Memory is sold in pairs, but that is not the reason they use the term parity. Memory is not sold in gig and a half sticks...it could well BE your issue.

Space wrote: Memory is sold in pairs, but that is not the reason they use the term parity. Memory is not sold in gig and a half sticks...it could well BE your issue.

If you buy 4 gigs, Vista will only see 3Gigs. Having an odd value like 1.5 gigs is not necessarily bad in itself. Dropouts can result from a plethora of other things.

Do you have a dedicated external drive for audio? If not, you should. Is your current hard drive loaded/fragmented? Try to keep as much free space as possible. Defragment often.

Try to use as few plugins as possible while tracking. If you must use plugins for midi instruments, export the midi and label it appropriately. IE: piano, B3, Pad, Lead synth etc. After you've exported the midi to a folder, render the midi to an audio track in your project. You can use those as scratch tracks. Freezing the tracks can help but audio uses much less cpu than virtual instruments.

When mixing, max the buffers. At that point you can import the midi files you exported and load the instruments. With the buffers maxed, your computer will have an easier time dealing with the data.

Disable any unnecessary programs/wireless cards/firewalls/antivirus. Work off line while you are doing audio.

Actually, Vista will report whatever it reports, but may actually see and map all the memory...or not. Everything matters, motherboards, bios, chipsets, the whole nine yards but at the end of the day if you physically have 3 gig of memory then there's your trouble.

Pardon me. Let me rephrase. A 32 bit OS can only use 3 gigs of available ram. I've run plenty of computers with less than equal value of ram. 1.5, 2.5 it's virtually a non issue. Most of the newer motherboards require Dimms in sets of 3. Even then, I don't think it's a requirement to function correctly. It merely allows you to use the full bandwidth capability.

Can using less than ideal RAM values cause drop outs? Sure but if you're using a 32 bit OS only 3 gigs will be available to you anyway. Your memory bandwidth should not be so disabled that you are unable to do reasonable track counts.

Plugins will encumber your computer very quickly. Especially when you are using high quality, high resolution modeled plugins. Which means, anything by Waves and many others.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=D69C4E1B-C81A-41BE-B1F5-66E615BA5912&displaylang=en

:here is the relevant information form page 18 of the pdf:

'With SP1, Windows Vista will report the amount of system memory installed rather than report the amount of system memory available to the OS. Therefore 32-bit systems equipped with 4GB of RAM will report all 4GB in many places throughout the OS, such as the System Control Panel. However, this behavior is dependent on having a compatible BIOS, so not all users may notice this change."

Regardless of how much an OS can see (I can see 4 gigs in XP with the right hardware monitor), a 32 bit OS can only make use of 3 Gigs. That is the nature of the beast. That is also why people are looking at 64 bit OS's. 64 bit will allow you to see four times as much RAM. That's just the way it is. Regardless, I think RAM is the least of the problems.

The issue is what it always is....patience!

At least two operating systems are being employed in this situation, most likely not EVEN in a dual booting configuration. So if your right or if I am right is not even part of the equation. It isn't memory and it isn't a handfull of tweaks that a first grader would already have done by now.

It is PATIENCE!

"I tried running XP but my computer was running into too many problems so I switched back to vista."

Here lies the answer to the question. Not only is it NOT the operating system and it is NOT the memory and it is NOT a handful of tweaks that first graders are already aware of...it is a loose nut on the keyboard.

It is the same two things in the same order over and over, patience and a loose nut on the keyboard.

Regardless of 3 gigs and the limits imposed from hardware...there is no quick fix to the question at hand.

I think we should try to refrain from chastising people just because they may be less informed. For all we know Stratman is an accomplished engineer with a minor issue with his daw.

Being right is the least of my worries. Whether I'm right or wrong, I just want to make sure that accurate info is given.

Definitely apply patience to your tasks! Something I personally am in VERY short supply of!!

I'm not fond of PC DAW problems, or the steps required to "compensate" for their short-comings. However, my answer to "unknowns" is to eliminate ONE thing at a time until I discover what is causing the problem. It can come from a registry error, or programming error, maybe two programs fighting for resources...

I find my USB mouse causes more problems than just about anything else.

And the problem thet galls me the most is the IEEE 1394 Firewire connector on my laptop's MB!!! WHY IS IT SO INFERIOR TO TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FIREWIRE? More importantly, how can I "fix" it? Ultimately there is no fix for that problem. But it took 2 years, and quite a bit of belly-aching to come to that conclusion.

I said all that to air out my grievances more than anything else. Hope it helps give you a starting place. I tell my budding PC builder son to start at the beginning each and every time he has a problem. For both of us, it is the only way to resolve a problem - which sometimes randomly occurs and randomly repaired!

Good luck! And please post your findings, no matter how small or random you believe them to be.

hueseph wrote: I think we should try to refrain from chastising people just because they may be less informed.

I didn't chastise anyone and most of the information I posted was for your benefit sir, as it seems you require it almost as much as the OP.

Space wrote: [quote=hueseph]I think we should try to refrain from chastising people just because they may be less informed.

I didn't chastise anyone and most of the information I posted was for your benefit sir, as it seems you require it almost as much as the OP.

What is with the attitude? Why do some people insist on acting so rudely? Your "advice" is at best partially informed.

patience and a loose nut on the keyboard

That is name calling and childish. Sure sometimes it's called for but not always. The OP did not warrant that kind of response.

You don't know the qualifications of the OP. Calling him lazy is ignorant. The OP did not mention how many tracks he is running, how many plugins, how much routing is going on. All these things factor. It's not always a problem per se. Running high track counts will cause dropouts.

Andfor the sake of argument:

The reduction in available system memory depends on the devices that are installed in the computer. However, to avoid potential driver compatibility issues, the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista limit the total available memory to 3.12 GB. See the "More information" section for information about potential driver compatibility issues.

If a computer has many installed devices, the available memory may be reduced to 3 GB or less. However, the maximum memory available in 32-bit versions of Windows Vista is typically 3.12 GB.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605

I appreciate your ability to get involved where you clearly are not needed but this is not a moral issue that requires your divination.

Any one person who has been involved in tech support will recognize, immediately, the issue in the question. Your input has not helped any and has only served to exacerbate the concern.

You would be a better citizen had you kept your mouth shut, but this is something that seems to be outside of your ability.

So I ask you, what do you hope to gain from this examination of moral infractions?

Do this, and do it quickly, fix the issue or leave it alone.

Just to throw my 2 cents in on this RAM thing....FWIW....I've spent way too much time reading and researching the whole 4G RAM thing in WinXP 32 bit and it turns out that WinXP actually does utilizes all 4G of RAM if you have it installed....32 bit can and does map all 4G of those address spaces (max for 32bit). The problem is WinXP maps the first 1G of memory blocks to store all of its system drivers and system services specific to operating WinXP then it gives you and your applications what ever is left over....There is a PAE (Physical Address Extension) setting that can be enabled during the auotexec.bat file execution that can alter the way that space is initialized and allocated....
If you put 4G into a WinXP system you do in fact get a small advantage in memory block allocation over 3G but it is minor and does not exhibit a substantial increase in speed that is noticeable..
BTW the same thing occurs in Vista 32 or 64 it's just worse and more than 1G of RAM is masked for system services....so buy as much as you can....it will help your performance while executing your applications...

Did you even read what I posted. Your "advice" is ill founded. PERIOD. READ it again.
[="http://support.micr…"]

the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista limit the total available memory to 3.12 GB. See the "More information" section for information about potential driver compatibility issues.

[/]

This isn't about morals although that does apply. It's about mutual respect and how people view this site. It is also about your reputation. If you want to act like a pompous know it all, go to gearslutz.

If you have a problem with me go talk to the Admin.
'
Edit: this is in response to Space

For Windows Vista to use all 4 GB of memory on a computer that has 4 GB of memory installed, the computer must meet the following requirements:

* The chipset must support at least 8 GB of address space. Chipsets that have this capability include the following:
o Intel 975X
o Intel P965
o Intel 955X on Socket 775
o Chipsets that support AMD processors that use socket F, socket 940, socket 939, or socket AM2. These chipsets include any AMD socket and CPU combination in which the memory controller resides in the CPU.
* The CPU must support the x64 instruction set. The AMD64 CPU and the Intel EM64T CPU support this instruction set.
* The BIOS must support the memory remapping feature. The memory remapping feature allows for the segment of system memory that was previously overwritten by the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) configuration space to be remapped above the 4 GB address line. This feature must be enabled in the BIOS configuration utility on the computer. View your computer product documentation for instructions that explain how to enable this feature. Many consumer-oriented computers may not support the memory remapping feature. No standard terminology is used in documentation or in BIOS configuration utilities for this feature. Therefore, you may have to read the descriptions of the various BIOS configuration settings that are available to determine whether any of the settings enable the memory remapping feature.
* An x64 (64-bit) version of Windows Vista must be used.

Problem is you are preaching to the choir....but we are of a different religion.

You are hung up on this Vista/hardware issue when it was early on explained , by me, that I had more interest in hard ware.

Your interest is not to help the OP but to discredit me.

So fuck off my brother, you are officially on my nerves.

Space wrote: So f*** off my brother, you are officially on my nerves.

Spoken like a true Christian. NOWHERE did I mention RELIGION here. RELIGION DOES NOT BELONG ON THIS FORUM! PERIOD!

I'm am NOT trying to discredit you! I want accurate info as I said. Using less than equal values of RAM is not going to slow down your system so much as to cause problems the OP described. There are obviously other factors at stake.

Nevertheless, this posting has gone way off topic. Let it stop there and get back on topic or I'll lock it. No one needs to read this bickering.

Well there. Now you see. That is what they call a misinterpretation. I obviously wasn't paying attention when I read that last post. But hey, I can laugh at that.

For what it's worth. Dell ships one of their Studio 17 with 3GB of RAM.

I may be a bit late responding here, but to try to clarify some things, my computer came with two 1GB pieces of RAM. I replaced one of them with a 2GB, thus equaling 3GB. Also, impatience isn't the issue either, becuase I've spent months trying to get my recording setup in working order, but I'm leaving for college in a week, and wanted to have my laptop able to function for school related things. Althouh I'm fairly new to recording, I've been playing music since I was six, and I really don't see a need to try to lower others to make yourself look better. I joined the forum to hopefully learn some things about recording, not to have my intellegence insulted when I'm already aware of my abilites. However, thanks to those who actually do offer advice.

Not to belabor the RAM point, but you say that you replaced one of the RAM chips. Are you certain that the timing of the new chip match the old chip? If they do not that will cause some issues with bottlenecks etc. That is one reason to replace RAM in pairs whether as a 2x1gig combo or a 2x2 combo.

When you begin discussing computer/interface issues there is so much that could be causing hiccups-even if it is a little thing-that it is very difficult to diagnose on a web forum. I just spent 45 minutes today walking someone through an Outlook issue over the phone. It would have taken me about 49 seconds to diagnose and fix if I were sitting in front of the screen.

I'm not saying we couldn't fix the OP but it isn't necessarily a walk in the park either.

Yeah, I realize its near impossible to determine a problem like that without even being able to see the computer. Its a bit overwhelming with the possibilities that could be wrong. I was just hoping to get some suggestions so maybe I could at least narrow down the problem

If you want to check the timing of the RAM you can download a free program called SiSandra. It is not an invasive program but can be quite useful for investigating your hardware for info or benchmarks.

http://www.sisoftware.net/

For latency diagnosis, check this url for DPC Latency Checker. Install it and just let it run for a bit with zero activity on the machine. Deactivate any networking or antivirus just as if you were recording and see what kind of spikes you get.

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

There are some other computer fellows here at RO too. I'm not sure how much attention I'll be able to apply to the problem just at the moment. I'm winding down my summer business and my wife is 2.5 weeks away from popping out the next Jarhead in the family. Preoccupied might be a better description.

At any rate, the above info is a starting point for whomever actually gets the help done.

stratman312 wrote: I may be a bit late responding here, but to try to clarify some things, my computer came with two 1GB pieces of RAM. I replaced one of them with a 2GB, thus equaling 3GB. Also, impatience isn't the issue either, becuase I've spent months trying to get my recording setup in working order, but I'm leaving for college in a week, and wanted to have my laptop able to function for school related things. Althouh I'm fairly new to recording, I've been playing music since I was six, and I really don't see a need to try to lower others to make yourself look better. I joined the forum to hopefully learn some things about recording, not to have my intellegence insulted when I'm already aware of my abilites. However, thanks to those who actually do offer advice.

You are tardy, not late. You could have helped to keep this thing in some form of an orderly fashion with the answering of one question on Saturday rather then today.

I call my side business, "Loose nut on the keyboard", so grow up all of ya :)

The possibilities are endless and this is on you OP to find out what it is. The only one hardware constant is the actual physical computer.

Your issue with Sonar is something to do with SOMETHING running in the background that is hitting the CPU hard and repeatedly. Is it a screensaver that is on? Is it a disk in the dvd/cd drawer on a system that has autorun on, is it any number of Internet connections, polling by software trying to update, virus software, etc, etc.

I figure I do owe you OP, an apology for my language. But I never stepped outside of any boundary other than that although it was twisted to make it look like this was my goal.

stratman312 wrote: I'm running Sonar 7 on my HP (w/ vista) and I often get audio dropouts b/c the meter labeled CPU exceeds the maximum. I tried running XP but my computer was running into too many problems so I switched back to vista. I also have 3GB of RAM, so I don't think that is the problem either. Is their anything I can do to make my laptop run without dropouts?

What audio interface are you using to record into Sonar?
Have you run all of the audio optimization tricks and tips for Vista/XP?
What type and speed of hardrive are you using? (separate internal/external)
Are you using Firewire or USB as your audio interface connection?

BTW...... The latency check tool Jack suggested is a must have....

How many tracks are you recording when the dropouts occur?
Are you running MIDI and recording that as well when the dropouts occur?
Are there any other programs running in the background on your system that need to be shut down while recording?
Are you using any Plugins?

I could probably think of a few more but that should get you started! LOL