Windows 2000 Professional Installation and Optimzation Guide

Installation of Win2k is much different than Win98 and WinME in several ways. Win2k is more of a networking and server based app than thw Win9x series OS. When you install Win2k it defaults to ACPI mode..Advanced Configuration and Power Interface. This mode makes Windows completely control all IRQ's and power constraints and it not reccomended for Audio based systems.

To install Win2k:

In the BIOS of your system there is an option to change the order of the Boot devices. There are a few different forms of BIOS' out there so you will need to locate the page within the BIOS configuration to change the order of devices. Make sure the CDROM is the first in the list. Put the Windows 2000 CD in the drive and restart the computer. When when the computer restarts it will look for the set boot device and will read the Windows CD and a prompt will show up saying hit any key to boot from CD...when you do this a screen will pop up saying hit F6 to add any third party SCSI devices and drivers...at this point hit F5(you may want to hit it a few times just to make sure)..a few seconds later a screen will pop up asking you which mode you want to install Win2k as..you will see a listing for STANDARD PC..highlite this and hit Enter. If you are installing Win2k on a dual processor machine you will want to find the mode for Multi-Processor Machine..labeled MPS Mulitprocessor PC..only install this mode if you do have dual processors.

Once you hit Enter it will begin the install process..When it begins it will ask you what drive and what partition you want to install the OS into. Typically you will want to install the OS onto a seperate drive than the drive that will hold your audio data. If you do not have a seperate drive then partition the main drive into two parts...try and make the OS drive smaller than the data drive so that you will have plenty of room for your audio data if partitioning is the step you take. When you install the OS make sure you install it into an NTFS format. New Technology File System...it's a table allocation system used for the NT based systems. If it asks you what format you want to use on the data partition use FAT32..FAT32 is proven to be a lot faster for audio performance on data pull and stream..at least 10% faster. Plus defragging on an NTFS takes longer than a drive formatted as FAT32. (you can also format the FAT32 partition using the Format X: /z:64 switch which makes the drive use 32 bit cluster sizes for more optimum performance...this will need to be done usually in a DOS mode using the boot disks for Win2k..this will be discussed at a later time)

Once you have set the partition and drive for the OS to be installed in let the install take its course. When it's done and it asks you which user to load Win2k as choose always start as Administrator. This will allow you to make any changes and tweaks without restrictions and allows better performance. Also it bypasses any password login screens. When the OS is completely installed dont install any drivers or make any changes just yet...get the latest Service Pack from Microsoft..Currently Service Pack 2 is the latest.

At this point you will want to install the drivers for any video, audio and other cards as neccessary. If Microsoft installs the drivers for your Video card or any other driver chances are that will be sufficient enough...but always make sure you have the latest driver just in case for any devices you may have. Most of the time the pre-installed driver from Microsoft will work just fine. If there's a control panel or extra software for any devices you might want to consider NOT installing them. Most of the time those extra software packages for devices can cause more pain than it's worth. Unfortunately you will probably have to restart your machine several times..this is a pain yes but do this every time it says to..it's the safest way to play the game!!! Each time you add a device it changes the Windows Registry and it needs to be updated before other devices are added so that the driver path is set properly.

Now that all devices are installed go ahead and install all the software you will "need" to use. Dont install software just to "have" it...if you dont use it at all..why bother! At this point we will get into Optimizing the OS for better performance.

***Follow these Steps in this order!!!***

Before doing any Registry changes it is always reccomended to back up the registry in case you make a mistake and you need to go back to the original configuration....to do this in the registry choose Registry...Export Registry..Choose ALL down below...save it to a floppy disk or a secondary hard drive! Name it BackUp!!!

Disabling any programs from running in the background

Two Ways to do this:

One: In the System Tray on the Bottom Right Hand Corner you will see Icons for these programs

Usually there is a preference setting for these programs and you can tell it not to start up

when Windows Loads...disable that

Two: Registry Editing

Go to Start Menu

Run

Type in:

Regedit

Hit Enter

Find:(expand each item listed by clicking on the + sign next to each item listed)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Software

Microsoft

Windows

Current Version

Run

On the right hand side you will see a list of possible programs that start up

Delete Entries for these programs

Usually programs like EZ CD Creator, WinAmp, Real Player, Windows Media Player, Nortons, ZipMagic, and

any other un-neccessary program should be deleted. Please Be careful on deleting certain entries as certain programs will need to be launched when windows starts but more than likely you will not need any

to boot up.

Changing the Performance mode for the OS:

Right click on My Computer and choose Properties

Select the Advanced Tab

Choose the Performance Button

Change the mode from Application response to Background Services

Virtual Memory:

Set this to 1 to 1.5 times your memory.

Make the Minimum and the Maximum the same amount.

Doing this helps keep the Swap file in one location which makes for better performance for the OS

to locate all the files neccessary instead of randomly allocating it.

if you have 256 set it to 384

If you have 512 set it to 768

Any higher than 512 set it to the same amount of memory you have.

**When you change the Swap file it is reccomended you get a program like Disk Keeper to then defrag the

drive. This third party program actually re-orders the swap file after changing it. The Windows

defragger does not re-order it but maintains the same image it had before leaving the old swap in tact

and leaving files scattered about. THis is not absolutely neccessary but "IS" reccomended.**

Environment Variables....DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING!!!

Start up and Recovery....DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING!!!

Disabling Visual Effects:

Right click on the Desktop anywhere and choose Properties

Screen Savers..Turn them off..anytime a screen saver is turned on it could cause problems with audio apps running if they turn on and may cause freezes or wierd performance issues.

Web.....Make sure this is not set to Show Web Content on my Desktop

Effects..Turn off USe Transition Effects for Menus and Tooltips

Also turn off Show Window Contents While Dragging.

Settings..Put your display Bit depth to 16Bit...allocating more takes away from audio performance due to video/graphic redraw on the level indicators within your audio app.

Also turn off any power settings for hard disks...set them to turn off at NEVER. Monitor turn off is OK to set!

Another useful tool is to download TweakUI from Microsoft and from there you can turn off any visual effects and other useless accessories you will not need.

Multimedia Settings:

A good thing to do is make sure that windows sound scheme is set to NONE!! This will get rid of all those annoying clicks and wierd noises and may help with some audio conflicts due to Windows sounds being set at really low sample rates and bit rate settings

Go to Control Panel

Double Click Sounds and Multimedia

Under Scheme set it to NO SOUNDS!!

Indexing Servicing on Hard Drives:(This works only on NTFS Drives)

Double Click My Computer

Right Click on a Hard Drive

Choose Properties

Uncheck Allow Indexing Service

Choose all files and Subfolders within drive

Disk I/O Performance Logging

Go to the Start Menu

Run

Type in:

diskperf -n

Hit ok...this will stop Win2k from logging I/O to your drive

Disable Write Behind Cache on your Hard Drives

Right Click My Computer

Choose Properties

Click on the Hardware Tab

Click on the Device Manager Tab

Expand Disk Drives

Double Click a Drive

Choose Properties

Uncheck Write Cache Enabled

Do this for all IDE Drives listed in your System Properties

Enabling UDMA66 in Win2k

Make sure that your drive is definately UDMA66 or higher and that you do have the proper 80Pin

ATA Cables. It's reccomended to have them anyways for proper Shielding.

*You will need to do some Registry Editing at this point*

Go to Start Menu

Run

Type in:

Regedit

Hit Enter

Find:(expand each item listed by clicking on the + sign next to each item listed)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

System

Current Control Set

Control

Class

{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

0000

Once you are here on the right hand side you will Right Click and add new DWORD

For the Value Name type in

EnableUDMA66 (<---Exactly like this!!)

Hit Enter and Right Click the New Entry and choose MODIFY

Type in the Number 1 where it shows the number 0

Hit Enter

Restart Machine

Services:

Here is an important tweak guide..Unlike Win9x series you now have the ability to turn off certain "tasks" that are constantly running.

Go to the Control Panel

Double Click Administrative Tools

Double Click on Services

Here are the services you can DISABLE:

Alerter

Application Manager

Com+ Event System

Computer Browser

Distributing Link Tracking Client

Distributed Transaction Coordinator

Fax Service(if you dont plan on Faxing)

Indexing Service

Internet Connection Sharing

IPSEC Policy Agent

Logical Disk Manager

Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service

Messenger

Net Logon

Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing

Network DDE

Network DDE DSDM

NT LM Security Support Provider

Performance Logs and Alerts

Print Spooler(if you dont have or plan on printing)

QoS RSVP

Remote Access Auto Connection Manager

Remote Access Connection Manager

Remote Procedure Call(RPC) Locator(***ONLY THIS ONE-There are two- One is not the Locator***)

Remote Registry Service

Routing and Remote Access

Server

Smart Card

Smart Card Helper

System Event Notification

Task Scheduler

Telephony

Telnet

Uninterruptible Power Supply

Utility Manager

Windows Installer

Windows Time

If you dont have an Internet Connection you can DISABLE these Services as well:

DHCP Client

DNS Client

Network Connections

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Server

***** LEAVE EVERYTHING ELSE ALONE THAT IS NOT LISTED HERE!!!! DISABLING ANYTHING ELSE MAY CAUSE YOUR COMPUTER NOT TO BOOT UP OR NOT GIVE YOU ACCESS TO CERTAIN FEATURES!!!******

This Document written by:

Gary Brenner

For more info go to:

www.OpusAudioProjects.Net or Email: Gary@OpusAudioProjects.Net

Thanks to LJP, Max and a few websites offering help to this article!

November 2, 2001