Windows Guide - Windows Vista Optimizations and Troubleshooting.

Windows Vista Optimizations and Troubleshooting:



Pro Tools can be affected by system settings and other software and hardware drives installed on your computer. For best possible performance, it is recommended that you do the following:

Configuring Device Manager
  • Open the Start menu and then click on 'Control Panel'.
  • In Classic View, double-click 'Device Manager' and follow the directions below.

Enabling DMA
  • In the Device Manager window, double-click IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click the ATA Channel for your hard drive.
  • Click the Advanced Settings tab. For each device, check the option to Enable DMA. Do the same for any additional ATA Channels.
  • Close the Computer Management window.

Disabling Network Cards
  • In the Device Manager window, double-click Network adapters, then double-click the Network Adapter card you want to disable.
  • Under the Driver tab, choose Disable, and click OK.
  • Close the Computer Management window.

Adjust Power Options
  • Open the Start menu and then click on 'Control Panel'.
  • In Classic View, double-click Power Options.
  • Select the 'High Performance' power plan. Click on the 'Change plan settings' link.
  • Set the display's sleep time to Never.
  • Set the computer's sleep time to Never.
  • Click on the 'Change advanced power settings' link.
  • Click on the '+' sign next to Hard Disk.
  • Click on the '+' sign next to Turn Off Hard Disk After.
  • Select the default; the text entry field will now be accessible.
  • In the text entry field, type 'Never' (without the quotation marks).
  • Click Apply then OK.
  • Click Save Changes.
  • Close the Power Options window.

Disabling ClearType Font Smoothing
  • Open the Start menu and then click on 'Control Panel'.
  • Double-click on Personalization.
  • Choose 'Window Color and Appearance'.
  • Choose 'Open Classic Appearance Properties'.
  • Click on Effects.
  • Deselect 'Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts'.
  • Click OK to save your settings and close the Effects dialog.
  • Click OK.
  • Restart the computer.

Turn off User Account Control
  • Open the Start menu and then click on 'Control Panel'.
  • In Classic View, double-click User Accounts.
  • Click on 'Turn User Account Control on or off'.
  • Uncheck 'Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer'.
  • Click OK.
  • Restart the computer.

Adjusting Processor Scheduling
  • Open the Start menu and then click on 'Control Panel'.
  • In Classic View, double-click System.
  • Choose 'Advanced System Settings', then click on the Advanced tab.
  • Under the Performance section, click the Settings button.
  • In the Performance Options window, click the Advanced tab.
  • Under the Processor Scheduling section, select the Background Services option.
  • Click OK to close the Performance Options window.
  • Click OK to close the System Properties window.
  • Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

Disabling Screen Saver
  • Right-click on the Desktop and select Personalize.
  • Click on Screen Saver.
  • In the Screen Saver menu, select None and click OK.

Disabling System Startup Items
  • Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard (or Start menu button) and press the letter "R" to open up the Run dialog.
  • Type “msconfig” and click OK.
  • The System Configuration Utility opens. Under the General tab, choose Selective Startup.
  • Deselect Load Startup Items.
  • Go to the Startup tab and check the following items: Digidesign MME Binder and TaskbarIconApplet. (TaskbarIconApplet is available in Windows Vista Ultimate only.)
  • Go to the Services tab and choose the option to Hide All Microsoft Services.
  • Click Disable All.
  • Find the following items: Digidesign MME Refresh Service, digiSPTIService.
  • Check them both and click Apply.
  • (If you have any M-Audio devices, check the following items also: MAFWTray, M-Audio Taskbar Icon)
  • Close the System Configuration Utility.
  • Click Restart to restart the computer.
  • After restarting, the computer displays a System Configuration message. Select the "Don't show this message again" option. You can revert to the original settings by running "msconfig" and choosing Normal Startup.

Display Performance
  • Open the Start menu and right-click on Computer.
  • Choose Properties.
  • On the left side of the screen, click on Advanced System Settings.
  • Under Performance, click on Settings.
  • Choose the option to 'Adjust For Best Performance'.
  • Hit Apply and then OK.

Other Configurations for Vista
  • Click on the Start Menu, right-click on Computer and select Properties.
  • Click on Remote Settings (on the left).
  • Uncheck 'Allow Remote Assistance connections on this computer'.
  • Select 'Don't allow connections to this computer'.
  • Click on the Advanced tab.
  • Click the Settings button unter the Startup and Recovery section.
  • Uncheck Automatically Restart.
  • If available, select 'Complete dump' for Write Debugging Information.
  • Click OK and close the System Properties window.

Disabling DEP
  • Open the Start menu and type "cmd" (without the quotations). The Result you get should be "cmd.exe".
  • Right-click on "cmd.exe" and choose "Run as administrator".
  • Click the Allow button if it asks you for permission.
  • Type or copy & paste this into the command prompt window: bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff.
  • Hit enter and you should see the confirmation: Operation Completed Successfully.
  • Restart the computer and DEP should be off.

If you would like to re-enable DEP enter the following into the command prompt window:
  • bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx OptIn.
  • Hit enter and you should see the confirmation: Operation Completed Successfully.
  • After restarting the computer, DEP will be re-enabled.

Disable DEP just for Pro Tools
  • Open the Start menu and right-click on Computer.
  • Choose Properties.
  • On the left side of the screen, click on Advanced System Settings.
  • Under Performance, click on Settings.
  • Click on the tab for 'Data Execution Prevention'.
  • Choose the option 'Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:'.
  • Click on the Add button and navigate to the following location: C:\Program Files\Digidesign\Pro Tools.
  • Choose the executable file for Pro Tools (ProToolsXXX.exe where XXX will either be 'LE', 'M-Powered', or 'HD'. Hit Apply and then OK.
  • Restart your computer if prompted to do so.

Delete Digidesign Databases and Preferences

To delete Digidesign Database folders for all hard drives in Windows Vista:
  • Go to your Start menu and click on Computer.
  • Double-click on the C: drive.
  • Right-click on the Digidesign Databases folder and delete it. Do the same for any additional hard drives or volumes.
  • Go back to your C: drive.
  • Double-click on Program Files.
  • Go to the Digidesign folder.
  • Go to the Pro Tools folder.
  • Right-click on the Databases folder and delete it.
  • NOTE: If you are using DV Toolkit 2, you will want to backup your Catalogs folder before deleting the Databases folder.

To delete Pro Tools preference files in Windows Vista:
  • Go to your Start menu and click on Computer.
  • Double-click on the C: drive or whichever drive you installed Pro Tools to.
  • Double-click on Program Files.
  • Go to the Common Files folder.
  • Go to the Digidesign folder.
  • Go to the DAE folder.
  • Right-click on the DAE Prefs folder and delete it.
  • Go back to your C: drive.
  • Double-click on Users.
  • Double-click on your user name.
  • Go to the AppData folder.
  • If the Appdata is not showing, click on Organize and choose 'Folder and Search Options'.
  • Click on the View tab.
  • Select 'Show Hidden Files and Folders'.
  • Click Apply and OK. AppData should now be viewable.
  • Go to the Roaming folder.
  • Right-click on the Digidesign folder and delete it.

Other Optimizations
• Avoid running any unneeded programs at the same time as Pro Tools.
• Turn off any software utilities that run in the background, such as Windows Messenger, calendars, and disk maintenance programs.
• Turn off any non-essential USB devices while running Pro Tools.
• If your video display card supports it, enable Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s Control Panel.
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