Building myself a Windows XP DAW PC

[DrNomis_44]

Update:

Hmmmmm.....Microsoft's Windows Update Server must have been having some kind of issue yesterday, cause now I'm able to get Windows Update in XP to connect and download updates for XP, what's more, it finally managed to download and install the missing Realtek HD Integrated audio driver so all the devices are working, anyway, as I said yesterday, I'm going to ditch the Digi001 and the Protools LE software I was going to install, and see if I can get my Saffire Pro40 working with the Compaq PC instead, the good thing is, I'll be able to use Reaper with the Saffire Pro40, Might even see if I can get the Sonic Foundry Acid Music DAW software installed too, I think it'll run on XP, haven't used it for quite a few years so it'll be interesting to revisit it.


Update 2:

Oops....I had a look on the Focusrite website and apparently the Saffire Pro 40 Drivers are not compatible with Windows XP, OS compatibility is only for Windows 7 through to Windows 10, so here's my dilemma, do I stick with Windows XP or do I cut to the chase and go with Windows 10 and pay $174.00 for a new product key just to get Windows 10 activated on the Compaq PC?, I really don't want to have to go through all the headaches of trying to get a Linux OS installed on a PC, been there and done it before with major frustrations (like having to download a Linux driver for my old usb wireless 4G modem just so I could get online to download said driver, don't get me started on that).


Update 3:


I decided to go ahead and try doing a fresh clean install of Windows 7 on the Compaq PC, I was feeling a bit apprehensive about it because I wasn't sure if Microsoft would let me activate it using the product key that came with my two Genuine Windows 7 DVDs, I had used it to activate Windows 7 on my main Desktop DAW PC which is now currently running Windows 10, and wouldn't you know it, I was able to successfully activate Windows 7 on the Compaq PC....what a relief, what's more, I don't need to install any device drivers, everything seems to be all working in Device Manager.


Update 4:


Oops.....now Microsoft wants me to upgrade to Windows 10....okay, I'll see if I can do so and still be able to activate it online.


Update 5:

I think I've figured out why the Compaq PC's previous owner had put it out with the rubbish, this thing has been fighting me every step of the way.

[DrNomis_44]

I've decided to start again from scratch with a fresh clean install of Windows 7, and then I'm going to see if I can download the Windows 10 upgrade assistant so that I can create a Windows 10 32 Bit Installer DVD for the Compaq PC, the reason why is because I think something got corrupted and it was taking forever for Windows update to finish downloading/installing updates, or at least I think that's what happened.

[Kick]

Why dont you download Windows 10 with this tool: https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/?

And then use your original key... Or use another tool to activate it.

[DrNomis_44]

Why dont you download Windows 10 with this tool: https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/?

And then use your original key... Or use another tool to activate it.

I guess I could have done it that way, anyway, I managed to get Windows 10 installed and activated on the Compaq PC, seems to be running fine, I didn't have to download any device drivers cause everything was working in Device Manager, this latest version of Windows seems to be far less of a headache to install than previous versions.

[DrNomis_44]

Okay, so here's today's agenda for getting the Compaq PC (a Compaq Presario) up and running as a Windows DAW PC, which, due to software incompatibility issues, and not being able to use the Digi001 as originally planned, I've ended up having to set it up as a Windows 10 machine:

* Have a cup of coffee to start the day off, better still, have as many as deemed necessary....lol.

* Download/install the driver software for the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 from the Focusrite website.

* Work out what DAW software I'm going with and get it all installed and working.

* Do anything else that may need doing.

* Post a pic of the DAW PC running it's newly installed operating system and DAW software.


Personally, I think it was a good decision to go with Windows 10 for the operating system, it does seem to run better than the previous operating systems I tried installing (Windows XP, Windows 7), it originally had Windows Vista Basic on it, but there was unwanted stuff on it, hence the reason for the clean install, besides, apparently Windows Vista was never a highly regarded operating system when it was released (it was replaced by Windows 7 which is what Vista should have been).

[DrNomis_44]

Update:


My Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 Audio Interface appears to be working with the Compaq PC after installing the latest driver I downloaded from the Focusrite website.....cool!!


Onto the next items on my agenda for today.....


Update 2:


Just started the process of installing some DAW software on the Compaq PC, first bit of software is Reaper 32 Bit, I'm going to be using my little home-made function generator to generate test signals for testing the recording and playback of the software....should be fun.


Hmmmmm.....well that's weird, I downloaded/installed the latest version of Reaper, it sees my Saffire Pro 40, but it will only let me use two of the 8 inputs on it.


Hang on, I just did a quick google and I think I know what I'm doing wrong, there's a couple of settings in Reaper that I need to change so that it can see all the inputs available....doh!!!!

Update 3:


Okay, I've got all eight of the Saffire Pro40's line inputs working in Reaper, and I'm able to monitor them all, so, it seems to be all good, I guess I'll have to knuckle-down and get familiar with the Reaper DAW software, I'll see if I can do a screenshot for you guys, I'll also do a screenshot of the settings I needed to change to get all eight inputs usable....stay tuned.


Screenshots:





As you can see in the above pic, I've got signal going into track 1 via input 1 on the Saffire Pro 40, all the other inputs are working properly with the same results.




And here's a screenshot of the settings I needed to change to get all the inputs usable by Reaper, the reason why I was only seeing two inputs is that the enable inputs settings had been set to input 1 for first, and input 2 for last by default, I changed the settings to what you see in the pic and that got all the inputs usable.


Rightio, I think I'll see if I can get FL Studio up and running on my Compaq DAW PC, hopefully there shouldn't be any issues...stay tuned for more updates.


Sidenote:

If you're wondering what the "ASIO" in the Audio system setting means, it is short for Audio Streaming Input-Output, ASIO is a special protocol for digital audio which is designed to reduce something called Audio Latency, Audio Latency is the delay you are hearing when you pluck a string on your guitar and then you hear the sound a few seconds later through your headphones or speakers, you want to have this delay as short as possible without glitchy playback (audible pops and crackles, and, or harsh digital distortion).

[Kick]

I am also using the ASIO program for my Amplitube, Guitar Rig and Riffstation. If I do not turn the ASIO on I will have no input from the guitar to the soundcard of the PC.

[dave.king1]

Word or warning, quite a few of my VSTi won't run in anything lower than Win7 and you may run into memory issues with XP that were overcome in later releases.

Try transferring a very large file from one HD to another in XP

Having said that I built an XP laptop for a pensioner friend that won't encounter those issues, AVG takes care of his security issues

[DrNomis_44]

Word or warning, quite a few of my VSTi won't run in anything lower than Win7 and you may run into memory issues with XP that were overcome in later releases.

Try transferring a very large file from one HD to another in XP

Having said that I built an XP laptop for a pensioner friend that won't encounter those issues, AVG takes care of his security issues

I've noticed on a few occasions that Windows seems to not like copying multiple files from one place to another, and sometimes I get a "Filename too long" error message, or it says that the file can't be copied, sometimes it says that I need administrative privileges even though I'm logged on as the administrator, and sometimes it'll still deny access to the file even if I've granted full access to the file that I created.

[Kick]

A path to a file may not be longer than 256 characters. So if you have C:\long_map_name\another_very_long_map_name\and_so _on\long_file_name and the total of characters exceeds 256 than you have to shorten mapnames.

And the thing with files and administrators right is a pain in th *ss....