It seems everyone enjoyed the CPU priority tip I included in issue 8, so here's another tip that might improve your PC performance.

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There are different opinions about whether you should change the virtual memory settings in Windows to gain system performance. Some say you should just let Windows handle virtual memory automatically. Others say you should set virtual memory manually. More than likely, you are currently letting Windows handle virtual memory. To see if setting virtual memory manually will give you a performance boost, do the following:
1) In Windows, choose Start>Settings>Control panel.
2) Open the System applet.
3) Click on the Performance tab and then on the Virtual Memory button.
4) Choose the Let Me Specify My Own Virtual Memory Settings option.
5) In the Hard Disk drop-down list, choose a location for the virtual memory swap file. This should be the same drive on which you have Windows installed. You probably won't have to change this setting.
6) For the Minimum and Maximum parameters enter the same value. The value should be anywhere from 2 to 4 times the amount of physical memory you have installed in your computer. Try going with 2 times at first. The higher the number you use the more disk space you need for the swap file. For example, if you have 128MB of memory installed in your computer, you should enter a value of 256 for both the Minimum and Maximum parameters.
7) Click OK.
8) Click Yes.

Your computer will then reboot and you'll see if you get any kind of boost in performance. This tweak may or may not work. And if you experience problems, either try increasing the value to 4 times the amount of memory, or just go back to letting Windows handle virtual memory automatically. You may also want to defragment your hard drive after you change your virtual memory settings. This may help increase performance as well.

Scott R. Garrigus is the author of Cakewalk Power!, Sound Forge Power!, and SONAR Power!. He is also the publisher of the DigiFreq music technology newsletter. Learn about more cool tips and techniques for your music software and have the chance to win free music products by getting a FREE subscription to DigiFreq... surf to:
http://www.garrigus.com/scott/subscribe.html

 

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