I hope I'll remember which volume I'm at after a while

OK, since this is the first chapter (hopefully not the last) I think it's best to start from preparing your home studio. Or more correctly, tweaking your PC to optimize it for recording.

Basically, if your computer runs well, and you have no complaints, then read no further, because there's an old saying that goes "if it's not broken, why fix it?" (or something like that).


ACPI (in Windows XP and 2000)
Check your motherboard and soundcard’s manuals, some do not recommend Standard PC. Also, this procedure is best done right after installing Windows XP/2000 and not later.

If you suffer for pops and clicks, or your graphic is sluggish while you work on a big project on Cubase, and you can’t find the cause, most chances are ACPI. is to blame.

First thing to do is check in the Device Manager to see if several devices use the same IRQ. If not, then read no further on this tip.

Usually when installing Windows, it automatically installs itself in ACPI mode, meaning it will probably route all of your devices to the same IRQ, even if others are free. When you work on a big Cubase project, that will be a problem, because your sound card and graphics card will probably fight for bandwidth and either cause the graphics to be sluggish, or the audio to have pops and clicks. Especially on Cubase, which is very sensitive in that way.

So, to check if your computer is set on ACPI, go to your Device Manager, and click on the + sign next to ‘Computer’. It should say “ACPI Advanced Uniprocessor PC”.

To change that, right click it, and choose ‘Update Driver’, then choose ‘Install from a list or specific location’. In the next page, choose ‘Don’t search, I will choose the driver to install’ and then choose ‘Standard PC’ as the driver. It will then reinstall all of your devices and will divide all IRQs between your devices.



Defragment your hard drive
When your files are saved to the hard drive, they are usually scattered around at no particular order. This makes it quicker for the programs to save the files, yet over time it makes the hard drive work harder to read them all, and it will ease the pressure if you defragment your computer, meaning gathering all of the file’s parts into one place and making the hard drive read them faster because it has less distance to travel from part to part.

-Right click the hard drive you want to defragment and choose ‘Properties’.
-Choose ‘tools’, then ‘defrag’.

It is also recommended to do a scan disk to make sure the drive works flawlessly.



Disable back processes
All kinds of programs are working in the background that you don’t even notice and can cause clicks, pops or just use the memory.

-Disable your Screen saver.
-Disable any Anti Virus programs you might have.
-Take down your wallpaper (still talking computers here, don’t tear down your house)
-Disable any messenger programs that are lurking in the background.
-You can also disable all the graphic effects that windows XP has, by going to:
Control Panel---System---Advanced---Performance and choose ‘Adjust for best performance’.



Hardware acceleration
If your graphics is still sluggish while you work on a big project, and even dragging windows or VU meters are running slow, then you can move the “Hardware acceleration” bar a few steps back.
To do that, go to Control Panel---Display---Settings---Advanced---Troubleshoot and move the bar a few steps back.



Increasing Swap Drive Space
When you work on large files that are bigger than your RAM size, windows will look for a temporary space in your hard drive to store this excess info.
Now, I’ve checked the web, and found a page which says you should ideally choose a size which is double your RAM size. So if you have 256 RAM, you should choose 512 for the virtual memory.
I work with a computer tech who deals will many studios in my area, and he recommends putting in the same amount as your RAM, both for minimum and maximum values.
To change your virtual memory size (Swap drive space) go to:
Control Panel---System---Advanced---Performance---Advanced---Virtual Memory.



That's it for MrSoundMan Recording Tips & Tricks Vol. 1.

See you around