| What
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Building
and Tweaking Video Editing Computer
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| Why
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Need high performance for resource
intensive video editing work
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| How
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Steps and Tips below. Hardware you
need.....heat issues.....remove unecessary services and XP
features...how to configure Windows XP for optimum performance.
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Detailed
Information
Videoguys Top
Tech Tips for Building and Troubleshooting your Digital Video Editing
computer
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H.
Alerter I.
Application Layer Gateway Service
J.
Application Manager K.
Automatic Updates L.
Background Intelligence Transfer
Service M.
Clip Book N.
COM + Event System O.
COM + System Application P.
Computer Browser Q.
DHCP Client R.
Distributed Link Tracking Client S.
Distributed Transaction
Coordinator T.
Fast User Switching Compatibility
U.
Help & Support V.
Indexing Service W.
Internet Connection X.
Logical Disk Manager
Administrative Service Y.
Messenger Z.
Net Logon AA.
Net Meeting remote BB.
Network Connections CC.
Network DDE DD.
Network DDE DSDM EE.
Network Location Awareness FF.
NT LM Security Support Provider GG.
NVIDIA Driver Helper |
hh.
Performance Logs & Alerts ii.
QoS RSVP jj.
Remote Access Auto Connect Mgr. kk.
Remote Access Connect Mgr. ll.
Remote Desktop Help Session Mgr mm.
Remote Procedure Call nn.
Remote Registry oo.
Removable Storage pp.
Server qq.
SMART Card rr.
SMART Card Helper ss.
SSDP Discovery Service tt.
System Event Notification uu.
Task Scheduler vv.
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper ww.
Telephony xx.
Telnet yy.
Terminal Services zz.
Uninterruptible Power Supply aaa.
Upload Manager bbb.
Volume Shadow Copy ccc.
Windows Image Acquisition ddd.
Windows Installer eee.
Windows Time fff.
Workstation |
All others are set
to Automatic. If you set a service to manual and restart the machine -
now look at the services again. If you see that that a service has
started anyway - go ahead and set it to "Automatic" -Why -
because… XP is telling you that it needs this service for something in
your specific setup. This is one way you can tell what services you
actually need. However, it will not hurt to leave it on manual but
setting it on automatic allows XP to not delay starting it in front of
the automatic ones when XP starts. The order is- Automatic services
first, then it has to go look at each manual service and decide if it
needs it or not and if it does then start it up, then the rest of XP
starts up.
- Hard
Drive Mode Settings
Most should know this but we will note this one for those that are new . DMA (Direct Memory Access) allows your Hard Drives or CDROMs to access memory directly, thereby freeing up CPU resources. The drive transfer rates will be much faster. You can enable DMA on a per channel basis, and all devices on that channel have to be DMA capable, but most drives these days are (although some CDROMs may not be).
To enable DMA, right-click My Computer, choose Properties, Device Manager, click on Devices such as "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers." Double-click on the controller you want to enable, and in the properties window that appears, click the Advanced Settings tab. Each device has a "Transfer Mode" that you can change to "DMA if available." Choose that setting to enable DMA. PIO Only is much slower than DMA transfer rates & the Page File (discussed later) benefits from a faster data transfer rate, assuming the hard drive(s) support it. Go back to devices and change any other ones available and then Click Ok & reboot your system for the changes to take effect - Memory
& Paging Files
Most should be familiar with this but I think you may be interested in one item I found different from Windows 2000. The heart of the computer is the CPU (central processing unit) and the memory banks. Memory stores the instruction and files; the CPU processes the instructions. What is Virtual memory? It is a hidden file on the hard disk that Windows XP uses to hold parts of programs & data files (that do not fit in physical memory). The paging file & physical memory (RAM) comprise the virtual memory. Windows XP moves data from the paging file to memory as needed & moves data from memory to the paging file to make room for new data. The Paging file is also called a swap file in versions of Win98/ME. Another explanation is that it is temporary storage used by the computer to run programs that need more memory than it has. For example, a program could have access to 4 gigabytes of virtual memory on a computer's hard drive, even if the computer has only 128 megabytes of RAM. The program or data that does not currently fit in the computer's memory is saved into paging files. The Operation System (XP) tries to keep everything in RAM, but when everything doesn't fit, it swaps the (least) recently used memory pages to the hard disk, storing them in the paging file. When the user program requires the swapped pages- Windows loads the swapped pages back into RAM and swaps other pages to make room for the pages the user needs. Therefore, where you put the paging file is important and affects performance. It goes without saying that with more memory there will be less file swapping since more can be held in RAM.
The page file sits
on the system drive when you first load XP. It takes a certain amount of
physical memory to manage each block of swap space. After a while, you
run into diminishing returns if you try to stake out a mammoth swap file
(mammoth in proportion to your physical memory, that is) and use it as a
substitute for RAM by running memory-hungry programs like Premiere.
Setting the page
file size is done by Right-clicking on the My Computer
icon, select Advances, click the Performance
"Settings" button, you'll see anew tab Visual Effects and then
An Advanced tab. Click Advanced tab and look on bottom
you will see Virtual Memory and a Change button. Click
the change button. You will see a list of drives on your system.
These can be selected to hold all or part of your page file. Your
current system drive should show all the page file residing there. Under
Space available you will see a dot that you can click to select Custom
Size. Click this to se the initial and the maximum size (all are in
MB). You will note at the bottom Windows suggests a minimum and maximum
(recommended) size. Windows initially sets recommended at 1.5 X RAM.
Even though I have 1 gig of RAM, I have found that RAM X 2 works better
for editing. This surprised me but I have verified and not exactly sure
why other than has to do with the way Premiere utilizes RAM. That said
realize that on a system like mine that is 2 gigs so make sure your
drive has that much capacity.
There has been a
lot of argument on where to put the page file. Of course it makes sense
to put it on a HD that is fast but not constantly utilized for video
editing access. Here is what makes sense to me. This also follows with
what MS recently published. Your system drive has a portion blocked out
for the page file when you first loaded XP. Where it is located should
be on the outer edges of the HD (for faster access) unless other OS were
also installed on the same HD. However, placing the pagefile on the boot
partition does not optimize performance because Windows has to perform
disk I/O on both the system directory and the pagefile. Therefore, it is
recommended that you place the pagefile on a different partition and different
physical hard disk drive so that Windows can handle multiple I/O
requests more quickly. However, completely removing the pagefile from
the boot partition does not allow Windows to create a crash dump file (Memory.dmp)
should a kernel mode STOP error occur. Not having this crash dump file
could lead to extended downtime should the STOP require a debug to be
performed. The optimal solution is to create one pagefile on the boot
partition using the default settings and create one pagefile on another
less frequently used partition. The best option is to create the second
pagefile so that it is on its own partition/HD, with no data or
operating system-specific files. Windows will use the pagefile on the
less frequently used partition over the pagefile on the heavily
used boot partition. Windows uses an internal algorithm to determine
which page file to use for virtual memory management. In the above
scenario, the following goals of the page file would be served
Some people
install an old spare HD onto the same IDE cable as the System HD and
then designate the majority of page file space to that specific drive.
They use that drive for page file only. Others partition a new spare HD
for space needed for pagefile - usually setting partition on outside and
designated for pagefile size only.
Now the minimum
size may also receive argument from many. I have my minimum set for the
same as maximum. The reason I do this is that when you set the minimum the
same as the maximum you are establishing a set size on the disk for
the pagefile. If you set it lower than max XP will constantly be
resizing the file size as usage changes. This can often lead to more
page file fragmentation and after heavy hours of editing this can be
very noticeable. After changing the minimum value click the Set button
and when exit out you will have to reboot but go to items # 4, & 5
below to check some more changes you can make first.
- Processor
and Memory Usage
If you had skipped item #3 above Right-clicking on the My Computer icon, select Advances, click the Performance "Settings" button, you'll see anew tab Visual Effects and then An Advanced tab. Click Advanced tab and you will notice A section that says Processor Scheduling and Memory usage. In the Processor scheduling select Programs (for Best Performance). This gives priority for running programs (like Premiere, etc.). Now on Memory usage select Programs. Again this gives programs priority to run programs from you memory. Now hit Apply and go to item #5 before closing out and re-booting. - Visual
Effects Setting
If you had skipped item #4 above Right-clicking on the My Computer icon, select Advances, click the Performance "Settings" button, you'll see a new tab Visual Effects and then An Advanced tab. Click the Visual Effects tab. Once there select adjust for best performance. This will allow the best format for processing performance of your video desktop display. Once completed hit Apply and proceed to close out and reboot (select yes) if prompted to. - Disable
automatic updating
To save memory and CPU time turn off the automatic update system in windows. You can always check manually for updates. Most users have no problem doing this.
.
Open control panel.
i.
Click on performance and maintenance.
ii.
Click on System.
iii.
Then click on the automatic updates tab and select Turn
off automatic updating.
Click Ok.
Note - Some
of the following TWEAKS involve Registry Changes.
This is not difficult and not hazardous as some may think. It is safe as
long as you pay attention to put the right modification in the right
variable. I always double check before exiting. The new "last known
good" restore feature in F8 menu should protect you. See section
VII for instructions on how to do this. Also refer to TWEAK #20 (a the
end - I note a program that can do registry settings for you.)
- Stop
MSN Messenger to quit opening at boot-up
This will keep MSN from loading in the background. Go to Start -> Run -> gpedit.msc >User Configuration >
Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Messenger: enable "Do not allow Windows Messenger to be run" and "Do not automatically start Windows Messenger initially - On both right click then Properties + enable and then hit Apply button. "Note - some report a delay of approximately 20 sec to open Outlook or Outlook express after initiating TWEAK Item #7. " - Clear
PageFile at Shutdown
When booting up it is best to start with the pagefile clear so as to not become as fragmented. This can be a big help before intensive editing sessions. In Win 2K this required a registry change but now it can be done easier (note registry change is still possible). Go to Start > Control panel > Administrative tools > local security policy > Local policies > security options then fine the option >
"Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile" right click then Properties + enable and then hit Apply button. Please note this will increase your shutdown time especially if you have a large pagefile like I do (2 gig = RAM X2). - Disable
Error Reporting
I have not found much use for this and it does tie up a small amount of disk space and HD accessing. To disable this go to Start > Control Panel > System then click on Advanced Tab - click on the "error reporting" button and then check box that says Disable error reporting but also check " but notify me when a critical error occurs". Then OK - Turn
Off System Restore
Although System restore can be somewhat beneficial it takes a lot of space, XP allocates 10% of your partition to System Restore by default, and if you have a large drive, you can be losing lots of space can tie-up HD. It will also affect access time (turning off it will increase Window Performance). You can change a variety of options for System Restore. To get to it go Right-click on My Computer, click Properties, and choose the System Restore tab. In this window you can completely disable system restore (which I recommend) or change the settings for specific drives (which I do recommend to only select system drive if decide to leave enabled). You may consider disabling and enabling to do appoint in time capture before making some large system adjustment, etc. There have been numerous reports that restore points do not seem to get fully restored, so to me the usage may be very limited at all. - Enable
Clear Type
This makes a noticeable impact on 2D performance and the view is great. Contrary to some reports it is not designed just for LCD screens. To turn this on > Right click on a blank area of the Desktop and choose Properties
- Click on the Appearance Tab; Click Effects - Check the box: Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts- In the drop down box select: Clear Type. - Turn
of CD Auto Play
This minimizes interrupts should you put insert a CD. Open My Computer - Right click on your CD ROM and choose Properties - Click on the Auto Play tab - In the drop down box you can choose the Action for each choice shown in the drop down box Or you can :
.
Go to Start>Run>gpedit.msc -
Enter
i.
Computer Config > Administrative Template > System
ii.
Double click Turn off Autoplay
iii.
Enable it.
- Insure
Boot Defrag is Enabled
A very neat new feature in Microsoft Windows XP is the ability to do a defragment at boot. This means that all boot files are placed next to each other on the disk drive to allow for faster booting. By default this option is suppose to be enabled but some upgrade users have reported that it isn't on their setup. To check go to Start > then Run . Type Regedit. Enter Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
.
Select Enable from the list on the right.
i.
Right on it and select Modify.
ii.
Change the value to Y to enable and N to
disable.
iii.
Reboot your computer.
- Reduce
wait for memory from cache to write to disk
I found this TWEAK to be very beneficial in shutdown and actually bootup + run stability. Not sure of all the specifics but appears it is reducing the wait for memory from cache to write to the disk. You can loose data if it is not written to the disk from cache while the system is shutting down. This is important in XP makeup to get all info right given the stuff it does on a re-boot. Go to Start > Run > regedit > Enter goto "HKCURRENTUSER\Control Panel\Desktop\" and check that the setting "HungAppTimeout" is 5000(default) make "WaitToKillAppTimeout" 4000 (default is 20000) Also, go to "HKLOCALMACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\WaitToKillServiceTimeout" and make it 4000 (Default is 30000). Reboot (Note - for value changes right click then select modify to change the value). - Speed
up browsing of desktop by removing delay for scan of files
This is actually a bug fix for Win 2K & XP. Sometimes delays come from the OS trying to scan shard files for Scheduled Tasks. What the fix does is not scan for Scheduled Task when looking for shared files. Go to Start > Run > regedit > Enter go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace
Under that branch, select the key{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}and delete it.
Reboot. If you want save copy of the heading before deleting and store somewhere. - Speed
Up the Menu Display
When using the start menu the you will notice a delay between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. For the fastest computer experience possible I recommend changing this value to zero. This will allow the different tiers to appear instantly. Go to Start > Run > regedit > Enter Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USERControlPanelDesktop Select MenuShowDelay from the list on the right. Right click on it and select Modify. Change the value to 100. Reboot your computer - Scandisk
is not a part of Windows XP
instead you get the new and improved CHKDSK. You remember after getting faults in Win 2K it would do a Scan the next time you booted up. After errors / upsets in XP, it is advisable to do this but you have to initiate it - not automatic. You can do this through the Error-checking tool to check for file system errors and bad sectors on your hard disk.
.
Open My Computer, and then select the local disk
you want to check, for instance "c" your system / boot HD.
i.
On the File menu, click Properties.
ii.
On the Tools tab, under Error-checking,
click Check Now.
iii.
Under Check disk options, select the Scan for and
attempt recovery of bad sectors check box.
- All
files must be closed for this process to run. If the volume is
currently in use, a message box will appear prompting you to
indicate whether or not you want to reschedule the disk checking
for the next time you restart your system. Then, the next time
you restart your system, disk checking will run. Your volume
will not be available to perform other tasks while this process
is running.
- If
your volume is formatted as NTFS, Windows automatically logs all
file transactions, replaces bad clusters, and stores copies of
key information for all files on the NTFS volume
- Disable
NTFS Last Access Time
To prevent NTFS from updating the last Access time of each directory do the following : Go to Start > Run > regedit > Enter Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINES\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem. Add a new Dword and name it NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate. Set value to 1 to delete this feature - msconfig
- stop unnecessary TSR programs
One of the last adjustments we make should be to stop any programs that might be running in the background. These programs are commonly referred to as TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident). Those familiar with Win 98 & ME will remember this. The "msconfig" GUI can display program/utilities running at Start-up. It also gives you control over other aspects of the system itself. Click on Start > Run, type in msconfig & hit Enter. This will load the System Configuration Utility. Now select the Startup tab.
This tab displays a list of all programs that are loaded upon system start-up. The items which are Ticked are actually being loaded upon Start-up. To disable an item (from being loaded at Startup) simply Untick it. Now which to leave ticked……..
TSR programs load instructions into memory that shouldn't be there for high intensive operation such as video editing. There are, however, a few that should be left in the background.
0.
You should leave the RUNDLL32 entry "Ticked",
1.
"Untick" Findfast (If you have
it). Findfast is a Microsoft a utility included with Microsoft Office
applications that builds indexes to speed up finding documents from the
Open dialog box in any Microsoft Office program & from Microsoft
Outlook. However building these indexes can consume a lot of system
resources while they are being updated & such. This feature is of
little use to anyone as a result. Make sure you remove it - it
does make a difference.
2.
Leave tbctray and leave any that have "no
Command name" and in Location section start with HKxxxxxx.
3.
If using something like the Matrox RT-2000/2500 the. MxvfxStartup
MUST be "Ticked" or the Card will not initiate. Other
video cards may also have drivers like this.
4.
"Untick" all others that ID some various program - hopefully you will be
familiar with the name, ID, etc., if not may want to leave - hit OK and
close - reboot for changes to take effect.
- Disable
Windows File Protection
WFP is used to protect the core system files of Windows XP from being changed, whether accidentally or otherwise. This is of more importance if the system in question is accessible by multiple users. System Administrators endorse this feature. Simply explained WFP is used to make sure you don't accidentally mess up something you shouldn't. For the Power User (video editor) WFP doesn't really have much use. It utilizes CPU cycles that could be better used in your other applications. It's wasting hard drive space for the cache folder, etc. For the Power User it is better to disable it altogether. By default WFP will cache a large amount of Protected System files (size depends on hard drive space). While this makes replacing protected files good, it also can take up an enormous amount of hard drive space depending on the amount of files to be cached. I have not been able to find out whether limiting the size in XP helps much. I therefore, disable it altogether. Note I had this included in the Win2K TWEAKS guide and one individual reported having some problems after doing this - Others that have done this report no problems - do not if that person accidentally made a entry error or what. Appears it may have been Network related. I just mention because it did happen and may want to utilize System Restore or have a Ghost Backup if you are uncomfortable. A side note- you can not even make this change in Win 2K after SP2 is installed.
Start > Run > regedit > Enter Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
Go to SFCDisable right click modify and change the following in hexidecimal
(DWORD Value) Value Data: (0 = enabled (default), 0xffffff9d = disabled)
The value of
"SFCDisable" should be 0xffffff9d to disable WFS or
"0" to re-enable if have problem. The other valid values are:
"1" for disabled, prompt at boot to re-enable"2" for
disabled at next boot only, no prompt to re-enable
"4" for enabled, with popups disabled Restart Windows for the
change to take effect.
After late hours of installing fresh both Win 2000 & Win XP, I am
not certain whether XP has the inhibit change for the WFP like what
occurred after the Win 2000 SP 2 upgrade. My settings show 0xffffff9d
but I can't remember if had to use workaround fix like Win 2K SP2.
If you try the above change and it does not take (after reboot) you can
get a Fix. The Fix has to make an adjustment in the sfc.dll. A guy wrote
a quick exe program that takes care of this and I used on 2K. There are
also numerous sites on the web which show you how to edit the dll but I
think the fix is easier. You can go to : http://www.collakesoftware.com/downloads.htm
then go to SetSFC and click on Downlad SetSfc v1.01 (~6k) After running
you can make the changes noted above and they stick.
If all this scares
you can go to www.xteq.com
and get XTEQ X-SETUP: The program is free and utilizes many settings
to TWEAK Win 2000 & XP. In fact many or the registry changes noted
here x-setup can do from within the program (and change them back). For
WFP disable first install the program and go to the X-Setup tab click
the Launch X-Setup Default UI, then close the tip that will pop up and
then on left side then click on + sign to left of System then + sign of
Software Installation then click Windows File Protection and then click
on WFP enable and follow instructions. That's it. You may wan to explore
the program and note some of the TWEAKS I list that are also included
there and you could make changes from the program itself rather than
registry entry. Note - You are at your own risk if you try other
TWEAKS than those I list.
- Disable
Disk Performance Counters
Win XP like Win2000 is set to collect physical drive data. Most don't need this as it consumes extra drive transfer time. To disable the disk performance counters: Go to->Start->Programs->Command Prompt Now type in: diskperf -n then reboot. There is a space between the f and the dash (-).
Section IV Quirks & Observations while testing
Let me
begin by saying that for the most part I found Windows XP extremely
stable and reliable (actually better than Windows 2000). What would
offset this was poor / incompatible drivers. For example I found
specific versions of the Nvidia drivers (for Geforce Video Cards) very
prone to lockups and freezes (this included new versions noted to be
ready for XP). I even found that the system was unstable using the
Nvidia drivers within the XP data base. For my Geforce3 card - when I
went back to the 12.6 detonator version; all freeze / lock-up problems
ceased.
WinXP does some dynamic tuning ( save and evaluate patterns &
program usage) . It can do some funny things upon re-start just after
loading new programs or making specific adjustments to drivers or
settings in particular programs like Premiere, etc. What I saw happen
was upon a reboot I got a blue screen startup error message indicating a
fault error and message indicating that it this is the first time to
occur reboot in safe mode and or insure BIOS settings are correct, etc,
etc., etc. What I typically did was just hit the reset button and this
time the system would reboot into the F8 type safe mode select screen.
There I would actually select boot normal. The system would then boot
all the way through. If the boot-up was unsuccessful I would reboot and
hit F8 to get the select screen back, then select boot using "last
known good configuration" (see Helpful Hints Section VI for more
info.). This seemed to always work, as I never had to actually go to
safe mode in all my trials. Actually after I got all my programs /
drivers loaded, TWEAKS / Adjustments made and a series of reboots
followed by a DISKCHK - no more blue error screens came up. Again I
think had to do with dynamic tuning stuff.
I also found out that WinXP is different enough that optimizations done
on for Win2K were not always affective. See Section V - "TWEAKS
that didn't work" for details. I really liked the return to
previous driver feature XP has. A number of times I did this when
testing new components and troubleshooting. I also found that you must
be careful when loading drivers. This was similar to my Win 2K
experience. Although you select a specific driver form a CD or Floppy,
often times upon the load XP will revert to it's own one. Sometimes you
literally had to force the load from > find list of drivers and then
have disk scenario, etc.
Typically bootup is very fast in XP (20 sec or less). However, when I
adjusted
I also reverted back to the Classic Windows Standard scheme for desktop.
I found that the new XP scheme made some of the windows in Adobe
Premiere difficult to accurately point to a specific location and was
distracting.
One other quirk I found was that WinXP does not handle having 2 Geforce
cards (one AGP & other PCI) when it comes to loading drivers for the
first time. It has difficultly selecting the right one. I had to first
pull out the PCI video card. Load the proper divers for AGP then
shutdown. Insert PCI card and then load drivers.
Another two quirks that happened a few times were: 1) I lost the ability
to read from my floppy disk - The disk would show up in my computer
window and the driver troubleshoot said it was working correctly..
However, every time I tried to read a floppy it would come up as an
error with controller. The fix was to remove driver from floppy disk
controller and then reload MS driver from selected list. This only
happened once and has never surfaced again. Think part of the dynamic
tuning and setting saving stuff at bootup somehow got confused /
corrupted. 2.) Similar to #1 I lost audio. The TurtleBeach controller
was OK and showed to be functioning - of course nothing showed muted,
etc. Rebooting solved it once. Happened one other time and corrected it
by disabling and then enabling the TB sound controller. Never happened
again since. Both are probably small bugs that will be fixed in SP
update.
I found that the Canopus Xplode Pro 3D transitions program were finicky
with some versions of the Nvida drivers and that rendering was fastest
utilizing the Win 2K drivers in the 12.xxx version range.
Also found disk check programs like Storm / Rex Test & Matrox
benchmark could be misleading. Running more than once typically showed
good results just one pass was often in error. I am sure XP versions
will correct this. The SiSoft Sandra disk check seems to be accurate
with every check.
For those operating with dual processors make sure that both are
operational as XP does not always initiate with an install, even though
it highlights system as dual processor. Easiest way to check is to do
cntrl-alt-delete and in task manager the Performance window should show
2 separate windows (side-by-side) for each processor. If only one go to
device manager click on computer and on the tree there should be ACPI
MultiProcessor. Click on it and go to Driver tab then select update
driver.The select install driver automatically and Windows should
install - reboot then check Performance window again for 2 graphs
(side-by-side).
If you are experiencing freezes while editing and have a Nvidia Geforce
card you might try the following. First try older versions of detonator
drivers as noted above previously. If this still does not work, disable
Vertical sync in the OpenGL of the Nvidia GUI. To do this go to Start
> Control Panel > Display > Settings > click Advanced button
then select the Geforce 2 (or 3) tab and then click the Advanced
properties button then go to OpenGL Settings tab. Look in the Vertical
sync window and set it to always off and hit apply. And exit out. If
problems still manifest can always change back but have seen it make a
difference in some cases. If successful try up a notch to off by
default.
Section V - TWEAKS that didn't Work
There
were a few optimization / TWEAKS that didn't work. I will not go into
all of them but thought I might list a few that are also popular on
TWEAK sites and programs.
The first was adjustment for LargeSystemCache -
When this enabled (default for Server versions of Win 2K), it instructs
the OS to devote all but 4 MB of system memory (which is left for disk
caching) to the file system cache. The main impact of this is that it
allows the computer to cache the OS Kernel to memory, making the OS more
responsive. The setting is dynamic and if more than 4 MB is needed from
the disk cache, the space will be released to it. By default, 8MB is
marked for this purpose. This tweak has been noted to make thee OS more
responsive. Reason for this is it is a dynamic setting, and the kernel
will give up any space deemed necessary for another application (there
is some type of performance hit when such changes are needed). The
program is suppose to cut back usage when other apps need more RAM, the
process can hinder performance in certain intensive situations.
According to Microsoft, the "0" setting is recommended for
servers running applications that do their own memory caching. I tried
the setting to 0 but had problems with video card and processing as well
as increased render times. I do not suggest this one.
The second one was IOPageLockLimit - This tweak has been
listed at many sites but is a questionable value to people that are not
running some kind of server. The tweak boosts the Input/Output
performance of your computer when it is doing a large amount of file
transfers and other similar operations. It doesn't do much of anything
for a system without a significant amount of RAM (if you don't have more
than 128 MB, I wouldn't try). Sytems with more than 128 MB of RAM will
generally find a performance boost by setting this to between 8 and 16
MB. The default is 0.5 MB, or 512 KB. This setting requires a value in
bytes, so multiply the desired number of megabytes times 1024 times
1024. That's X times 1048576 (where X is the number, in megabytes). I
actually used this before doing a number of other TWEAKS to get the
Storm Buffer to load in Win XP with auto setting. However, later set the
values to 4096.
It is located at: Start > Run > Regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSet/Control/Session
Manager/Memory Management then look for IOPageLockLimit
A third one was NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreationDisableLastAccessUpdate
Disabling 8.3 is suppose to speed up your system by not making this
extra entry to the Master File Table (MFT) in NT & Disabling
LastAccessUpdate speeds up your system throughput, not making an extra
entry every time a file is used. There is problem is that some programs
(mostly 16 bit) and some installers do NOT like
thisNtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation being turned off. I had some glitches
so I turned back on it is located in regedit at :
KEYLOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Section
VI - Helpful Hints
First
regards to boot times. Microsoft provides an excellent little program
called bootvis.exe. for Windows XP. The program and detail instructions
cab obtained at :
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/fastboot/
. This little nifty program will display (graphically) the entire boot
sequence and show which time is spent doing what. When you download the
file - also download the instructions. The program can also run an
optimization itself. The most effective way I found it to work was :
First unpack the bootvis.exe program into a folder that you can easily
access. Second Run bootvis and go to tace menu select next boot+ driver
delays, Do this twice - let it reboot twice. Then start bootvis again to
let it load the newest .bin file it created. Then select optimize system
and let it do it's thing. After it's finished optimizing, run
boot+driver delays again and see how much shorter it is.
Some people advocate FAT32 over NTFS for you system boot disk. In
Windows 2000 I typically do this since NTFS can be a little slower if
the MFT files get fragmented and/or too big. For all video editing HD I
have always advocated NTFS - biggest reason being void of the 4 gig
limitation. I now advocate using NTFS on the System - boot drive due to
the following reasons. NTFS will now defragment with XP at the cluster
boundaries for non-compressed files. In Windows 2000, this was
limited to the page granularity for non-compressed files. NTFS will also
defragment the MFT. This was not allowed in Windows 2000. This is
through the regular code path, so there is no limit to how much at once
can be moved, and any part of it can be moved. If there is no available
space in the MFT to describe the change, then it will be rejected. NTFS
will now defragment for cluster sizes greater than 4 KB. NTFS will also
defragment re-parse points, bitmaps, and attribute lists
Many people ask the question about whether to uncheck "write
cache enabled". Many claim that it will make things faster but
can not explain why. Often HDs within Win 2K have the selection grayed
out or Win 2K rechecks box upon a reboot. If you are aware, this setting
tells the computer to cache all disk writing operations to that
particular drive. Basically, this means that a certain amount of what is
being written to the disk is actually being stored in the RAM and isn't
written to the disk until either the cache starts overflowing (in which
case it starts writing from the bottom of the cache) or the computer is
shut down. Enabling this setting generally increases performance but in
intensive editing mode and real-time operation RAM can become overloaded
and also fragmented to actually reduce performance. Leave it ticked
if you have large amounts of RAM and then do intensive editing test to
verify effectiveness
Disable Tagged Queuing: Tagged queuing is done by the SCSI
controller & driver to increase the speed of completing I/O tasks. This
is done by sorting the commands so the order of the commands issued to
the physical disk drive to read or write. This results in the most
efficient movement of the physical read & write heads. Doing it in
this sequential order is far more efficient than when disabled,
resulting in greater I/O performance. You should only tick this
if you are experiencing problems with a hard drive(s) as performance is
slower when Tagged queuing is Disabled. Leave it unticked.
Disable Synchronous Transfers: There are 2 methods of
transferring data over SCSI cables 1), Synchronous 2.) Asynchronous mode.
Synchronous transfer mode permits the sending device to send multiple
data packets without receiving acknowledgment that the receiver actually
received every data packet sent. Asynchronous mode transfers use an
interlocked handshake method where a device (adapter or drive) cannot do
the next data transfer operation until it receives positive
acknowledgment that the other device received the last data transfer
properly. As a result, more data can be sent/received before
acknowledgement is required. You should only tick this if you are
experiencing problems with a hard drive(s), e.g. overlapped requests, as
performance is slower when Synchronous Transfers is Disabled. Leave this
unticked.
Many problems can occur with video cards used in your system. Cards now
days process huge amounts of display data. Drivers themselves can be
quite finicky. One thing often overlooked are enhancement settings in
the MOBO BIOS. Depending on manufacturer the settings will be different
or even non-existent. Some things most graphics manufactures say to do
are : look in the BIOS for the AGP Aperture Size. AGP Aperture Size is
the total amount of system memory available to an AGP video card. When
more memory is needed than the one on the AGP video card, your system
memory is used as a "backup". Most recommend you set this to
either 64 or 128. If you have a video card integrated with a capture
card like the Matrox RT2000 settings as high as 256 maybe required. I
use 128 on my 64 MB Geforece3. A lot of TWEAK guides claim that using
1/3 of your system memory gives you a performance boost, but a post
recently from an Award BIOS engineer has clarified that that this is not
so. With the new cards mos recommend the following settings in BIOS. The
setting, Assign IRQ To VGA, should be enabled. These following settings
should all be disabled:
Video BIOS cacheable
Video BIOS shadow
VGA Palette Snoop
PCI Palette Snoop
C8xxxx-CBxxxx Shadow
While we are on the subject of Video cards I saw a post recently from
various users indicating that if you have Nvidia card shutdowns may be
slow due to Nvidia Helper in the Services folder. To stop this go to
Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. (You can also get
this by launching SERVICES.MSC from a Run box. This utility is also
built into the Computer Management console.) Stop (disable) the
Nvidia Driver Helper service. Many newsgroup participants confirmed that
this solved this "extremely slow shutdown" problem for them. I
personally haven't done this. I should note my SD is somewhat slow but
attribute this to the TWEAK #8 of clearing pagefile at SD + I have large
page file (2 gig).
If Windows XP will not completely shutdown : Go to > Control Panel
> Power Options click on APM tab and then check "Enable
Advanced Power Management Support". Shutdown PC and it should
now function properly.
A
little more information on "Last Known Good ,System Restore &
Driver Rollback are below :
Last
Known Good
"Last
Known Good" and "System Restore" features provide means
to assist the user in recapturing optimal state when the machine
non-bootable. As described in the Quirks section, "Last Known
Good" provides the ability to re-boot the system using previous
stored settings. The settings are a subset of registry keys, used the
last time the system successfully booted. "Last Known Good"
saves off the latest of these keys/values each time the system is successfully
booted. When the system detects a failed boot attempt, it will
automatically select the Last Known Good option from the F8 menu. Users
can elect to boot from the Last Known Good feature available from the F8
boot menu option. Using Last Known Good, users can boot into either the
Safe or Protect (
System
Restore
System
Restore is not available from the Recovery Console, nor does it track
changes done in that advanced environment. This means that system
changes completed in the Recovery Console will not be monitored nor
recoverable using System Restore. When restoring a system, System
Restore will revert Last Known Good state so that it is always
consistent with the registry targeted in the restore operation. This
means that the most current Last Known Good keys/values are also
reverted so they are replaced with what they were when the target
(stored) registry was "snap shot" by System Restore. This
insures that the restored registry and Last Known Good state are always
consistent. Last Known Good should be used when there is a non-bootable
state. Once booted into either SafeMode or Normal Mode, System Restore
can be used to capture optimal (previous good state) settings. Note that
System Restore cannot be accessed unless the system is bootable into one
of these modes.
Driver
Rollback
If a new
driver does not work, Windows XP has a feature called "Device
Driver Rollback". It will replace a device driver with the
previously installed version. If you installed a new device driver that
causes system problems - just reinstall the previous device driver and
continue on with your work. Note that "System Restore", has
active change monitoring. It captures all monitored file and registry
changes made by installing a new device driver. This is true assuming
you have Restore activated.
Section VII - Restoring Registry Settings
(This taken from the XP Help Desk)
To restore the registry
- Open Registry
Editor.
- Click Options, and then click Print to print these
instructions. (If you are using the Help and
- Click Start, and then click Shut Down.
- In the list, click Restart, and then click OK.
- When you see the message Please select the operating system to
start, press F8.
- Use the arrow keys to highlight Last Known Good Configuration,
and then press ENTER.
- LOCK must be off before the arrow keys on the numeric keypad will
function.
- Use the arrow keys to highlight an operating system, and then press
ENTER.
Caution
· Incorrectly editing
the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to
the registry, you should back up any valued data on your computer.
Notes
· To open Registry
Editor, click Start, click Run, type regedit, and
then click OK.
· Last Known Good
Configuration provides a way to recover from problems such as a
newly added driver that may be incorrect for your hardware. It does not
solve problems caused by corrupted or missing drivers or files.
When
you choose Last Known Good Configuration, Windows restores
information in registry key HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet only. Any
changes you have made in other registry keys remain.
Windows
XP TWEAKS / Optimization for Video Editing Systems – PART II
D.M. LaBorde 5/2002
[This document may be copied and distributed without permission
or monetary compensation. It may not be modified or changed with
out the author's permission. It may not be sold for personal
monetary gain nor included in manufacturer equipment manuals /
literature unless otherwise approved by the author. If anyone has
comments or suggestions, they should send an email to : dlaborde@shabakah.net.sa
]
This
optimization guide is a supplement (enhancement) to the original TWEAKS
for Windows XP - Video Editing (v 1.0). The reader should
become familiar with the optimizations / TWEAKS provided in the original
guide before utilizing this document. This document (Part II) was
developed for the following reasons:
- I have received numerous emails requesting
additional information about specific settings & functions of
WinXP with regards to optimization for video capture & editing.
To honor this I have picked a few key / pertinent items that bear
more explanation, or seem to be frequently overlooked and/or found
additional enhancements (9 items). Note - Enhancement can relate to
stability as well as speed (most / not all will apply to Win2K).
- A number of Windows “TWEAK” software
programs are now available. Some are good and negate having to make
manual registry setting changes. In the WINXPTWEAKVE guide I even
mention a couple of the “better ones”. However, I find some
settings to be non-beneficial for Video Editing operation. I also
found a few “quote new / popular” TWEAKs listed on various web
sites that can actually hinder stability when utilized within a
video editing environment. I list some of the more popular ones and
briefly explain why they are bad.
- A number of video editing forums are riddled
with post indicating that Windows 2000 is much more efficient and
optimized for video editing than XP. Most (if not all) neglect to
site any specific technical data to why that is. When I wrote the
original XP guide, WindowsXP had just been released and technical
data was sketchy and/or lacking clarification. I have found even
more information explaining architectural differences, etc. Some of
differences are significant with regards to utilizing your PC for
editing. When the reader better understands these they can (with
confidence) draw their own conclusions. The more you know about the
mechanics of something, the more you can utilize it for your needs.
I encourage everyone to at least glance at the summary in Section V.
Many users site : “if Windows 2000 ain't broke don't fix it”. I
say it may not be broke but it could use some enhancements and
further stability – the Model “T” wasn't broke either. It is
true that with the arrival of WinXP, some PC components required new
drivers before the user could upgrade. This alone ought to show one
that there are differences from Windows 2000. There are reasons why
drivers needed to be different and I briefly explain in Section V.
- I have also come across a few system
adjustments that have potential to aide or improve editing system
performance but I have not totally proven them. I include them with
explanation of what they do and what to change for the adventurous
at heart. They are reversible but I still make no claim to benefits
nor imply system stability. Use at your own risk, maybe as a last
resort to stabilize an otherwise rouge system.
These
optimization steps are proven techniques and are in agreement with
normal practices for Windows OS. Hardware and software technology is
ever changing and the user should be diligent to understand techniques,
interactions, changes and developments that may supercede those outlined
in this document. This author cannot be responsible for system /
hardware failures and/or program crashes as well as destruction of
files. It is up to the user to understand techniques utilized and to
understand software differences as well as obtain driver upgrades and
patches as they become available. Items noted that conflict or
contradict manufactures recommendations should not be done without
understanding and rather replaced / revised with the manufacture's
recommendation.
I.
TWEAKS
you may want to AVOID
II.
Further
TWEAK/Optimization Enhancements
IV.
Little
Tips , Tid-Bits & Quirks often Overlooked
V.
How
is WinXP different from Windows 2000 ?
Section I – TWEAKS you may want to AVOID
Disclaimer – Some of the TWEAKS / Optimizations involve changes
in the Registry. If not done correctly, it is possible to hinder Windows
from booting and/or operating properly. Although possible, I have never
personally had a problem making changes. The error that most experience
is selecting the wrong string (folder) and/or typing in the wrong value.
Always “double-check” your entries before exiting. It is also wise
to make a boot disk and registry back-up disk copy before doing
optimizations or cloning existing HD with programs like Norton Ghost.
See Microsoft help for how to do back-up / boot disks – there are
special considerations if utilizing NTFS on the OS boot drive, etc.
IRQ8Priority
TWEAK
I have seen this IRQ8Priority “tweak” posted at many sites on the
Internet. No one actually gives a reasonable explanation of why this
helps system performance. Here is a description of what IRQ8P… is used
for: It is the reserved interrupt for the real-time clock timer. This
timer is used by software programs to manage events that must be
calibrated to real-world time. Alarms triggers can use this interrupt at
a specified time. For example, if you are using Outlook and have it set
to pop up screen messages or beep the PC when it is time for a meeting,
the software will set a timer to count down to the appropriate time.
When the timer finishes its countdown, an interrupt will be generated on
IRQ8. I do not see the value of this TWEAK but will retract my statement
if someone can prove otherwise. Possible caveat to timer irq priority is
to not have programs scheduled with timers, etc. on you video computer.
I do not list the actual method to do this TWEAK as those that have done
it should know how to reverse (i.e. remove).
IoPageLockLimit
I have listed this optimization (TWEAK) here because it can have a very
negative impact on PC performance if not set properly. The
IoPageLockLimit indirectly determines the number of pages Windows will
read or write to the hard disk at one time. In other words it determines
how much will be locked into memory before swapping. If a system
performs a significant number of physical in/out-puts raising the limit
can sometimes improve system performance. Get it wrong and performance
will be slower and less stable – not to worry you can change it back.
Why is there no one optimal setting? Not all systems experience the same
amount of file I/O operations, not all systems experience disk I/O
bottlenecks in the same way, processor power (performance) varies, disk
access & transfer rate, software programs operate differently and
memory size all play a part in overall performance. Refer to Section II
to understand more about this TWEAK and it's possibilities.
SecondLevelDataCache
This records the amount of L2 cache that is available on the processors.
Some sites advocate that there is a default value and by changing you
can significantly improve performance. Microsoft states changing
settings in the registry is erroneous and that the second level (L2)
cache is recognized by the NT/W2K/XP. They state that it is fully
utilized regardless of the setting of this parameter. I would not do
this one.
Defragmenting
your RAM
Questions have been raised as to the validity of this particular 'tweak'
within Windows 2000 and for sure within WinXP. Many feel it is
unnecessary and for the most part not even good for your system. WinXP
has further enhancements that make the need for this even more suspect
for video editing type operations. The TWEAK is instituted with a 3rd
party Utility. The whole issue is as follows : Windows uses the same 4k
pages that are used within the system memory of Win9x to organize
information in memory. It manages them properly (by paging the unused
pages out to Virtual Memory when they aren't in use) and as such is said
to be 'defragmenting' the memory (this is a misnomer and should actually
be called Garbage Collection or Heap Compaction). Having a utility to
force this is an unnecessary operation - it is done dynamically by the
OS.
The
way this is performed (actual operation of such programs) is to flush
physical memory. When it does this it copies all of the data to a
“pagefile” and forces the computer to reload it as needed. In this
sequence it can actually force good information out of physical memory
as well as garbage – therefore it can also temporarily decrease the
speed of your system as the computer reloads the information into RAM.
Maintain
Windows System in Memory
Some sites advocate that systems utilizing large amounts of memory (512
MB or greater) can utilize this TWEAK to force the core Windows system
instructions to be kept in memory and not paged to the hard disk. They
claim your PC will run faster. This may be true in some cases but how
much access is Windows requiring while utilizing intense applications
like Premiere? Certain high profile programs can claim large amounts of
memory cache (space) and if full flushes caches more often. If Windows
is holding extra space it is going to force the memory to fill faster
& why do I want to hold things in RAM that I don't need. XP is
pretty efficient at knowing what is needed and optimum. If anyone has
conclusive information to prove this TWEAK actually enhances performance
during edit type operations I am open to change my opinion.
The
TWEAK is as follows - you may want to check that value is set to 0 if
you have applied any automated TWEAK programs, etc..
Go to Run > regedit :
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
Session Manager\Memory Management]
Value Name: DisablePagingExecutive
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable system paging)
Enable
Large System Cache – check on my machine
This tweak can be fatal when working with files that are bigger than
size the physical memory. It will cause instantaneous swapping of memory
to the disk due to the lack of physical memory. Of course this is not
always bad but you can heavily burden the disk with very large pagefile
transfers and manifest glitches or slowdowns in memory intensive
programs like Premiere. For example when rendering or processing a large
video file it can try to load all in memory at once. Systems with frame
buffers and /or other real time algorithms could get into conflicts or
slowdowns.
If
you have lots of memory and want to use it to speed your I/O - setting
this key will allow the system to use all but 4 MB of your system memory
for filesystem cache. When it is disabled, it will use only 8 MB for
filesystem cache.
This
setting specifies that the System favor the System Cache working set
rather than the Processes working set. If you want more Info see
Microsoft KB Q232271. The registry entry to check setting is :
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \System \CurrentControlSet \Control \Session
Manager \MemoryManagement]
LargeSystemCache=1
0 = Indicates that the computer does not go outside its cache pool and
use program memory to perform I/O functions (The “supposed”
beneficial TWEAK is set it to 1).
Unload
DLLs when closing programs
This “Tweak” immediately flushes out “dll” files from memory
when all the programs that are using it get terminated (end). Windows
Explorer normally caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a
period of time - even after the application uses it has closed. The
rationale is that this can be an inefficient use of memory. Regardless,
my recommendation is not use this unless you have instabilities with
your computer(i.e. after closing opening one program and then loading
another). I also think that it can be beneficial to have your editing
suite (e.g. Premiere) stay loaded in memory when shutting down for short
duration to do something else (i.e. computer then doesn't waste time
re-loading if you get back in, etc.). To check your status (setting):
- Go to registry (regedit) and look for :
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. - If you wanted to do this TWEAK you will have
to create a new DWORD sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the
default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in
memory. If you do not want to use it just make sure the ID listed
(may not even be listed) is set to 0.
- Restart Windows for any changes to take
effect.
Section II- Further TWEAK/Optimization
Enhancements
Why are we interested in this Optimization Stuff? Windows OS
(operating systems) are never streamlined by default. Part of the reason
is that the user base is huge, diverse and there are an unlimited number
of PC configurations. No matter how well polished and optimized any
Windows OS is, Microsoft must balance performance with ease of use and
across-the-board compatibility. With Video Editing specific control
parameters are utilized more than others. A server would utilize
something different as well as one that did various multi-tasking jobs.
Our goal is to optimize settings for our particular work application
(editing / encoding, etc.). Listed below are further enhancements tested
and deemed beneficial. Note most by itself, are not going to accelerate
performance or improve stability by a large margin. However, the
combination of these can add-up to significant improvements.
- Increase
speed by tweaking prefetcher settings -
This setting should already be optimized on most systems but it is a good idea to check. When Windows XP boots, it requests, or pre-fetches, everything it'll need for the session at once. In other words it gives a shopping list to the File I/O system, which in turn brings in large chunks of data from multiple files in overlapping requests. Windows XP not only brings in boot and shell code, but device drivers and Registry settings. When Windows XP runs an application that has been run in prior user sessions, it pre-fetch's as many of the memory pages it can from the files. With earlier versions of Windows NT/2000, the I/O system would be asked to load pages separately when needed at runtime (designated as demand paging), causing delays while pages were loaded. It is recommended that you have at least 512 MB of RAM when utilizing this. To check your settings : - Go
to Start then – Run & type regedit ;
- goto
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher];
- Check
the value It can be 0-Disable, 1-App launch prefetch, 2-Boot
Prefetch, 3-Both ("3" is recommended).
- Reboot.
- Note
- I have actually seen some TWEAK programs and web sites say to
set the value to 5 and there is no such thing ?? I assume it
actually reverts to a zero value (disabled).
- Clean
Your Prefetch Folder Out -
This is unique for WinXP. All of us know that it is necessary to periodically clean the registry and TEMP files in Win9X/ME/2000/XP. After using XP for some time, the “prefetch” directory can get full of junk and hold obsolete links. Refer to Section V to learn more of what “prefetch” is. Too much junk can slow down your computer noticeably. I suggest: open C (system drive) go to the Windows folder and click on the “Prefetch” folder. Set the explorer view for details (to see all file information). Delete those junk and obsolete files and reboot. It is a good idea that you at least check this every month. - Ultra
PageFile Optimization
- I get more questions and see more forum post about this than any other Windows adjustment. This is discussed in detail in the other guides I have written but I will review briefly what it does to make a point. I will also show you how to make a significant optimization that will be noticeable in lengthy video edits. First of all the paging file is a hidden file on your computer's hard disk that Windows 2K/XP uses as if it were random access memory (RAM). The paging file and physical memory comprise what we call virtual memory. By default, Windows stores the paging file on the boot partition (the partition that contains the operating system and its support files). The default, or standard generic recommendation for the paging file size is equal to 1.5 times the total amount of RAM.
To make the ultra performance step, one must move the paging file
to a different physical hard drive. When the paging file is on the boot
partition drive, Windows is performing disk reading and writing requests
for both the system folder and the paging file together. When the
paging file is moved to a different drive, there is less competition
between reading and writing requests. Moving the page file to a
different partition on the same physical drive will not accomplish this
as the disk sensor can only access one partition at a time. Some
advocate utilizing a separate hard drive and partitioning part of it for
the “Pagefile” only. However, utilizing this approach sometimes can
get you back into the same fix we just discussed (if the other partition
is utilized while swapping is taking place). This is why it is not
advisable to place a “pagefile” on the same hard drive used to store
video and audio (these also receive frequent accesses during editing).
Hard drives have become very cheap and most of us even have one or
two smaller drives lying around. The ultimate is to take a spare
drive and utilize it for nothing but the “pagefile”. On most video
editing systems the video/audio drives are attached to a RAID or
controller card (IDE or SCSI). CD / DVD drives are usually attached to
the secondary port on the MOBO and the system drive attached as Master
on the Primary IDE port with nothing on the secondary (slave channel).
The “pagefile” drive can be place here. The drive can be formatted
and file placement will start (and stay) on the fastest section of the
disk. It will also become less fragmented with use and access will only
be dedicated for swapping. It is beneficial to have at least a ATA-33/66
HD to gain optimum access time (burst rate). If you can place the file
on a SCSI drive – all the better.
There are a few things you need to know. If you completely remove
the paging file from the boot partition, Windows cannot create a dump
file (Memory.dmp) in which to write debugging information in the event
that a kernel mode STOP error message occurs. This can lead to extended
downtime if a debug procedure is necessary to troubleshoot the STOP
error message. It is wise to keep at least 128 MB on the OS boot
partition. Note the pagefile located on the other drive will receive
first priority in the Windows swap scheme. Many posts recommend setting
pagefile size to RAM time 1.5. I have found RAM X 2 optimum in XP
(especially when using Adobe Premiere). Now how do you change / move
your pagefile :
- Log
on to the computer as Administrator (if not already done).
- Right
click My Computer & go to Properties).
- Click
Advanced Tab , and then look for Performance section and the click
Settings button .
- Under
Virtual memory, click Change .
- In
the Drive [Volume Label] list, click the new drive you want to
utilize for the pagefile (Windows is usually installed on the
drive C). Under Total paging file size for all drives you can note
the value that is displayed next to Recommended & Currently
allocated. I suggest you first take RAM X2 and consider this to be
the new value to enter on the new drive.
- Click
Custom size, and then type RAM X 2 value in the Initial size (MB)
box. Type the same value for the maximum in the Maximum size (MB)
box, and then click Set . It is best to have the Initial and
Maximum size the same this way Windows will map out one size on
the disk and not keep resizing (with use) and cause more
fragmentation.
- In
the Drive [Volume Label] box, click the OS drive on which
Windows is installed (usually the drive C), and repeat the steps
above: Remember if C: has an initial size of less than 126
megabytes, the system may not be able to create a debugging
information file if a STOP error occurs.
- The
changes you have made will require you to restart your computer
before they can take effect and the total currently displayed
will be updated to actual..Click OK , click OK , click OK , and
then click Yes when you are prompted to restart the computer.
- Clear
Pagefile on Shutdown
– This optimization is noted in the original XP guide (Item #8) but bears repeating while we are on the subject of pagefiles. When starting up a new editing session I like to start with the pagefile clear. This way it doesn't become as fragmented – stays contiguous. This can be a big help before intensive editing sessions. In Win 2K this required a registry change but now it can be done easier in XP (note the registry change is still possible). Go to Start > Control panel > Administrative tools > local security policy > Local policies > security options then fine the option > "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile" right click then Properties + enable and then hit Apply button. Please note this will increase your shutdown time especially if you have a large pagefile like I do (2 gig = RAM X2). - Turn
off Indexing to speed up Drives in XP
- This one is often overlooked and is a common reason why hard drive performance appears sub-par. Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard disk so when a search is done on the hard drive it is done faster. There is a downside to this because the computer has to index all files, it will slow down normal file commands. Turn this off . - Open
my computer
- Right
click your hard drive icon and select properties.
- At
the bottom of the window you'll see "Allow indexing service
to index this disk for faster searches," uncheck this and
click ok. A new window will pop up and select apply to all folders
and subfolders. It will take a minute or two for the changes to
take affect. Do this for all drives and should enjoy faster
performance on each.
- Disable
– “Show Windows Contents While Dragging”
– Here's a funny one but I have seen this (also had reports) impact Premiere. It appears that over time Premiere can get bogged down if the setting “show window contents while dragging” is enabled. To insure this is disabled go to Start then Settings then Control Panel then Display then click on the Appearance tab and hit the Effects button – look for “show windows contents while dragging” is NOT Checked. - Disable
the automatic updating of file access time -
Increase the speed of every disk operation as this it will avoid updating access time every time a transfer occurs. Naturally this only works for NTFS drives. This was item #18 on the previous TWEAKS guide. Go to Start > Run > regedit > Enter Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINES\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem. Add a new Dword (if missing) and name it NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate. Set value to 1 to delete this feature.
While we are on the disk monitoring subject item #21 (in the
original guide). Win XP like Win2000 is set to collect physical drive
data. Most don't need this as it consumes extra drive transfer time. To
disable the disk performance counters: Go to->Start->Programs->Command
Prompt Now type in: diskperf -n then reboot. Note there is a
space between the “f” and the dash (-).
All this Performance monitoring is mostly done when logged in as
Administrator. If one changed the default login to example a Power User,
the monitoring would be lowered automatically.
- Setting
Priority for Programs
Priority, for those of you not familiar with this term, is how Windows determines which programs should get processor time, and how much to give each one. There are six priority settings (in the background it is much more complicated and tiered than this): Real time, High, Above
After loading a high intensity program such as Premiere. You can
force it to a higher priority level within the Windows Control tier. To
do this hit “Cntr-Alt-Del” and the Windows Task Manager will appear.
Select the Processes Tab. Look for your program – in this case
Premiere.exe. Right Click on it and select Set Priority – then select
a higher level from normal. I often set Premiere to something like High
most of the time. I've even tried Real Time a few times but not sure it
is any better or not. If you run another program while leaving Premier
running you may want to then switch Priority lower to give the other
program more weight, etc. You can switch as often as you like but
realize that the setting will return to it's normal value with each new
start-up of the program. The only caveat to this involves is the
interaction of other programs and interfaces. If stability is lost with
these other components you can always go back to the original setting.
An example of on-line switching would be if you switched to a software
or hardware encoder, etc.
I should also mentioned that (sometimes), a user attempts to set a
program to the Real Time priority but fails and the program defaults to
the high priority class. The reason for this is that the specific
program is lacking a special security token allowing it to run at the
Real Time Priority class.
- IoPageLockLimit
This can be the “Mother of All Tweaks” both good or bad. Therefore, we will have to dedicate a little extra space (verbiage) here for this one. To do this TWEAK it is not hard and IT IS reversible. First let's review what this thing does : Windows limits the amount of memory to be locked for I/O operation. By default, this registry limit value is 0, which is actually 512 kb. This indicates to the system that it should use a built-in algorithm to determine the amount of memory to utilized (i.e. 512 kb). Changing this can force core systems to be kept in memory and not paged to the disk.
A machine with heavy file I/O traffic and a fair amount of unused
physical memory could possibly use this tweak. The reason I list
the word “possibly” is that a number of factors could go in to this.
Not all systems experience the same amount of file I/O operations, not
all systems experience disk I/O bottlenecks in the same way, processor
power (performance) varies, disk access & transfer rate, software
programs operate differently and memory size all play a part in overall
performance. This is why I did not include this TWEAK in the original
WinXP guide – only commented in the section of ones that did not work
(needed time to test).
I have seen software test emulation results indicating a 40%
performance benchmark with Premiere. Many variables go in to this
including the specifics of the machine used so don't get too excited.
Things like improving “pagefile” transfer (some of the previous
tweaks noted) can minimize the improvements, etc. Given there are so
many factors involved I will not even list the setting I use. I would
not even consider trying this if your total RAM is less than 512 MB.
Second I do not believe one can get “hair raising” speed increases.
Rather one might actually get a little speed and much more stability
after long duration of operation with intensive programs such as
Premiere (known for it's poor utilization of memory). We also have to be
sensitive to when tracking performance with editing programs that
utilize memory for things like real time buffers, etc.
Let's briefly discuss how one might test this TWEAK and then
actually list how to make the change. To properly test this, one should
have all the other OS optimizations completed, hard drives optimized and
system set with fresh re-boot (hopefully you utilized clear pagefile).
Now open an intensive program such as Adobe Premiere. Build a test
project and utilize lot's of transitions, filters, etc. Force some items
to require rendering. Save project before you push things too hard –
this avoids having to rebuild from scratch again. Export part of the
timeline to another codec – log time it takes to do this. Look at
responsiveness and stability while doing all things. Force some items to
require rendering, etc. Do whatever you can to bog the system down or
crash it. Things like scrubbing fast, numerous filters or transitions,
etc.
Before we begin remember - as with all registry edits be careful
and be sure before finalizing and exiting. Now go into regedit and look for
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control SessionManager \MemoryManagement.
When you select the MemoryMangement folder look on the right half of the
window for IoPageLockLimit. It may not be there (e.g. if you have
not built it previous or utilized a software TWEAK program, etc). If it
is not there, right click in the right window area and select new.
Then select new DWORD Value. A box will come up with cursor
blinking in it. In it type IoPageLockLimit - just like I have
typed and hit enter – it should now be in the list on the right side
window. Now whether you already found it or just created it - right
click on IoPageLockLimit and select Modify. A gray box will come
up and have the name (IoPageLockLimit) in the window and a box for value
data. This is where we will make value entries. You should note that
there are two different units or bases you can use. One is
hexadecimal and the other is decimal. When you add values you should
first select decimal not hexadecimal i.e. Click the Decimal radio
button. This value is the maximum bytes that can be locked for I/O
operations. A value of 0 actually defaults to 512KB. It is best to set
units that are divisible by 128. You can move in increments of say 1024
or if you are real anxious in increments of 16384. As a good rule you
should also not set a value that exceeds total RAM (in MB) times 128.
The highest value I have seen utilized is 65536 (decimal value). This
equates to 64 MB of RAM utilized (locked). After hit OK – exit regedit
and you will have to and reboot for effects to take place.
Now the fun begins – call up your test project – do stuff and
note differences. You may have to increase or decrease values and
retest. When making changes try increments of 1024 or 2048. I would not
go over 64 MB (65536) even if you have RAM > 768MB. Maybe - higher if
you had > 1 GB. Anyway forward experiences if you find success !!!!
Section III – Experimental Adjustments
In my quest for knowledge I have come across items that may have
potential for stability and/or speed enhancements. I have limited time
for testing and research. I list the ones I know have some sort of
validity to the settings (i.e. – does something). I do not think these
will render your system inoperable and are all reversible. They are here
for your experimentation and I would appreciate feedback on the dynamics
should you find a use for any of them.
Premiere
Settings for Memory Utilization & Stability
Premiere allocates a huge block of *virtual* memory for caching images
at startup. Note this is 'virtual' memory. The memory will be paged out
by Win's memory management scheme and does not burden the machine or
other applications until used by Premiere. The virtual memory allocated
to Premiere will be proportional to how much actual memory your machine
has. It will always be smaller than the memory size of your machine. For
example, on a 256MB machine, Premiere allocates 140mb of virtual memory
for caching.
Because
this virtual block of memory has been allocated, it can look as though
Premiere has just eaten your machines memory if you use a RAM monitoring
utility. Everything is OK as this memory is reserved & not in use,
many utilities do not make that distinction. Premiere normally does not
hang onto large blocks of RAM. It only uses a large block for a)
rendering complex layers b) when playing back RAM previews (very intense
usage) c) hold onto UI video elements such as thumbnails and audio bits.
Premiere's
caching scheme is 'flushed' (dumped or cleared out) by several common
actions: playing a movie, compiling/rendering a movie, etc. Once
flushed, this memory is again set aside by Windows and does not burden
Premiere or other apps' performance. Some UI elements such as thumbnails
are flushed very rarely, so that the application will remain responsive,
but normally these objects do not take up very much RAM.
There
is a way to reduce or increase the amount of virtual memory Premiere
calls for. This might help provide stability within long edits, etc.
- Go
to the Adobe > Premiere Folder & edit Prem60.ini) using your
preferred editor (probably NotePad).
- Add
these lines:
[override]
rampreviewsize=[somenumber]
where [somenumber] is a size in BYTES (e.g. 134217728 = 128KB)
If it don't work you can always delete the override lines &
start over.
CONTIGUOUS
FILE ALLOCATION SIZE
This setting optimizes the contiguous file allocation size for the file
system and can be especially useful for disk intensive applications.
Open up your registry and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Create a DWORD value named 'ContigFileAllocSize' and set the value to
'200' (in hex) or 512 (decimal)
Unload
DLLs when closing programs
This “Tweak” immediately flushes out “dll” files from memory
when all the programs that are using it get terminated (end). Windows
Explorer normally caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a
period of time - even after the application uses it has closed. The
rationale is that this can be an inefficient use of memory.
- Go to registry (regedit) and look for :
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. - If you wanted to do this TWEAK you will have
to create a new DWORD sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the
default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in
memory. .
- Restart Windows for any changes to take
effect.
Section IV – Little Tips , Tid-Bits &
Quirks often Overlooked
In this section I list a number of troubleshooting techniques,
fixes and quirks. They are in not particular order and are a good review
when things got wrong.
- If
Premiere all of a sudden starts acting buggy but ran fine before
- You may have a corrupt Premiere pref. file. That file is in Adobe folder >Premiere 6.0 folder and is labeled “Prem60”. The icon looks like a key on Most OS (in WinXP different icon – note pad w/gear on it). Make sure have the right file and just delete it or if like save it somewhere else as can re-install. When Premiere re-opens up it makes a new one but realize you NOW have to go reset all your Preferences, like scratch disks, type codec, etc. (the whole enchilada - just like when first installed Premiere and Editing System). The file can occasionally get corrupt. This is why I save a spare in another folder after I get all my settings done and optimized. Then when you get a corrupted copy – just and paste the new one (saved copy) and then you don't have to redo all the settings again. - System
freezes & Lock-ups -
I have seen a number of things cause this and will list them below - you can pick through the list (one-by-one). Note that it is sometimes a combination of things and as you change them (one-by-one) the frequency gets longer between incidents. I suggest you do the easy ones first & see if you get success. - PCI
Latency not set correctly in BIOS
- Promise
RAID Utility PCI utilization not set right and/or SMART check
enabled (shouldn't be)
- Poor
(weak) power supply – especially 5 V bus – use MOBO bios
detector to check.
- Heat
on the Video Card (can be big one with Geforce cards) or even
sometimes the processor or MOBO chip
- Faulty
or not-seated correctly RAM Some MOBO require special registered,
ECC and/or single banks of chips, etc.
- Wrong
Geforce drivers (suggest 12.41 or 21.83 – at least for initial
testing)
- Setting
video display card for monitor refresh too high (suggest try 75
mhz first - believe it or not seen this one a number of times help
people & on a few occasion turning ver. sync off helped but
you may see tearing in overlay – good test though)
- HD's
not set in proper mode (Ultra UMDA, etc.)
- Bad
ATA cables
- Improper
BIOS settings on some MOBO with Video, AGP settings, FastWrite,
etc.
- IRQ
conflicts
- AMD
Win2K AGP driver (get on AMD site) not loaded on specific MOBO
that should have this.
- For
Win 2K & AMD chip an issue has been identified that could
result in the corruption of video data shared between AGP graphics
adapters and AMD Athlon or AMD Duron family processors, including
the AMD Athlon™ MP, mobile Athlon 4, and AMD Athlon XP
processors, when running Microsoft Windows2000 Professional,
Windows2000 Server, or Windows®2000 Advanced Server. You do not
need for WinXP. AMD and Microsoft worked together to identify a
patch that involves adding a key to the registry. To add the key
run the registry key installation file (http://www.amd.com/us-/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_2367,00.html)
or add the registry key as detailed in Microsoft Knowledge Base
article Q270715. Some have reported this as a fix I have not
needed in my Athlon on Win 2K but will not hurt if getting slim on
fixes.
- VIA
drivers not up to date
- For
some VIA chip boards there has been problem with PCI latency –
can read about it and has link to get patch at http://www.tecchannel.de/hardware/817/8.html
- VIA
has updated a new patch 1.04 and can read about specifics and also
has a link for patch at : http://www.tecchannel.de/hardware/817/11.html
- When
Premiere is bogging down and/or unexplainably disappearing try the
items below to unload the system :
a.
In Timeline Options set Track
Format to Filename – no picture thumbnails. Deselect "Show audio
waveform". If you need to see the audio waveform set the timeline
settings so it doesn't display except for short timeline durations (you
can adjust this). Waveforms and thumbnails in the timeline can really
slow down Premiere.
b.
Make sure Recompress is not checked
under video settings. Make sure ˝ second or one second is selected
under audio interleave. Make sure keyframe and rendering is set to lower
field first (unless shooting progressive scan then select frame). Do not
use optimize stills. Set Preview to disk not RAM.
- Make
sure hardware graphics acceleration is on FULL.
This takes some load off your processor (right-click on the desktop and select 'properties' from the menu. now click on 'settings' then 'advanced' then 'troubleshooting' now set the 'hardware acceleration' slider up to full). - Turn
off visual effects. these consume unnecessary amounts of CPU time.
(control panel > system > advanced > performance settings > visual effects. Select adjust for “best performance”.
Section V – How is WinXP different from Windows 2000
So you've heard that WinXP is the Windows 2000 kernel loaded down
with multimedia stuff and extra eye candy – think so ? Read on …
It's only 3 pages and you don't have to fully understand all of it -
just notice the enhancements for what they are.
Go
Fetch (pre-fetch)
Windows XP utilizes contiguous files strategy, rather than grouping
sectors in load order. When Windows XP boots, it requests, or
pre-fetches, everything it'll need for the session at once. In other
words it gives a shopping list to the File I/O system, which in turn
brings in large chunks of data from multiple files in overlapping
requests. Windows XP not only brings in boot and shell code, but device
drivers and Registry settings. There are two exceptions but we won't
explain here.
Like
the boot-up sequence, when Windows XP runs an application that has been
run in prior user sessions, it pre-fetch's as many of the memory pages
it can from the files. With earlier versions of Windows NT/2000, the I/O
system would be asked to load pages separately when needed at runtime
(designated as demand paging), causing delays while pages were loaded.
Windows 2000 did try to optimize by trying to load pages nearby the
target pages. Sometimes these extra pages were the ones it needed, often
not. However, demand paging did not help when the application needed
pages from separate files. Windows XP asks for all pages from all known
files (from its knowledge base of previous loads) in one asynchronous
request. This lets the I/O subsystem control when to bring in the data.
Windows XP monitors the last eight loads of the application and modifies
what it “prefetches” as conditions change. It also loads
applications with as much overlapping of disk requests as possible.
Windows “prefetches” data and Registry settings asynchronously as
well as program code. The approach of “prefetching” all code and
data in parallel in one request, coupled with on-going monitoring and
disk optimization, creates a new self-tuning environment.
I/O
Subsystem
The I/O subsystem of the kernel is the workhorse part of the operating
system. It provides device drivers with access to system resources, such
as memory, plus manages the process. Communications with I/O devices is
frequently accomplished using programmed I/O or DMA transfers via
different memory buffers and queues. Design decisions in the past did
things like allowing device drivers to request memory whether it's
available or not. These are what caused stability problems. The memory
architecture of previous Windows also caused performance problems by
using more disk-based virtual memory than needed. Improvements have been
made in Windows XP that lessen or most often eliminate most of the past
stability problems.
Memory
Page Pool
No matter how much physical memory your PC has it is always a precious
resource. Windows XP has made some improvements to help the situation.
In Windows, physical memory has "page pooled" and
"non-page pooled" allocations. Non-page pooled memory is for
code that is time critical, such as the Virtual Memory Manager (VMM)
itself. Page pooled memory is mapped to disk files and allows the OS to
swap the memory pages (pagefiles) out to disk if additional physical
memory is needed elsewhere. A memory page represents 4K of physical
memory. Memory pages hold system or user data, application or driver
code, or Registry data. When an application runs, the executable code is
loaded through file mapping objects. The “pre-fetcher” loads these
memory pages. Data and settings are also mapped in the same way. The
pages in pooled memory are mapped to the file and are referred to as
“views” into the file.
Pool
memory is managed by a system of descriptors called Page Table Entries (PTE).
These incorporate memory page frame numbers, which point to physical
memory pages. The memory manager uses various algorithms to determine
least used blocks of memory to spool (or page) to the disk when there is
a low memory condition, or when a large memory allocation is requested.
All Windows virtual memory schemes allow programs to use more memory
than is physically available. This can be slow and cause bottlenecks in
processing if not handled well. In all previous versions of Windows,
memory waste was a prime cause of delays through extra paging to disk.
Enter
Windows XP - It increases the maximum memory size that can be mapped by
PTEs to approximately 1.3GB. This is about twice Windows 2000's pool
size (this may vary depending on machine or Registry settings). This
allows Windows XP to track more memory without reusing PTEs. Windows XP
can allocate up to 960MB of contiguous pooled memory if needed on a
system with 256MB of RAM. To increase performance, Microsoft has tweaked
its algorithms to use less page pool and minimize going to disk. In
earlier versions of Windows, when an application created a file mapping
object, the kernel allocated, or "charged" 1/1000th of the
file size in PTEs. This was done regardless of the final file view used.
For example, if a driver created a 2GB file mapping object, the kernel
would charge 2MB of PTEs or memory pages. But if the driver only ends up
committing to a small 48K view to the file, the potential for waste is
quite obvious. Windows XP does not charge or allocate any PTEs before
the view is created, so when the PTEs are needed, they are then created
dynamically. Within the Page Pool, Windows XP now uses the concept of a
small and a large pool. When a driver requests PTEs, the memory manager
aggressively tries to fulfill the request from the small pool. This
saves the large pool for large allocations. It allows the large pool to
stay less fragmented thereby giving Windows a better chance of
allocating large memory blocks when needed.
Low
Memory Improvements
In the battle between drivers and processes for memory the user often
loses. Often these conditions are temporary, and are relieved when a
driver or process frees up their blocks. When a driver or application
process needs memory, it asks the system for a memory allocation. The
allocation is either provided or denied. In previous versions of
Windows, allocation routines would often designate itself as “must
succeed” and was allowed to force the system to give the driver some
memory. When memory was low, it would often crash the system. To help
get past these occurrences, Windows XP no longer permits drivers to
allocate “must-succeed” requests. All internal Windows XP drivers
have been rewritten to avoid the use of “must succeed” requests.
Third party drivers will also have to comply to earn "digitally
signed driver - Microsoft-approved” status. Se why some drivers had to
be re-written ? Windows XP took another step to further memory handling.
This is I/O Throttling. To enhance performance Windows tries to do as
much processing in parallel as possible. If memory gets to the point
where there is none left to allocate, Windows will "throttle
down" it's processing of memory to a page at a time. While this
slows the system, it doesn't crash. In previous version it would
often crash.
Under
previous versions of Windows, when an application saves keys and
settings to the Registry, the kernel puts them into the first space in
the Registry that it finds. If there isn't enough space for all the
keys, they are split up. The results are always more fragmentation, and
related keys end up on different memory pages. When the application goes
to read those keys and settings, the kernel has to read more memory
pages from the disk, which causes delays. WinXP has redesigned the
Registry code. The algorithm for storing keys and settings has been
changed. When an application or the OS goes to store keys and settings,
the kernel will search for a space large enough to hold all the data. By
better grouping applications all the data is on the same or adjacent
memory page. This results in fewer page faults.
Microsoft
has also moved the Registry data out of the kernel paged pool memory to
mapped files. The Registry management code is still in the kernel but
the data is stored outside the kernel memory and it won't run out as
fast. A common practice in programming is to use the presence of a
Registry key as a flag in applications. If the key data is present, the
application does one thing, if not, it does another. This produces a
heavy performance hit when the key does not exist. Some applications
create empty trees of keys in the Registry at runtime, and then just
leaves them empty. Other applications don't create keys, but search the
Registry for keys. When this happens, the kernel is asked to search the
entire Registry or through trees of empty keys. Windows 2000 caches
existing Registry keys, but if the key or keys are not found in the
cache, a Registry search is performed, and as the registry grows and so
do the delays. Windows XP caches both existing and non-existent keys.
This results in a relatively large performance boost when an application
requests a Registry key. Reason being that it is retrieved from the
cache regardless of the key's existence.
Additional
Performance vs Win2K
The best thing you can do to optimize Windows XP is one of the simplest
– plainly stated it is to “just to use it”. As you launch and
exploit applications, Windows observes your behavior and updates a
dynamic file called Layout.ini. After every three days, when it senses
that the computer is idle, it rearranges the locations of programs on
the system hard drive to optimize their launch and execution (keeps file
more contiguous, etc.).
XP
also speeds up the boot process and optimizes the launch of programs by
using “prefetching”. Windows observes the code and programs that are
used immediately upon boot-up and creates a list of data to
“prefetch” very early in the boot process. As individual programs
are launched, Windows keeps track of different files and components are
accessed. The next time the application is accessed, Windows
“prefetches” the necessary items to expedite the application's
launch Disk optimization and application/boot 'prefetching' work
together in tandem. When XP optimizes file system for faster program
access, the data it recorded for the application and boot-up
“prefetch” processes is factored in to determine optimal file
placement on the disks. OK – “Nuff Said”
