Five tips and tricks for tuning Windows based DAW computer
A well-optimized DAW can make or break your music making experience, let’s discuss some tips for tuning Windows based DAW computer systems.
Continue at your Own Risk!
If you have a perfectly working computer system, then these tuning Windows based DAW computer tips are not for you. However, if you’re struggling with slow loading times and large project struggling to perform, these tips can greatly improve your experience. Create a system restore point before continuing, just in case the tips don’t gel with your system – as Windows systems do vary.
Processor Scheduling
What is it:
By default, Windows is set up to prioritise tasks that are currently being used – such as your applications, the issue with a DAW is that a large portion of processing is actually happening in the background, specifically in the case of audio drivers. This step helps you set Windows up to prioritise the Background Services as opposed to applications.
How to Configure:
Step 1: Control Panel -> System -> Along the right-hand side select “Advanced system settings”
Step 2: Under the “Advanced” tab -> Under “Performance”, click “Settings” -> Under the “Advanced” tab, select “Background services” -> Click OK
Power Settings
What is it:
This step is essential if you’re using a laptop, Windows monitors your peripherals to make sure the system is using the optimized amount of battery life at all times, the issue is that both the monitoring service and the throttling of the battery affect your systems overall performance. If you mainly work with the mains plugged in, follow these steps and it will improve overall performance somewhat.
How to Configure:
Step 1: Control Panel -> Power Options -> Select “High Performance”
Step 2: In the same window, click “Change plan settings” -> set “Put computer to sleep” to “Never” and “Turn off the display” to “Never” (this is optional – I leave this on 30 minutes)
Step 3: In the same window, click “Change advanced power settings” -> under “USB Settings”, set “USB Selective suspend setting” to “Disabled” -> Click OK
Step 4: Right-click the Windows icon/Start Menu and click on “Device Manager” -> Under the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” section, Right-click on each of the “USB Root Hub” options and click “Properties” -> Under the “Power Management” tab, untick “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” -> click OK and repeat for each of the “USB Root Hub” options.
Hard Drive Optimization
What is it:
If you use a separate hard drive for projects and audio samples, the Windows indexing services can sometimes slow down project and sample load-time. Optimizing your sample/audio drive can help improve situations where you may have issues with loading time.
How to Configure:
Step 1: In File Explorer, click “This PC” -> Right-click your sample/project hard drive, and click properties -> Under the “General” tab, make sure “Compress this drive to save disk space” and “Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties” are both unticked -> Click OK
Step 2: Back in the “Advanced power settings” -> under the “Hard disk” section, set “Turn off hard disk after” to “Never” by scrolling down to 0 -> Click OK
Disable Updates
What is it:
Disabling updates in Windows 10 can be tricky and varies widely depending on which version you’re using. EaseUs.com has a very thorough article covering pretty much every possible way to disable the forced Windows 10 updates, check out their article here.
Things to Note:
Microsoft doesn’t recommend disabling updates, maybe that’s why they made it harder than before, however if the system is working, why risk throwing a spanner in the works, especially when you have a project deadline.
Disable Windows Visual Effects
What is it:
This step is optional, if you have an older system this can greatly improve overall performance, however some older DAW versions do need a few of Windows’ visual effects to function, so keep that in mind.
How to Configure:
Step 1: Control Panel -> System -> Along the right-hand side select “Advanced system settings”
Step 2: Under the “Advanced” tab -> Under “Performance”, click “Settings” -> Select “Adjust for best performance” -> Click OK
Don’t forget to backup!
Hopefully these five tips and tricks for tuning Windows based DAW computer systems helps you make the most of your setup but remember to create a system restore point before getting started!
