MusicXP.net - Tuning Windows XP for Audio/Music Applications

Installing XP

Device Drivers

Before beginning with the XP installation, check that you have all of the necessary XP device drivers for your system. Windows XP is provided with a plethora of device drivers, but you will most likely find that your "pro" soundcard and midi interface will not be catered for on the XP installation disc.

Download any missing drivers for your system from the relevant manufacturers website on the internet. If you cannot find an XP driver for a particular device, then generally speaking a Windows 2000 driver should work (9 times out of 10). If you cannot find a particular driver, then there is little point in installing XP and you'll need to stick to Windows 98/ME, for the time being at least.

Clean Install Recommended

A clean installation of any Windows operating system from fresh, is nearly always the preferred option. There is no need to use FDISK when installing XP, as the partitioning and formatting can be handled during the installation.

If you can't boot from CD to install XP, then you can download a utility from Microsoft that will allow you to create XP boot discs. Note that there is a different utility for the Home edition and the Professional edition.

ACPI or "Standard PC"

ACPI works extremely well with Windows XP, and has been significantly improved upon over Windows 2000.

Therefore, it is recommended that you first try installing Windows XP with the default option, which is as an ACPI computer.

The only time that the "Standard PC" mode can be recommended with XP, is when you are experiencing audio card or other problems (possibly relating to IRQ sharing/stacking), and only when you have exhausted all other possible causes.

If you have one of the more modern motherboards that has APIC capabilities, then it is definitely recommended that you install Windows XP as an ACPI computer.

In fact, installing Windows XP as a "Standard PC" on an APIC compatible computer will probably result in reduced performance and a reduction with overall reliability.

The number of available interrupts is increased from 15 (0 to 15 with irq2 reserved) to 24 or more with an APIC system, when using XP and ACPI.

Indeed, some IOAPIC's have 64 interrupts, and some motherboards have more than one APIC, potentially giving hundreds of IRQ's.

You should find that there is absolutely no IRQ sharing whatsoever when using an APIC/XP/ACPI installation.

If you have an older motherboard without APIC, then it may be better to install as "Standard PC".

However, the bottom line is that if you have a working system with ACPI, then leave it alone. If it isn't broken, then don't fix it.

To find out if your motherboard has APIC, then please refer to your motherboard manual and/or check in the BIOS. If you want to use APIC, then make sure it is enabled in your BIOS.

When installing XP as an ACPI PC on an APIC motherboard, it doesn't matter what the "Plug and Play OS" setting is in your BIOS. XP will override this anyway. Microsoft actually recommend setting this to "No" regardless.

If you do decide to install as a "Standard PC", then follow the steps below.

Firstly, the entry Plug and Play OS in your motherboard's BIOS should be set to 'NO'. Click here to find out why.

During installation of the XP operating system, you will see a screen displaying the message - "Press F6 if you need to install a third-party SCSI or RAID driver". At this point, press the F5 key (this won't be supplied as an option on the screen and the installation won't wait, so you'll need to babysit the installation process and hit the key at the right moment). A few seconds after pressing F5, you will be presented with an option to select either "Standard PC" or "Other (ACPI) PC".

At this point, select "Standard PC".

If you have already installed XP with ACPI, then you can change to "Standard PC" in the device manager afterwards. However, this method doesn't appear to be as effective as disabling it during the install. To do this, Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Hardware Tab > Device Manager. Expand the Computer at the top of the list and right click the ACPI Computer > Drivers > Update Drivers > Select List > Standard PC. Note that when you reboot your PC, you will need to re-install all of your device drivers again.

How Much Disc Space?

When configuring your system disc, bear in mind that XP uses up somewhere in the region of 1.5 - 2GB of installation space. This is enormous when compared to the 200MB (approx.) required by Windows98SE (when using windows managed dynamic swap file). However, there are a number of ways of reducing the amount of space required by XP after installation. More of this later.

Between 3GB and 4GB is the recommended minimum size of disc/partition space required for the XP installation and for any further audio applications. Obviously, if you plan to install any large files on the system disc (Steinberg's The Grand - 1,2GB), then you will need to consider this also. Incidentally, "The Grand" soundfiles will quite happily sit on your audio disc with no problems.

A useful tip when configuring your audio disc, is to split this into two partitions. Set up a smaller "audio scratch" partition - say 6GB of a 30GB hard disc. This partition will be used for the songs that you are currently working on. The benefit of a smaller partition is obviously quicker defragmentation. If you use the entire 30GB as one partition, then this will take ages to defragment. When you are finished with a song, transfer the audio files to the non-scratch partition, where disc I/O performance isn't so critical.

Motherboard Chipset Drivers

Motherboard chipset drivers are usually supplied on a CDROM with the motherboard.

However, later versions of these drivers can usually be downloaded from the relevant chipset manufacturers web site, i.e. Intel or VIA.

It is certainly worth checking the sites above to see if there have been any new versions released, as problems may have been fixed.

If you have an Intel chipset motherboard, then go to http://www.intel.com and for VIA chipset motherboards, get the latest "4-IN-1" drivers from http://www.viatech.com.

Home About XP Installing XP Tuning Tips Hardware Tips Services Remove Items Useful Tools Redundant Tips Useful Links "...thanks for all of your efforts with the site. Good Luck" - Ian Colinson (UK) Super-fast broadband	Installing XP Device Drivers Before beginning with the XP installation, check that you have all of the necessary XP device drivers for your system. Windows XP is provided with a plethora of device drivers, but you will most likely find that your "pro" soundcard and midi interface will not be catered for on the XP installation disc. Download any missing drivers for your system from the relevant manufacturers website on the internet. If you cannot find an XP driver for a particular device, then generally speaking a Windows 2000 driver should work (9 times out of 10). If you cannot find a particular driver, then there is little point in installing XP and you'll need to stick to Windows 98/ME, for the time being at least. Clean Install Recommended A clean installation of any Windows operating system from fresh, is nearly always the preferred option. There is no need to use FDISK when installing XP, as the partitioning and formatting can be handled during the installation. If you can't boot from CD to install XP, then you can download a utility from Microsoft that will allow you to create XP boot discs. Note that there is a different utility for the Home edition and the Professional edition. ACPI or "Standard PC" ACPI works extremely well with Windows XP, and has been significantly improved upon over Windows 2000. Therefore, it is recommended that you first try installing Windows XP with the default option, which is as an ACPI computer. The only time that the "Standard PC" mode can be recommended with XP, is when you are experiencing audio card or other problems (possibly relating to IRQ sharing/stacking), and only when you have exhausted all other possible causes. If you have one of the more modern motherboards that has APIC capabilities, then it is definitely recommended that you install Windows XP as an ACPI computer. In fact, installing Windows XP as a "Standard PC" on an APIC compatible computer will probably result in reduced performance and a reduction with overall reliability. The number of available interrupts is increased from 15 (0 to 15 with irq2 reserved) to 24 or more with an APIC system, when using XP and ACPI. Indeed, some IOAPIC's have 64 interrupts, and some motherboards have more than one APIC, potentially giving hundreds of IRQ's. You should find that there is absolutely no IRQ sharing whatsoever when using an APIC/XP/ACPI installation. If you have an older motherboard without APIC, then it may be better to install as "Standard PC". However, the bottom line is that if you have a working system with ACPI, then leave it alone. If it isn't broken, then don't fix it. To find out if your motherboard has APIC, then please refer to your motherboard manual and/or check in the BIOS. If you want to use APIC, then make sure it is enabled in your BIOS. When installing XP as an ACPI PC on an APIC motherboard, it doesn't matter what the "Plug and Play OS" setting is in your BIOS. XP will override this anyway. Microsoft actually recommend setting this to "No" regardless. If you do decide to install as a "Standard PC", then follow the steps below. Firstly, the entry Plug and Play OS in your motherboard's BIOS should be set to 'NO'. Click here to find out why. During installation of the XP operating system, you will see a screen displaying the message - "Press F6 if you need to install a third-party SCSI or RAID driver". At this point, press the F5 key (this won't be supplied as an option on the screen and the installation won't wait, so you'll need to babysit the installation process and hit the key at the right moment). A few seconds after pressing F5, you will be presented with an option to select either "Standard PC" or "Other (ACPI) PC". At this point, select "Standard PC". If you have already installed XP with ACPI, then you can change to "Standard PC" in the device manager afterwards. However, this method doesn't appear to be as effective as disabling it during the install. To do this, Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Hardware Tab > Device Manager. Expand the Computer at the top of the list and right click the ACPI Computer > Drivers > Update Drivers > Select List > Standard PC. Note that when you reboot your PC, you will need to re-install all of your device drivers again. Further reading here here How Much Disc Space? When configuring your system disc, bear in mind that XP uses up somewhere in the region of 1.5 - 2GB of installation space. This is enormous when compared to the 200MB (approx.) required by Windows98SE (when using windows managed dynamic swap file). However, there are a number of ways of reducing the amount of space required by XP after installation. More of this later. Between 3GB and 4GB is the recommended minimum size of disc/partition space required for the XP installation and for any further audio applications. Obviously, if you plan to install any large files on the system disc (Steinberg's The Grand - 1,2GB), then you will need to consider this also. Incidentally, "The Grand" soundfiles will quite happily sit on your audio disc with no problems. A useful tip when configuring your audio disc, is to split this into two partitions. Set up a smaller "audio scratch" partition - say 6GB of a 30GB hard disc. This partition will be used for the songs that you are currently working on. The benefit of a smaller partition is obviously quicker defragmentation. If you use the entire 30GB as one partition, then this will take ages to defragment. When you are finished with a song, transfer the audio files to the non-scratch partition, where disc I/O performance isn't so critical. Motherboard Chipset Drivers Motherboard chipset drivers are usually supplied on a CDROM with the motherboard. However, later versions of these drivers can usually be downloaded from the relevant chipset manufacturers web site, i.e. Intel or VIA. It is certainly worth checking the sites above to see if there have been any new versions released, as problems may have been fixed. If you have an Intel chipset motherboard, then go to http://www.intel.com and for VIA chipset motherboards, get the latest "4-IN-1" drivers from http://www.viatech.com.
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