" of the original CD rom drive in Device Mangler, I checked out the obvious things like cables and loose stuff.
I decided to replace the ancient(the PSU & case were originally from an early 90's 386 system) power supply. That fixed it. It may have been just a loose connection on one of the funky old Molex connectors, but what the hey? It was less $ than ruining a bunch of CD blanks, and mush less frustrating.
BTW, a basic rule of thumb on Windoze-based PC's is: installing the lastest updated device drivers for all your hardware, where ever it's possible, = improved performance & reliability.
Good Luck!

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 9 Feb 2001 1:20 am

What exactly is meant by "System Resources"? Is it the amount of RAM that is not allocated to an application at that moment?

And why would performance suffer when 60% or 70% of the resources are free? Shouldn't performance suffer only when there is nothing left?

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 9 Feb 2001 4:59 am

System resources is more than just memory. Also hardware devices use system resources along with programs that are loaded. The more hardware devices you have the less system resources you will have. e.g. most of the older ISA cards did their own processing on the board, PCI boards rely on the system (CPU) for part of their processing.

Microsoft Help (in Windows ME) suggests disabling/removing hardware that is not being used to free up system recources.

One quirk in the MSCONFIG in Widows ME. If you go into the startup section and "uncheck" start up items, when Windows starts up you will get a message (not exact words) that you have items disabled for troubleshooting. If you want to permanently remove something from the startup in Windows ME and not get the alert at startup, and the particular program does not give you the option, you have to edit the registry to get it out of the startup. In Windows 98, you could uncheck something, reboot and you would not get any alerts.

Mark Krutke · Post by **Mark Krutke** » 16 Aug 2001 11:55 pm

Just want to say "thanks guys!" for this information regarding the ram info. I did what Graham and the others mentioned and got my performance up to 92%. Thanks.