Stripping down your playout laptop....

[Mark Wild]

This is for the guys that have a PC laptop solely for playout. So you strip it down, taking out all bloatware and and unneeded programs that come loaded on it, is that as far as you go?

What about services running in msconfig? What do you stop in there, if anything, what needs to be running in startup and what doesn't?

How many processes do you have running on your playout lappy?

Keep your "get a Mac" comments to yourself please, they're about as original as Justin Bieber jokes :p

Any hints, tips, advice on how you do it are appreciated :)

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I just went to the add/remove programs and took everything I knew didnt have a reason to be there.

[ianforest]

get a mac!

on a serious note is there no way you can install Windows on it without all of the added extras? I'd rather do that than have failed uninstalls that leave crap everywhere.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

This is for the guys that have a PC laptop solely for playout. So you strip it down, taking out all bloatware and and unneeded programs that come loaded on it, is that as far as you go?

What about services running in msconfig? What do you stop in there, if anything, what needs to be running in startup and what doesn't?

How many processes do you have running on your playout lappy?

Keep your "get a Mac" comments to yourself please, they're about as original as Justin Bieber jokes :p

Any hints, tips, advice on how you do it are appreciated :)

What O/S Mark?

[Mark Wild]

What O/S Mark?

Vista home premium, this stems from me stripping it back further yesterday and then using the MC6000 for 6 hours lastnight without it freezing once, thought I might be missing a trick if you see what I mean.

[DJEP Troy]

An even better suggestion would be to reformat the hard drive and reinstall the OS. I do that for ALL of my computers...laptops, desktops, and servers. The first thing I do when I get it home is wipe the drive.

This way I know that nothing extra is installed.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Vista home premium, this stems from me stripping it back further yesterday and then using the MC6000 for 6 hours lastnight without it freezing once, thought I might be missing a trick if you see what I mean.

I had a decent link somewhere, but can't find it.

This might help. (http://docs.otslabs.com/OtsAV/help/index.htm#optimizing_your_machine_for_audio.htm)

[Jason]

I dual-boot, so Win Vista (it came with the laptop..), booted with Ubuntu as the primary OS.
The Windows partition is solely for DJing, so no wifi/ethernet, no anti-virus, no firewall (no network anyway! lol), themes are disabled, autorun disabled and also the usual not-required services disabled.

If I want to scan for viruses, I do this when booted into Linux.

I started out on a Laptop, but then went DDS80 - but recently brought a VMS4 and paid £100 for VDJ7pro...

I've got a small netbook, and have XP installed, again with Ubuntu installed as primary OS. As I can install VDJpro on 2 PC's, this is installed with a Netbook friendly Skin, and basic tests here show it to run fine - not something I'd like to do.


I would advocate disabling networking - or at least Wifi. Anything that can trigger an event (so autorun, wifi etc) can cause problems. If Windows detects a Wifi point mid-gig, it will need to add it to the list, and possibly display dialog offering to connect.... not ideal! Same applies if you plug a USB stick in..

Disable Windows Update (and the associated services) - you can always re-enable (with networking) if you feel an update is required.

Of course, if you're using the Windows installation for normal use (ie email/surfing etc) then this does become a bit of a nightmare, apart from "don't!!!", the other suggestion is to have a "dj" account and see what you can optimise within the relms of a Windows Account.


I've been watching the "Mixxx" open source DJ project closely, as for me - a Linux Distro with this installed could be a fantastic project, but its still some way off..
http://www.mixxx.org/

[Excalibur]

Come Spring,I may have need of this. The lease expires on my Laptop, and I may rebuild it as a gig machine, and get a new one for all other things.

[Digital Jack]

If you visit pcdj dot com , you will find a plethora of info' .

[Cowlinn]

You say keep your mac comments to yourself, but have you not thought about the advantages? Is there a genuine reason you don't want to use one?

[djdave01]

My laptop runs windows 7, ive turned off all the windows extras but do have anti virus running.

If the venue has a wifi connection ive seen me checking emails while background music is playing, never had any problems.

If your machine is powerful and you dont go over the top, i dont see any harm in running a couple of programs at once.

[sleah]

You say keep your mac comments to yourself, but have you not thought about the advantages? Is there a genuine reason you don't want to use one?

If you compare like-for-like, such as having a nice clean install and disabling wireless etc as suggested, there aren't necessarily any real advantages.
BTW I am what you would call an 'IT professional' and use both at work.

I use a playout laptop that's around 6-7years old, running XP that's absolutely rock solid, doesn't miss a beat. There would be absolutely no advantage whatsoever in any way shape or form in me using a Mac.

I get :Censored:ing annoyed with the Mac brigade spouting 'get a Mac cos it's better'.
Macs can be better for some people and in some circumstances, but in others they are utter rubbish.

May aswell be saying 'Get a Merc instaed of a BMW cos it's better' :confused:
NO! It's an alternative!

[Cowlinn]

If you compare like-for-like, such as having a nice clean install and disabling wireless etc as suggested, there aren't necessarily any real advantages.
BTW I am what you would call an 'IT professional' and use both at work.

I use a playout laptop that's around 6-7years old, running XP that's absolutely rock solid, doesn't miss a beat. There would be absolutely no advantage whatsoever in any way shape or form in me using a Mac.

I get :Censored:ing annoyed with the Mac brigade spouting 'get a Mac cos it's better'.
Macs can be better for some people and in some circumstances, but in others they are utter rubbish.

May aswell be saying 'Get a Merc instaed of a BMW cos it's better' :confused:
NO! It's an alternative!

Fair point, I know they're not for everyone.

In what way are they rubbish?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

guys this isnt a mac vs windows discussion so please take it somewhere else.

Mark has stated clearly in the OP he isnt interested in the mac so not sure why people feel the need to bring that up in this thread.

[Digital Jack]

Also , if you use torrents or NZB stuff you could consider getting a striped down version of your operating system and use it with your existing COA.
Just a thought - and it's not illegal either (before you start having a go (LOL)....)



1........
2..................
3.............................

[Excalibur]

Come Spring,I may have need of this. The lease expires on my Laptop, and I may rebuild it as a gig machine, and get a new one for all other things.

Well blow me down, I've done exactly that. :D That's the relatively easy bit. Relatively easy, cos it involved three trips to the store, two abortive attempts, and took over two hours to achieve what I wanted. :eek:

Right Jim, here's your mission, should you choose to accept it. :D

I don't want to go for a clean install, because I haven't made a restore disc ( I possibly could even at this late date, I don't know. :confused: ) If I were to do that, I'd probably change the HD for a bigger one, (cos I've only got 160Gb at the moment) and the costs would just start escalating. :(

All I wish to do is remove as much clutter as possible, to give my music player software a fighting chance. What can I /should I remove? What should I disable? ( Auto update springs straight to mind, along with the wifi adaptor. )

Many thanks in advance for your help, chaps and chapesses.

[Mark Wild]

Well blow me down, I've done exactly that. :D That's the relatively easy bit. Relatively easy, cos it involved three trips to the store, two abortive attempts, and took over two hours to achieve what I wanted. :eek:

Right Jim, here's your mission, should you choose to accept it. :D

I don't want to go for a clean install, because I haven't made a restore disc ( I possibly could even at this late date, I don't know. :confused: ) If I were to do that, I'd probably change the HD for a bigger one, (cos I've only got 160Gb at the moment) and the costs would just start escalating. :(

All I wish to do is remove as much clutter as possible, to give my music player software a fighting chance. What can I /should I remove? What should I disable? ( Auto update springs straight to mind, along with the wifi adaptor. )

Many thanks in advance for your help, chaps and chapesses.

What OS Peter?

[Excalibur]

What OS Peter?

Sorry, should have said. :o :o I was hoping you'd turn up, because it's same as you, Vista Home Premium. ( Though what's premium compared to the desktop, which is on standard, I have no idea. :confused: :confused: )

[Mark Wild]

Sorry, should have said. :o :o I was hoping you'd turn up, because it's same as you, Vista Home Premium. ( Though what's premium compared to the desktop, which is on standard, I have no idea. :confused: :confused: )

http://www.blackviper.com/category/guides/windows-vista/

[nisfo]

Use the tools option in this program> http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

It also keeps your registry and useless files in order.

Excellent for disabling/removing start-up processes.

[Excalibur]

http://www.blackviper.com/category/guides/windows-vista/
That looks useful. :thumbs_up: What's more, I even understood some of it! :eek: :D :D

Use the tools option in this program> http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

It also keeps your registry and useless files in order.

Excellent for disabling/removing start-up processes.
Ta. I'll have a look at that.

[1878blues]

Look no further than these tutorials in optimizing your PC for DJ use.

YouTube - Optimize Your Windows PC for DJing & Music Production Pt. 1

YouTube - Optimize Your Windows PC for DJing & Music Production Pt. 2

Regards