The Sweetwater Technical Support Team continues to get many, many questions about PC setup and optimization for DAW systems. As such they have requested that we reprint their Windows 98 PC Optimization Guide here (a document that is also available on our SweetCare support page (just search the database)). It is rather lengthy, but important, so we will break it up over the next three issues of inSync so you can digest it in bits. There's also a good deal of jargon in it, which the techies among you will be comfortable with. But many times the eyes glaze over when it gets this deep. Don't worry, we have a whole team of guys here who can help you over the phone. Here goes...

PC OPTIMIZATION GUIDE for Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows Millennium, part 1.

These tips and tricks have been tested out and have proved successful in many occasions. If you follow this document to the "T" you will have your system in true optimum performance. They are listed in descending importance.

1) Make sure you don't have ANY IRQ conflicts of any sort (Windows will not always tell you if you do.)

Right-Click MY COMPUTER, select PROPERTIES.
Select the DEVICE MANAGER tab and double-click COMPUTER.
This will show you a complete list of all the IRQs in use. If you see more than 2 devices on the same number, you might have an IRQ conflict.

Any device can, without problem, share with IRQ holder for PCI steering, or ACPI IRQ holder for PCI IRQ steering. Some other devices that will not usually cause problems are System Management Bus or SMBus, and SCI IRQ used by ACPI Bus.

Devices to watch out for (especially when they're sharing the sound card's IRQ) are: Other sound cards, SCSI controllers, USB controllers, Network cards, Video cards, and many others.

If you have a conflict and you want to fix it, The best way to move the IRQs around is to move the card in question to another PCI slot. This may mean trying 2,3, or even 4 different slots. You may need to move another card to a different slot to allow the audio card to use that PCI slot. All unused PCI cards should be PHYSICALLY REMOVED, not just disabled in Windows, as this does not always truly free up the resource. Remember to power down your system before changing hardware; you should NEVER install or remove hardware while the computer is powered ON, except for USB and Firewire devices.

Some BIOS manufacturers may allow you to assign a specific IRQ to a PCI slot (from within the BIOS under PCI configuration - see below), but you should try to avoid IRQ 9 because it is cascaded to IRQ 2. It will allow you to assign PCI slot 2, for example, to IRQ 5.

Some more tricks for freeing up IRQs are to disable one or more COM (serial) ports, printer ports and USB (if you're not using them), or on-board audio (Sometimes called AC97 or Legacy Audio) from within the BIOS (see below). You must check with your motherboard/computer manufacturer to find the correct way to do this. Disabling devices within the BIOS will remove them from the system, and possibly allow a device or two to jump to a free IRQ, reducing the amount of troubleshooting you must do.

To get into your computer's BIOS, you'll need to reboot (or turn on) the machine. Immediately when you see the boot up logo or memory/hard drive check, press the appropriate key (which varies from computer to computer - check your computer's documentation if you're unsure) until it enters the setup. This will be before Windows boots, and typically it only waits for 1-2 seconds for you to press the key. The most likely keys are DEL, F1, and F2, but could also be any of the F-keys (you can usually press multiple keys at the same time if you're unsure.) Within the BIOS, you should select Integrated Peripherals. If you don't see this option, try Advanced, and within this menu, look for I/O Configuration, Peripherals Configuration, or something of the like - it varies from system to system. This is where you'll see the options to enable/disable hardware. This is also where you'll change the parallel port mode if you are using a parallel port midi interface. Then follow on-screen instructions on how to exit and save changes.

Another option within the BIOS, which may be under almost any menu, again depending on the computer, is PLUG AND PLAY BIOS or INSTALLED OS. This will have two choices, one being Windows, and one being non-Windows (the wording may be different.) This setting determines whether the BIOS or Windows will control resources. You may want to try switching the option to the other choice. If it doesn't work as well, it can always be changed back.

* If you're using a USB device (either audio or midi interface), you'll want to have the USB on its own IRQ. Most new computers actually have two USB devices: One pair on the back and one that is either connected to the front or not connected at all. Resolving IRQ sharing with USB is more difficult because there is no way to control which IRQ it uses, so usually you must move devices off of the USB IRQ by moving or removing the PCI card in conflict. Also, if you can avoid it, don't use any other USB device on that pair of USB ports. This will decrease the bandwidth for your audio/midi device and possibly create conflicts. Especially avoid hubs and high-bandwidth items like modems, Ethernet controllers, hard drives or CD-ROM drives, printers, and scanners.

* If you're using a Firewire audio device, you'll want to have the Firewire IEEE 1394 controller on its own IRQ just like it is your sound card. All Firewire ports on a card share the same resources, so it shouldn't make a difference where they are plugged in unless there is a physical problem with the card.

2) Make sure DMA is ON for your Hard Drives and Auto-Insert Notification is OFF on your CD-ROM's. This setting is particularly important to Digidesign cards.

Right-click MY COMPUTER, select PROPERTIES.
Select the DEVICE MANAGER tab and expand (Press the + sign) Disk Drives.
Double-click on any and all Generic hard drives and select SETTINGS tab.
Make sure DMA is checked, and if not, click it on. Windows will give you a prompt. Hit OK.

IDE, but will display the name and model number of the hard drive. This is usually OK unless you're using a Pro Tools 001 system. If you are having problems with your Pro Tools CPU conflicting with other tasks, you'll need to see our other help file about resolving this issue." target="_blank">Some newer computers will not have a DMA box available. These will not show the Generic IDE, but will display the name and model number of the hard drive. This is usually OK unless you're using a Pro Tools 001 system. If you are having problems with your Pro Tools CPU conflicting with other tasks, you'll need to see our other help file about resolving this issue.

Expand the CDROMS and go to the SETTINGS tab.
Uncheck AUTO-INSERT NOTIFICATION on all CD-ROM's.

We'll be back tomorrow with part 2 of 3. See you here.