I record my tracks without effects 99% of the time and have been in this instance.
So I guess no luck there either…
One thing that I’ve wondered about is the amount of crap I’ve got running in the background on this computer.
It’s a stock HP computer and it boots with about 7,562 things running at startup.
I’ve wanted to shut down everything that isn’t used or necessary, but my problem is that I HAVE NO IDEA which things this PC needs, so I’ve left it alone.
Is there any software out there that has earned notoriety for this kind of thing?
Thanks again,
Chris
Hi Again:
One thing you might consider doing is… Go to START>RUN> type in msconfig and then go to “Startup”… Then disable everything that is running… Later, you can decide what you feel you want to run at Startup Time…
There was a nice little utility… I forget just what it was called… Then anyway, the writer came out with a new version and it made too hard to use… The original version was just great… Anyway, I don’t run it anymore… OR… at least not lately… I’m sure some of the other n-Track users has some utility to get around running applications that they don’t need when they are using n-Track…
But you really have to keep your machine running “Lean-and-Mean” when you are Tracking-and-Editing… Music Files… Other-Wise you run the risk of Stressing your machine’s Resources and Blue-Screening your setup and loosing your Hard earned work… At times when I’m editing, I go to the “SAVE AS” menu quite often before I finish the editing process… That way I only loose the last few edit processes and it saves me from starting the edit process right from the beginning…
Bill…
Thanks very much, Bill. Sorry for the delay in responding, but I’ve been crazy busy. Anyway, I’ll give that a shot. There must be 50 - 75 items running on my machine at startup. It’s INSANE!
I’m sure the recording process likes a nice clean machine. 
Pressing “Cont-Alt-Delete” will bring up the Task Manager…
If the Task Manager shows more items running say…
40-or-more things… I have an issue that needs attention…
I will shut down my machine and reboot…
At least that’s how I fix issues (like that) on this machine…
When all is running normally, I have approx 37 - 39 tasks and at times maybe, 32-33 items running… (that’s good for this machine)
Well, on this P-111 anyway…
The processor usage shows some 1-3% usage…
That is XP Home SP 3 as the Operating System…
I don’t play with closing any of these times…
BUT some guys do…
I’m not able to tell you what you can close in the Task Manager…
and still operate n-Track with any productivity…
That is something you might look into…
?
Bill…
Bill, I’m glad you posted a number. I actually have 77 processes running on my machine and have very little idea as to what is “necessary”. This is certainly one of the pitfalls I anticipated with buying my first “stock” machine instead of building my own. Figuring out what is essential will probably take some doing.
Does anyone know if there are specific TYPES of software that may be notorious for interfering with audio recording that I should investigate first?
Thanks again, Bill and happy tracking…
Chris
Hi LostNSpace:
That number appears to be kind of high.
As I type this reply I just brought up the task manager…
I have 38 items running at the moment.
My CPU Usage is at 1% when I’m not typing on this reply.
I don’t know if that’s good-or-bad… However, that’s what I am reporting…
That utility that closes applications and reports applications that are running Is Called EndItAll…
Do A “Google” on that application and look for one of the earlier versions…
BUT…
It seems to me that the early version doesn’t run in XP…
I am unable to remember.
It’s only a small file…
~ .5meg…
or something. I’m gonna use up some space here…
This is what you’ll find in the EndItAll Help file…
It might help you decide if you want to run this utility on your machine…
[QUOTE]
Some programs, particularly install programs, ask you to terminate all other programs before proceeding. Often it’s sufficient just to close visible applications like your browser or database. Sometimes, though, they really want you to terminate all programs (except for Explorer and the system tray). This is an extreme step, but sometimes you just can’t avoid it.
In Windows 95 or Windows 98, you terminate a program by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del, selecting the item in the task list, and clicking End Task. You have to tediously repeat this process for each program. You don’t have to reinvoke the Task Manager in Windows NT for each program, but its display can be confusing. In either case, it can be hard to tell just what each item in the task list represents. Who would guess that “msimn” is Outlook Express, or that “rnaapp” is Dial-Up Networking?!
EndItAll handles the job with the click of a button. It does its best to terminate every program except Explorer, the system tray, and itself. Its main window lets you know exactly what’s happening.
A Warning: Forcibly terminating certain essential programs can cause your system to crash, either right away or later. If you have system problems after using EndItAll, see the troubleshooting section.
Copyright
© 1999 Ziff-Davis, Inc.
Anyway, this is in a Nutshell what this utility controls on your machine…
Hey… It’s Free… Some guys don’t run Free Applications on their machines…
Bill…
EndItAll 2: A True Killer App
This version has been superseded by TaskPower 2.
TaskPower 2 was superceded by TaskPower 3.
You can find it here.
Nice write up in PCMag too.
Hi Gents:
Am I that far behind the Ball… ?
Thanks for posting that link and bringing me up to current.
I think I tried EndItAll 2 and then reverted back to the earlier version… I don’t use it on this P-111… I had to rebuild the Operating System (XP Home) this time, last year… I still use it on the Studio P-4 (Dual Boot)… machine.
I should re-install it on this P-111 machine…
Bill…