Dedicated laptop for Dj-gigging, and one for everything else? Pointless or good idea?

[BradCee]

wait you can dual boot with a program that isnt an OS?

using the 'shell hack' you can make it seem that way, but your os would still be the foundation of the boot

are we talking about that article titled "streamline your pc/mac?"
i've given that articles advice a chance on 3 different times on 3 different XP machines - created new profiles, went into the new profiles, stripped everything away, and yeah it ran alot better but for whatever reason whatever changes i made in the music profile - it also applied to the main profile. so everytime i ended up having to go back to a restore point.

don't take this wrong, but i don't think you were doing it right. if you did the shell thing, you might've been in the wrong registry key. also alot of changes are system, not per user. as you're on xp just use hardware profiles and everything will be good. as i'm on 7, and they removed profiles since vista, i have to dual boot.

i find this very effective that someone on here recommended this program called gamebooster. it allows you to temporarily disable EVERYTHING that may be slowing down your computers performance

good program if you're not too comfortable with registry tweaks etc...

[DennisJ]

i think i will switch from a pc (quad core, 4gb ram) and a macbook 13" (dual core, 4gb ram) to a macbook 15" i7 8gb ram..

i mean i'm using ableton for production and djing.. i can also melt things i produce more into my live setup, since i do everything on the same machine.

backup hdd @ home, should work i guess. : )

greets

[JesC]

I have two macs for djing. 15"mbp for live gigs & 13" black mb as back up. I have traktor 3, traktor scratch, traktor pro, and serato installed ready to on both machines. For dual boot I really recomend this for window based djs. first boot for djing, the other boot for misc work.

[Lambox]

My laptop is like my second or third home to me. Here's a goofy analogy on why I, personally, would struggle with two laptops:

I have to "rooms" in real life: my dorm room and my room at my parents house. I have a difficult enough time remembering what I have in one room vs. the other. Particularly clothing. Sometimes when I'm at school I'll think to myself "oh I really wanna wear this shirt today." But as luck would have it, that shirt is 250 miles away in my "other" room.

Anyway, I think the same thing would apply to having two laptops. It would be difficult for me to remember which files I had on what laptop. Also, I think it would be a slight pain having to transfer files from your personal laptop to your dj one.

Just sayin.' If you have the cash to buy a second laptop, knock yourself out.

[DennisJ]

is someone here using the same laptop for producing and djing?

greets

[Lambox]

is someone here using the same laptop for producing and djing?

greets

I do.

[mixmonster5]

Just get a MBP with all the RAM you can fit into it, and keep it squeky clean. Back it up using time machine daily. Just keep it in tip top peformance

I think that would work dandy.

[coolout]

GOOD IDEA!!!

Never put all your eggs in one basket.

I'm a big fan of separate computers for different jobs and/or backup. You never know when something is going to be physically damaged (dropped, bumped, drink spill, etc). Not to be all Mac vs PC, but for the price of a Mac you could probably buy 2 or even 3 windows laptops anyways.

1. I use a Dell dual core laptop strictly for DJing. It's optimized, stripped of all non-DJ software, rarely if ever connected to the internet and the only thing I load on it is new music and occasional DJ software updates. I've had it almost 2 years and after using it every weekend it has never crashed on me. I've also never seen the CPU meter go above 50%. It only cost me $400 new.

2. I have an Eee PC netbook that also has my full music library and DJ software loaded on it as a backup. Although it's only a 900mhz Celeron, I've tested it with all my DJ software and it works perfectly. I could gig with it in a pinch. I keep it around me and use it for surfing on the go or throw it in my trunk at important gigs just in case. It only cost me $250 new.

3. I have my studio desktop computer that is a closed system that contains all my plug ins, sample libraries, UAD cards, and other expensive stuff. Things rarely get loaded on this, but plenty of music comes out.

4. I have an older P4 laptop on my desk that I call "the sh*t machine". That's the one I'm typing with right now. It's connected to the internet at all times and the one I download files and do all my productivity stuff with.

On top of that I have external backups for the studio desktop and my music library. I dedicate one whole day a month to full backups and maintenance, usually as I'm doing a bunch of house cleaning.

[djmoonie]

a usb bootable hard drive with an operating system on it can be very handy if your internal drives fail, and also serves as a backup for your music collection. Ideally portable and cheaper than 2 laptops.

Of course, if something more fundamental happens to the laptop, like a motherboard or cpu problem, you're still toast.. unless the venue you play at has the new generation of usb capable players.

[BentoSan]

I am getting a second laptop for djing with, it will be used specifically for music and absolutely nothing else.

That way i can leave it plugged in when my rig is at home and only have to unplug it when i want to gig. My other laptop i can carry around the house and drop every so often lol - yeav ive dropped this computer a few times - theres big chip out of the corner of the case from a nasty drop from a table.