Karaoke Forums

Some Stuff I Picked Up off the net to keep your PC running Quick and Smooth. Not all The changes have to be done, you can do One, some or all, But a hard reboot before checking for the improvements is recomended. For consistency, before carrying out the tuning tips suggested below, switch to classic view in the control panel. To do this, Start > Control Panel > "Switch to Classic View".

1. Processor scheduling should be set to background services and not Programs.

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance Settings > Advanced Tab > Background Services

2. Visual effects should be set to a minimum.

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance Settings > Visual Effects Tab > Adjust for best performance

3. Switch Off Desktop Background Image

Right Click Desktop > Properties > Desktop Tab > Background None

4. Disable Screen Saver

Right Click Desktop > Properties > Screen Saver > None


5. Disable Fast User Switching

Start > Settings > Control Panel > User Accounts > Change the way users log on or off > Untick Use Fast User Switching


6. Switch Off Power Schemes

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Options > Always On > Turn off monitor and turn off hard discs to Never

7. Switch Off Hibernation

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernate > Untick Hibernation

8. Activate DMA on Hard Discs/CD ROMS

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Hardware > Open Device Manager and expand the entry labeled - "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers". Right click each IDE channel entry and select the Advanced Settings Page. Check that the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for all channels

9. Disable System Sounds

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Sounds Tab > Sound Scheme to None.


10. Do Not Map Through Soundcard

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Hardware Tab > (highlight your soundcard from the list) > Properties > Audio Devices > (highlight your soundcard from the list) > Properties, and check the "Do not map through this device" checkbox

11. Disable System Restore

Start > Settings > Control Panel> System > System Restore Tab. Tick the "Turn off System Restore on all Drives"


12. Disable Automatic Updates

Start > Settings > Control Panel> System > Automatic Updates > Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually


13. Startup and Recovery Options

Start > Settings > Control Panel> System > Advanced > Startup and Recovery Settings > Untick Automatically Restart

14. Disable Error Reporting

Start > Settings > Control Panel> System > Advanced > Error Reporting > Disable Error Reporting

15. Disable Remote Assistance

Start > Settings > Control Panel> System > Remote > Untick Allow remote assistance invitations to be sent from this computer


16. Fix Swap File (Virtual Memory)

This is another tip from previous Windows operating systems, that is still relevant in XP. It is slightly better to have a fixed swap file, rather than to let Windows manage the file dynamically. It is also better to set this up just after installation as the file will be near the start of the disc and will be in one contiguous block. If the installation process hasn't already done so, set the Virtual Memory to be a fixed sized for both the minimum and the maximum values. To do this, Start > Settings > Control Panel > System select the Advanced tab of the Systems applet and then select the Performance settings button. Then select the Advanced page. In here it is possible to customise the Virtual Memory. For custom size, this is often recommended to be 1.5 to 2 times the amount of your total RAM for both initial and maximum size. Set this to a fixed minimum and maximum value according to your existing RAM. Of course, if you have >512 or >768 MB of RAM, then you could consider disabling virtual memory completely, although I would suggest that you experiment to find out what is best for you. The XP swap file is called pagefile.sys. By default, this will be on your C: drive in the root directory. If you can't see this file in explorer, then this will probably be because the "Hide Protected Operating System Files" option is active in the folder options. To disable this option and make the pagefile.sys visible, start explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View > untick "Hide Protected Operating System Files". Finally, click Yes when asked "Are you sure you want to display these files". If you want to clear your swap file on shutdown, then do the following: 1. Start -> Run -> "secpol.msc" 2. Go to "Local Policies" -> "Security Options" 3. Double click on "Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile" and enable it.

17. Speed Up Menus

Start > Run > Regedit > HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Control Panel > Desktop Folder. Set MenuShowDelay to 1


18. Disable Offline Files

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Folder Options > Offline Files Untick "Enable Offline Files"

19. Disable Remote Desktop

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Remote > Untick "Allow users to connect remotely to this computer"

20. Disable Internet Synchronise Time

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Date and Time > Internet Time > Untick "Automatically synchronize with internet time server"

21. Disable Hide Inactive Icons

Start > Settings > Taskbar and Start Menu > Taskbar TAB > Uncheck "Hide Inactive Icons"

22. Disable Automatic Desktop Cleanup Wizard

Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Desktop > Customise Desktop > Untick "Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days"

23. Disable NTFS Last Access Time Logging (NTFS File Systems Only)

Start > Run > regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > System > CurrentControlSet > Control > Filesystem. Add a new DWORD value - "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate" and set value to 1.

24. Disable Notification Area Balloon Tips

Start > Run > regedit > HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Advanced. Create a new DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips and set to 0.

25. Disable CDROM Autoplay

Start > Run > regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > System > CurrentControlSet > Services > Cdrom. Set autorun to 0.

26. Disable Disc Indexing Service

Right Click Start > Explorer > Right Click Each Disc > Properties > Untick "Allow Indexing Service to index this disc for fast file searching"

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"There is a Law of the Universe:   CHEAP...   FAST...   GOOD...   pick any two."

This is the only exception I see to the list. It has saved me more than once.

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I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !

Well I can Understand that but usally (for Me) if i have to fix Something gone amiss on my laptop I reformat the drive and start over with a fresh install. Cause i cant be sure what was screwd up in the firstplace or what else it will effect or i would have benn able to correct it at the getgo. But system Restore does work.... i just hate to have it running in the background if i have all the programs on disc and data (songs) on a external terabyte.

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"There is a Law of the Universe:   CHEAP...   FAST...   GOOD...   pick any two."

I agree with everything you said providing the machine is used just for hosting shows.....As it should be.

If it is your hosting machine and not used for anything else, then restore is unnecessay once you have it all set up the way you want it....Just do a traditional back up, save it, and turn off restore.

All that you suggested is good advice. It insures max resources are available with no sound or video drop outs and freezes.....no crashes, no conflicts and no unexpected surprizes.... a smooth error-free night on stage.

If the machine is at times connected to the net or a network, then fersure have a up to date virus program and firewall installed that you activate before connecting to the internet, but once off-line, make sure to disable them before hosting.

Hosting machines need web access to perform program/driver updates and all that, but once off line and hosting, they need full and unclutter access to all the ram and FSB speed you have.....So turn all that crap off when hosting.

Thanks for the all-in-one primer. Hopefully folks here will print it out and keep it in their gig bag.

PC KJ'ing is kinda new to many......But soon it will be the only way to go. Good advice like yours is valuable to folks just now attempting it.