taking windows off a laptop solely for djing

[wensleydale]

ive got hold of an old laptop that I want to try and set up to run solely as a back up machine- can anyone give me a few pointers if i want to take windows and all the other stuff off it so it just runs pcdj or something similar?

thanks

rich

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

You will still need an O/S Rich, so windows will have to remain.

I have used the following tips on most of my gig machines.

1. Set processor scheduling to background services rather than programs.

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




2. Set visual effects 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. Disable System Sounds

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




9. 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.




10. Disable System Restore

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




11. Disable Automatic Updates

Switch off Automatic Updates by going to Control Panel, System, Automatic Updates and ticking the box labelled "Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually.".




12. Startup and Recovery Options

Right click My Computer and click on Properties > Advanced > Start Up & Recovery Settings and uncheck "Automatically Restart".




13. Disable Error Reporting

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced TAB > Error Reporting > Click the Disable Error Reporting box (Tick the "But Notify Me When Critical Errors Occur" if you prefer)




14. Disable Remote Assistance

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Remote > Untick "Allow Remote Assistance Invitations to be sent from this computer"




15. Fixed Swap File (Virtual Memory)

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




16. Speed Up Menus

You can use this tip to speed up the Start Menu in Windows XP. You can customize the speed of the Start Menu by editing a Registry Key. Click Start, and then click Run. Type Regedit in the box, and then click OK. Expand the menu in the left panel and select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder. Scroll down in the right panel and double click on the MenuShowDelay file. In the Value Data box, change to default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1. Click OK.




17. Disable Offline Files

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




18. Disable Remote Desktop

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




19. Disable Internet Synchronise Time

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




20. Disable Hide Inactive Icons

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




21. Disable Automatic Desktop Cleanup Wizard

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




22. Disable NTFS Last Access Time Logging (NTFS Only)

Start > Run > regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CURRENTCONTROLSET > CONTROL > FILESYSTEM Add a new DWORD value - "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate" (without quotes) and set the value to 1. Then reboot to make changes effective




23. Disable Notification Area Balloon Tips

Click Start , click Run , type regedit , and then press ENTER. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced Right-click the right pane, create a new DWORD value, and then name it EnableBalloonTips . Double-click this new entry, and then give it a hexadecimal value of 0 . Quit Registry Editor. Log off Windows, and then log back on.




24. Disable CDROM Autoplay

One of the very important (and well documented) tweaks in Windows 98SE, was to disable CDROM autoplay (auto insert notification). Disabling CDROM autoplay no longer offers a significant performance benefit in Windows XP, and therefore you do not need to disable it. Just don't insert a CD during a crucial recording.

However, if you really want to disable it then click here to expand the section below describing some different methods.




25. Disable Disc Indexing

Indexing Service is a service that extracts the information from a set of documents and organizes it in a way that makes it quick and easy to access that information through the Windows XP Search function, the Indexing Service query form, or a Web browser.

[spin mobile disco]

You have to have windows on a laptop as it is the operating system and it will not work without it.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Echo.....echo....echo......:sj:

[wensleydale]

thanks gents

i thought you could take it off and load to whichever program through dos- must have got my wires crossed- i guess my best bet is to format the pc to get rid of all the other cr@p that has built up on it and then put the djing software on???

[CRAZY K]

ive got hold of an old laptop that I want to try and set up to run solely as a back up machine- can anyone give me a few pointers if i want to take windows and all the other stuff off it so it just runs pcdj or something similar?

thanks

rich

Cr@p cleaner is a program I use on my PC.

I would be a bit nervous about a second hand laptop :eek: :eek: :eek:

Wouldnt you have a more reliable back up with a new cheap USB reader?

I couldnt possibly recommend one though:D

CRAZY K

[DazzyD]

ive got hold of an old laptop that I want to try and set up to run solely as a back up machine- can anyone give me a few pointers if i want to take windows and all the other stuff off it so it just runs pcdj or something similar?

thanks

rich

I can see where you're coming from, Rich, but PCDJ wouldn't run without Windows anyway. It uses Windows components so wouldn't be able to run in DOS alone. I don't think modern computers still ship with DOS anyway as the BIOS points directly to Windows/Unix/Linux (or whatever OS you have installed) as the OS for which to operate the PC.

Darrens tips on streamlining Windows are a good start and you can find countless tips on running Windows more efficiently in any computer magazine (I use PC Advisor and Computer Active for good tips but there are many others available).

I think the main tip in streamlining your system are to use a program (such as Windows Defender in Vista) to find out which programs are running or are set to run at startup and disable any that are not essential to what your computer needs to do it's job properly. This frees up system resources and lets your processor get on with playing your music properly. I'm sure you'll see the benefit.

Good luck!

[wensleydale]

thanks gents.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Darrens tips on streamlining Windows are a good start and you can find countless tips on running Windows more efficiently in any computer magazine

Not mine - taken from a website.

Those tips are generally enough to optimise any PC for most DJ software packages though.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Would these tips also work if you used a laptop to run your own music when gigging.

What I mean is - I run my music software (Synapse Orion Platinum) on a seperate laptop. I took off as much as I could...Internet, MSN...all programs that were not used etc but obviously, when you turn on a computer or laptop etc...there's always stuff running in the background that you don't know about. I don't have anything on the laptop apart from my music software and VST's. Music software basically relies on CPU and some VST's can really sap that. If the CPU gets too high then the tracks can become slightly 'crackly'.

If I use the tips above...will this help me? I will say though, since I took off all the stuff I mentioned above, it's been flawless but if the tips above work aswell then it can only make it better and faster.

Sorry to hijack but I thought I would ask.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Would these tips also work if you used a laptop to run your own music when gigging.

What I mean is - I run my music software (Synapse Orion Platinum) on a seperate laptop. I took off as much as I could...Internet, MSN...all programs that were not used etc but obviously, when you turn on a computer or laptop etc...there's always stuff running in the background that you don't know about. I don't have anything on the laptop apart from my music software and VST's. Music software basically relies on CPU and some VST's can really sap that. If the CPU gets too high then the tracks can become slightly 'crackly'.

If I use the tips above...will this help me? I will say though, since I took off all the stuff I mentioned above, it's been flawless but if the tips above work aswell then it can only make it better and faster.

Sorry to hijack but I thought I would ask.

Th tips were for music playback and recording rather than for specific use with software, so I'd say yes.

f you still have system restore working, set a restore point in case you want to go back.. If the PC is fine using the tips, then turn system restore off last.

[BeerFunk]

i thought you could take it off and load to whichever program through dos- must have got my wires crossedBack in the day you could do that - these days you are forced into paying for a bells and whistles OS whether you need it or not, due to the monopolisation of the market by a certain company :whistle:

[spin mobile disco]

DOS hasn't been shipped as an operating system since windows 200 or ME. Ever since the quailty of programing for the PC has gone down hill.
Give me the ms-dos 3 command prompt any day.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I've just tried all of those tips on my other laptop and the CPU has dropped considerably - Thanks!