Optimizing Vista for Djing
one of our members asked this question:
"I would like to see a good, in-depth tutorial on how to optimize Windows Vista. Like: a break down of the services u can disable and the ones u must have; audio driver setups; software setups; setting up the right user account for performance. Basically, any RAM saving techniques to avoid glitches or crashes in your set. "
any suggestions from our windows users? (about 40% currently)
For problem free Vista use:
Format Hard drive
Install Windows XP
hehe good one 
im running vista.. i had a few issues but here are some things that i have done and i have noticed better performance. for more information, there is information on NIs website about optimizing, i havnt had a chance to work on it yet though.
first thing is to create a seperate user for tractor. this user account should have NOTHING in the startup folder. the only thing i have that starts automatically is my antivirus/firewall. from there, take off the screensaver, the background, everything off your desktop and the sidebar. set your theme to the classic setting. when you are going to use it, always log off (not switch user) or restart. set your power management to full power (performance). basically, the idea is to take EVERYTHING that isnt necessary and disable it. i noticed significant performance jumps when i did this. i will post more when i go through that information on NI.
---------- INSTRUCTIONS - Warning -----------
Disabling services could cause your system to stop responding. Anytime you are tweaking settings in the operating system, you should be very careful and fully aware of what you are doing. Before disabling/enabling services, I would heavily suggest creating a system restore point just in case something goes wrong. I have personally disabled most of the services in this guide, and disabling all of these services have been tested by professionals within the field. Please be careful and pay close attention to everything you are doing, documenting your steps is extremely helpful as well! With all that said, here we go…
---------- INSTRUCTIONS - How To Disable Services -----------
Hold in your Windows key and press the “R” key simultaneously.
The run dialog box will appear, type “MSCONFIG” in the text field and press “Ok”.
Click on the services tab.
Un-check any services that you may find unnecessary.
After you are finished un-checking services, please press the “Apply” button and continue to restart your computer!
---------- INSTRUCTIONS - What Services To Disable -----------
1. Diagnostic Policy Service
Description:
Notifies you if it suspects that your program was incorrectly installed.
Effects of Disabling:
You will no longer be prompted to validate your installation or re-install your program.
Why disable?
Most of the time your installation will work. As well, you can personally re-install the program if needed to. Personally, this window comes up at times other than installation, such as when I force-close my WinRar. If you are conscious of what you do on the PC, you don’t need this.
2. Distributed Link Tracking Client
Description:
Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network.
Effects of Disabling:
Unable to access files of another computer.
Why disable?
Disable this if you have only one computer on a network, or if you do not access other computers’ file systems.
3. IP Helper
Description:
Allows support for IPv6
Effects of Disabling:
No support for IPv6.
Why disable?
IPv6 is not widely used yet. Chances are you don’t need it. You can check by clicking here.
4. Messenger Sharing Folders USN Journal Reader Service
Description:
Used by MSN Messenger Live. Allows you to use Sharing Folders.
Effects of Disabling:
Unable to use sharing folders.
Why disable?
Disable if you’re not using MSN Messenger Live (8.0 or higher) or if you don’t use sharing folders
5. Network List Service
Description:
Identifies networks you are connected to and maintains a list of properties for them. The service will notify applications when these properties change.
Effects of Disabling:
The network icon in your system tray will disappear. You will no longer be notified when your connection with the internet is lost or present.
Why disable?
For most who don’t encounter Internet problems regularly, you really don’t need a service to tell you if your Internet is working.
As well, if you are not connected to a network, disable this.
6. Offline Files
Description:
Disable if you don’t use offline files
Effects of Disabling:
N/A
Why disable?
Disable this if you do not want to be able to view online files while you are offline. Viewing usually comes from a system cache page.
7. Print Spooler
Description:
Loads files to memory for later printing. Basically helps queue your files when you are printing multiple documents so you don’t have to wait for one document to finish to print the next one.
Effects of Disabling:
You’ll have a harsh printing experience. Don’t disable this if you own a printer, unless you hardly use a printer, or have a habit of only printing one document at a time.
Why disable?
If you don’t have a printer, there’s no need for this service.
8. Readyboost
Description:
Allows you to use Vista’s Readyboost feature. Readyboost allows you to use the free space on your removable memory disks such as your USB Drive to speed up your computer.
Effects of Disabling:
Inability to use ReadyBoost.
Why disable?
Many don’t have a USB fast enough to work with Vista’s Readyboost. If you don’t use this feature, disable the service.
9. Remote Access Connection
Description:
Maintains dial-up and VPN connections
Effects of Disabling:
Disabling could cause some aircards to stop responding.
Why disable?
Disable if you don’t use dial-up or VPN (Virtual Private Network)
10. Server
Description:
Allows you to share files and your printer through a LAN
Effects of Disabling:
Unable to share files or printer with other computers through LAN
Why disable?
Disable if you don’t plan on sharing your file or printer through a Local Area Network.
11. Tablet PC Input Service
Description:
Enables Tablet PC pen and ink functionality
Effects of Disabling:
You can’t use your tablet PC.
Why disable?
Because you don’t have one!
12. Windows Error Reporting Service
Description:
Allows you to send a report to Microsoft each time your PC receives an error
Effects of Disabling:
You’ll no longer be prompted to send an error report to Microsoft.
Why disable?
Sometimes, it gets really annoying.
13. Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
Description:
Provides image acquisition services for scanners and cameras
Effects of Disabling:
If your camera does not have an image browser, you will not be able to acquire pictures from it without a proper driver. WIA allows immediate image acquisition. (Still needs to be tested.)
Why disable?
Disable if you don’t use a scanner or camera with your PC
14. Windows Time
Description:
Synchronizes time between all users
Effects of Disabling:
Services that depend on this service will fail
Why disable?
Unless you are very hardcore on time accuracy, you won’t need this service.
---------- INSTRUCTIONS - Comments -----------
There are more services that can be disabled but the services mentioned above are the services that don’t effect core functionality of your operating system. If you have any questions, I should be able to figure something out for you! To learn more about custom services, google the service name you would like to find out about and you should find multiple pages with detailed explanations on what the service does, how it effects your system, and known compatibility issues.
thats good stuff.
Great post! However i still do not suggest using Vista, for those that still choose to use Vista this will be very helpful.
Thanks guys! I can’t offer much when it comes to DJ’ing as I am obviously brand new here, but I will try to fill in what I can. Good thing this is a digital forum and not about needles and tone arms :eek:
Cool, that is exactly what i was looking for. I’ll try it, and see how it works out for me. Right now I am mostly problem free, except for a rare “skip;” but, one skip in a set is too many. So, i think some minor adjustments like the aforementioned should do the trick.
And, Bento and company you’re probably right about just rolling back to XP, but Im trying to be legit now. So, a clean copy of XP problem isn’t on the horizon
Thanks for the help guys!
I completely agree with this!
I played a show the past weekend with my VCI-100 and a Trigger Finger and had the biggest world of trouble.
Vista “You are about to play a new song! ALLOW? OR DENY?”
DIE!
Do a LOT of research on “downgrading” (an upgrade, far as I’m concerned) from Vista to XP, especially for laptops, as XP will not install onto SATA hard drives without looking for a floppy drive with the drivers, and who the hell uses those any more? Nothing’s more fun than wiping out Vista, putting in your XP install disk, seeing it tell you to press F6 to install third-party drivers, and then having it stop the install because it can’t find a floppy drive with the drivers. At that point your education and career in installing an older OS on a newer machine truly begins.
You will probably have to make a slipdisk using Nlink or something similar that contains your XP installation CD and your drivers, which means you better either have the manufacturer’s driver disk, or download the drivers from the manufacturer (it’s not the disks that matter, it’s the SATA controller on the mobo).
I just got a huge Acer Aspire 9800 20.1" laptop, and I am in the middle of trying to do this. So far it ain’t working so hot.
I had that experience recently. My mates laptop was running like arse so I offered to do a fresh install and get rid of the myriad of craplets that he had accumulated before mixing took over as the only thing he uses it. I started Sunday after-noon, spent hours trying to manually include the sata drivers to no avail other than successfully formatting the drive… yay a brick.. long story short had to come home from work early the next day and got windows installed and hour before our radio show started had ableton installed 30 minutes before and for some reason everything worked straight of the bat, was extremely stressful as we had no back up way of playing that week
$35 will get you a USB floppy drive (much cheaper if you order online). I end up doing quite alot of downgrades, and I find it a great thing to have on hand. Just make sure it’s a model that has native support (spend a minute researching online before you buy). If you have the inclination, using nLite to “slipstream” the drivers into the install is a much better option (using nLite to get rid of the crap you don’t need is a good idea anyway).
if you set up vista properly and have the right hardware (high ram) its fine.
you can also diable that allow deny stuff. you just need to do it, instead of bashing software, learn to use it properly.
We really don’t want this to turn into yet another one of those XP vs. Vista threads, do we? 
Cuz that doesn’t go anywhere good or useful.
I am in the same boat.
I really like Vista. With my company, we have been running Vista since BETA began and I haven’t had many problems. We just rolled out Vista onto all our computers and all our recent benchmarking has proven Vista being much more robust and stable than even I previously thought.
I really do not like Vista when it comes to Networking, I believe they have much to work on but as far as an operating system, I have come to believe that the O.S. is stable.
Vista is extremely secure as well. Vista has proven itself at almost all of the recent hacking competitions, falling right between Ubuntu and OS X Leopard, The MAC operating system being the worst among the three from a security stand point. Anyone that understands how computers and how operating systems operate understands that most hacking/holes come from third party software, not from an operating system. It just so happens that everyone and their brother has released a program for the Windows operating system. Lesson to be learned…don’t install garbage software onto your system and it will work flawlessly!
We recently benchmarked my Toshiba running Vista Ultimate VS a MacBook Pro, both having similar specs. We benchmarked while running Adobe Photoshop CS3 and a few other pieces of software. My Toshiba ate it up and spit it out hungry for more.
I guess what I am getting at is that most operating systems can function perfectly with running Traktor or SSL or “insert name here” if you have the right specs and compatibility is there!
I agree most of the time its not what you are using, its how you are using it 
That’s what all the ladies tell me.
Wait, ughhhh, I mean…what?
my 2 cents
Is any one really using a pc with Vista that cant really support running it or have enough ram. If you got a base line pc 1.8 ghz. 2 gigs of ram, you shouldn’t have ANY problems(Hardware wise) for running any DAW type program. This is of coarse if you dont have 10 million start up programs.