| Windows 2000 Professional Installation and Optimzation Guide from http://www.opusaudioprojects.net/ Installation of Win2k is much different than Win98 and WinME in several ways. Win2k is more of a networking and server based app than thw Win9x series OS. When you install Win2k it defaults to ACPI mode..Advanced Configuration and Power Interface. This mode makes Windows completely control all IRQ's and power constraints and it not reccomended for Audio based systems. To install Win2k: In the BIOS of your system there is an option to change the order of the Boot devices. There are a few different forms of BIOS' out there so you will need to locate the page within the BIOS configuration to change the order of devices. Make sure the CDROM is the first in the list. Put the Windows 2000 CD in the drive and restart the computer. When when the computer restarts it will look for the set boot device and will read the Windows CD and a prompt will show up saying hit any key to boot from CD...when you do this a screen will pop up saying hit F6 to add any third party SCSI devices and drivers...at this point hit F5(you may want to hit it a few times just to make sure)..a few seconds later a screen will pop up asking you which mode you want to install Win2k as..you will see a listing for STANDARD PC..highlite this and hit Enter. If you are installing Win2k on a dual processor machine you will want to find the mode for Multi-Processor Machine..labeled MPS Mulitprocessor PC..only install this mode if you do have dual processors. Once you hit Enter it will begin the install process..When it begins it will ask you what drive and what partition you want to install the OS into. Typically you will want to install the OS onto a seperate drive than the drive that will hold your audio data. If you do not have a seperate drive then partition the main drive into two parts...try and make the OS drive smaller than the data drive so that you will have plenty of room for your audio data if partitioning is the step you take. When you install the OS make sure you install it into an NTFS format. New Technology File System...it's a table allocation system used for the NT based systems. If it asks you what format you want to use on the data partition use FAT32..FAT32 is proven to be a lot faster for audio performance on data pull and stream..at least 10% faster. Plus defragging on an NTFS takes longer than a drive formatted as FAT32. (you can also format the FAT32 partition using the Format X: /z:64 switch which makes the drive use 32 bit cluster sizes for more optimum performance...this will need to be done usually in a DOS mode using the boot disks for Win2k..this will be discussed at a later time) Once you have set the partition and drive for the OS to be installed in let the install take its course. When it's done and it asks you which user to load Win2k as choose always start as Administrator. This will allow you to make any changes and tweaks without restrictions and allows better performance. Also it bypasses any password login screens. When the OS is completely installed dont install any drivers or make any changes just yet...get the latest Service Pack from Microsoft..Currently Service Pack 2 is the latest. At this point you will want to install the drivers for any video, audio and other cards as neccessary. If Microsoft installs the drivers for your Video card or any other driver chances are that will be sufficient enough...but always make sure you have the latest driver just in case for any devices you may have. Most of the time the pre-installed driver from Microsoft will work just fine. If there's a control panel or extra software for any devices you might want to consider NOT installing them. Most of the time those extra software packages for devices can cause more pain than it's worth. Unfortunately you will probably have to restart your machine several times..this is a pain yes but do this every time it says to..it's the safest way to play the game!!! Each time you add a device it changes the Windows Registry and it needs to be updated before other devices are added so that the driver path is set properly. Now that all devices are installed go ahead and install all the software you will "need" to use. Dont install software just to "have" it...if you dont use it at all..why bother! At this point we will get into Optimizing the OS for better performance. ***Follow these Steps in this order!!!*** Before doing any Registry changes it is always reccomended to back up the registry in case you make a mistake and you need to go back to the original configuration....to do this in the registry choose Registry...Export Registry..Choose ALL down below...save it to a floppy disk or a secondary hard drive! Name it BackUp!!! Disabling any programs from running in the background Two Ways to do this: One: In the System Tray on the Bottom Right Hand Corner you will see Icons for these programs Usually there is a preference setting for these programs and you can tell it not to start up when Windows Loads...disable that Two: Registry Editing Go to Start Menu Run Type in: Regedit Hit Enter Find:(expand each item listed by clicking on the + sign next to each item listed) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software Microsoft Windows Current Version Run On the right hand side you will see a list of possible programs that start up Delete Entries for these programs Usually programs like EZ CD Creator, WinAmp, Real Player, Windows Media Player, Nortons, ZipMagic, and any other un-neccessary program should be deleted. Please Be careful on deleting certain entries as certain programs will need to be launched when windows starts but more than likely you will not need any to boot up. Changing the Performance mode for the OS: Right click on My Computer and choose Properties Select the Advanced Tab Choose the Performance Button Change the mode from Application response to Background Services Virtual Memory: Set this to 1 to 1.5 times your memory. Make the Minimum and the Maximum the same amount. Doing this helps keep the Swap file in one location which makes for better performance for the OS to locate all the files neccessary instead of randomly allocating it. if you have 256 set it to 384 If you have 512 set it to 768 Any higher than 512 set it to the same amount of memory you have. **When you change the Swap file it is reccomended you get a program like Disk Keeper to then defrag the drive. This third party program actually re-orders the swap file after changing it. The Windows defragger does not re-order it but maintains the same image it had before leaving the old swap in tact and leaving files scattered about. THis is not absolutely neccessary but "IS" reccomended.** Environment Variables....DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING!!! Start up and Recovery....DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING!!! Disabling Visual Effects: Right click on the Desktop anywhere and choose Properties Screen Savers..Turn them off..anytime a screen saver is turned on it could cause problems with audio apps running if they turn on and may cause freezes or wierd performance issues. Web.....Make sure this is not set to Show Web Content on my Desktop Effects..Turn off USe Transition Effects for Menus and Tooltips Also turn off Show Window Contents While Dragging. Settings..Put your display Bit depth to 16Bit...allocating more takes away from audio performance due to video/graphic redraw on the level indicators within your audio app. Also turn off any power settings for hard disks...set them to turn off at NEVER. Monitor turn off is OK to set! Another useful tool is to download TweakUI from Microsoft and from there you can turn off any visual effects and other useless accessories you will not need. Multimedia Settings: A good thing to do is make sure that windows sound scheme is set to NONE!! This will get rid of all those annoying clicks and wierd noises and may help with some audio conflicts due to Windows sounds being set at really low sample rates and bit rate settings Go to Control Panel Double Click Sounds and Multimedia Under Scheme set it to NO SOUNDS!! Indexing Servicing on Hard Drives:(This works only on NTFS Drives) Double Click My Computer Right Click on a Hard Drive Choose Properties Uncheck Allow Indexing Service Choose all files and Subfolders within drive Disk I/O Performance Logging Go to the Start Menu Run Type in: diskperf -n Hit ok...this will stop Win2k from logging I/O to your drive Disable Write Behind Cache on your Hard Drives Right Click My Computer Choose Properties Click on the Hardware Tab Click on the Device Manager Tab Expand Disk Drives Double Click a Drive Choose Properties Uncheck Write Cache Enabled Do this for all IDE Drives listed in your System Properties Enabling UDMA66 in Win2k Make sure that your drive is definately UDMA66 or higher and that you do have the proper 80Pin ATA Cables. It's reccomended to have them anyways for proper Shielding. *You will need to do some Registry Editing at this point* Go to Start Menu Run Type in: Regedit Hit Enter Find:(expand each item listed by clicking on the + sign next to each item listed) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE System Current Control Set Control Class {4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} 0000 Once you are here on the right hand side you will Right Click and add new DWORD For the Value Name type in EnableUDMA66 (<---Exactly like this!!) Hit Enter and Right Click the New Entry and choose MODIFY Type in the Number 1 where it shows the number 0 Hit Enter Restart Machine Services: Here is an important tweak guide..Unlike Win9x series you now have the ability to turn off certain "tasks" that are constantly running. Go to the Control Panel Double Click Administrative Tools Double Click on Services Here are the services you can DISABLE: Alerter Application Manager Com+ Event System Computer Browser Distributing Link Tracking Client Distributed Transaction Coordinator Fax Service(if you dont plan on Faxing) Indexing Service Internet Connection Sharing IPSEC Policy Agent Logical Disk Manager Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service Messenger Net Logon Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing Network DDE Network DDE DSDM NT LM Security Support Provider Performance Logs and Alerts Print Spooler(if you dont have or plan on printing) QoS RSVP Remote Access Auto Connection Manager Remote Access Connection Manager Remote Procedure Call(RPC) Locator(***ONLY THIS ONE-There are two- One is not the Locator***) Remote Registry Service Routing and Remote Access Server Smart Card Smart Card Helper System Event Notification Task Scheduler Telephony Telnet Uninterruptible Power Supply Utility Manager Windows Installer Windows Time If you dont have an Internet Connection you can DISABLE these Services as well: DHCP Client DNS Client Network Connections TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Server ***** LEAVE EVERYTHING ELSE ALONE THAT IS NOT LISTED HERE!!!! DISABLING ANYTHING ELSE MAY CAUSE YOUR COMPUTER NOT TO BOOT UP OR NOT GIVE YOU ACCESS TO CERTAIN FEATURES!!!****** This Document written by: Gary Brenner For more info go to: www.OpusAudioProjects.Net or Email: [email protected] Thanks to LJP, Max and a few websites offering help to this article! November 2, 2001 |