Windows 10 for DAW

[Mystic]

The only issue I've had with Win10 is Roland not making drivers for their VS-700 system which did nothing but ensure I will buy nothing from them in the future.

[Mivo]

I was actually pleasantly surprised by Windows 10. It came with a new desktop, so it is a fresh install, not an update. Had to spend a couple hours going through settings and disable a lot of the questionable default options, but after that it's a great experience. I like the design and performance.

I find it hard to pick a favorite Windows version, because it all so relative and needs to be seen in the respective technological and computing area. Overall, Windows 10 is for me up there with 98, XP and 7. 3.1, or maybe 3.0, I don't recall for certain, was my first Windows, but coming from TOS/GEM, I didn't like much about it, it seemed all inferior. I never used NT, or I'd probably list it in the "liked it" category.

There are two issues I'm having, though I believe only one is Microsoft's doing:

a) High-dpi scaling works differently than it did in 8.1. If I set the scaling to 125% in Windows 10, many programs (including some of Microsoft's own stuff) is blurry. This doesn't affect all software (Chrome and Firefox are fine), and there is a workaround (compatibility mode -> disable scaling), but the way Windows 10 scales feels half-baked and in need of improvement.

b) Every so often, my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 keels over. Actually, I'm not sure exactly what happens, but sound output just stops even in the middle of playback. The audio programs do not notice it, so I don't think the Focusrite ASIO driver is actually crashing. To get sound back, I have to physically reconnect the 2i2. It is a new desktop, so I'm not sure if it's the driver, the machine, or the OS. The 2i2 itself worked fine on a different machine that runs 8.1. I suspect it is the driver. No other USB devices show similar behavior, including a USB headset (the problems occurred already before the headset was in the picture). It's very infrequent -- works fine for days, then sometimes it happens twice in an afternoon.

I'd be fine buying a different interface if I knew that the problem is the driver, but no point until I have narrowed down the cause.

[JonSolo]

b) Every so often, my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 keels over. Actually, I'm not sure exactly what happens, but sound output just stops even in the middle of playback. The audio programs do not notice it, so I don't think the Focusrite ASIO driver is actually crashing. To get sound back, I have to physically reconnect the 2i2. It is a new desktop, so I'm not sure if it's the driver, the machine, or the OS. The 2i2 itself worked fine on a different machine that runs 8.1. I suspect it is the driver. No other USB devices show similar behavior, including a USB headset (the problems occurred already before the headset was in the picture). It's very infrequent -- works fine for days, then sometimes it happens twice in an afternoon.

I'd be fine buying a different interface if I knew that the problem is the driver, but no point until I have narrowed down the cause.

Well I can speak the same for the 6i6 which uses the same driver which was made for Windows 8.1. In Ableton I can simply kill the audio engine and restart it which brings back the sound. If I am in Cubase I have to close out completely and come back in. Not a big deal, but when it happens, which is not often, it is irritating.

I have only had the full sound die a time or two completely within Windows. But turning off my 6i6 and back on again fixed it.

Optimized Windows 10 drivers would be nice, but I don't foresee that happening. The Focusrite is so clean though, I would have to be willing to go to an RME to even THINK about changing over.

[Numanoid]

Have been working with FL Studio 12 in Win 10 for a couple of weeks

Seems to be very stable. There are some niggles, but I wonder if that is more down to FL Studio 12, than Win 10

[ozmuso67]

High-dpi scaling works differently than it did in 8.1. If I set the scaling to 125% in Windows 10, many programs (including some of Microsoft's own stuff) is blurry. This doesn't affect all software (Chrome and Firefox are fine), and there is a workaround (compatibility mode -> disable scaling), but the way Windows 10 scales feels half-baked and in need of improvement.

It is an issue with Windows 10 "out of the box". I noticed the same thing - some windows / programs are fuzzy or blurry. Like you said, Microsoft changed the implementation of scaling in Windows 10, and it makes some things look terrible.

If you are looking for a way to get your windows to look better if you use any scaling other than the default of 100% - a workaround that gives pretty much the same scaling as Windows 8/8.1 - google "windows 10 scaling fix", and look for the result with the words XPExplorer in it. I use this fix or workaround - I use a desktop scaling of 125% - and with this small program (that you run once, reboot, and from then on this tiny patch runs on startup, invisibly) it makes everything look much better, or pretty much how it was with Windows 8 and earlier.

..That is, if you didn't already know about this fix. If you are unsure, research it. I use it and it is a good solution until if or when Microsoft ever changes the scaling method used in Windows 10.

[Edit] - I think I tried the compatibility mode, and I found some programs' windows sizes had changed (a lot of fixed windows were much larger this way). The Xpexplorer fix has no side effects, and basically applies some changes that effectively give you windows 8 scaling on Windows 10.

[noonesgotthisone]

I have been miserable for some years because I thought my Lexicon Omega was crap. I was running Win7 on an i5 processor with 8GB of ram and I barely got more out of it than my old Pentium III from 2003. Yes, some days it was awesome and sounded almost great. Other times, the signal started to crackle, fade in and out and subsequently crash until I ended the session and started all over again. I constantly had delays in monitoring the signal during recording and playback. In fact, although I had recorded in takt, the result was a mix of slight delays in midi and wav files. Unacceptable.

I heard about the better latency and dedicated processing times of Win10 but didn't like the look. I heard that the processor could be dedicated to handle dedicated programs and events so that when other apps run in the background, the CPU doesn't overload.

I upgraded from Win7 yesterday to Win10 with great fears that my recording setup would get worse. And when I loaded apps after the upgrade,they indeed took longer to load than under Win7. Even Reaper took a very long time to load...BUT, once loaded, there were zero delays (latency) and the sound was pristine and clear. I am currently a very happy man. I bought another audio interface online two days ago because I thought the crackle and latency was due to the Lexicon. But it was Windows all along. To make sure I wasn't dreaming, I maxed the system by adding more plugins and it did not crackle or crash. ALL VSTs work under Win10. ALL programs work. My update preserved my Win7 files and settings. Great update.

My advice to those wanting to alleviate crackling and latency issues is to upgrade to Win10. If you are running Win7, you can preserve your settings into Win10 and if need be roll back to Win7 within 30 days.

Like I said, Lexicon Omega was faultless and sounds better than it ever has thanks to zero latency and zero crackling (distortion). Try it!

Hi Zig - what driver are you running for the Omega? Lexicon haven't put a W10 driver out there yet, but if your's is running great, I'd love to know what you are using.... Thanks in advance.

[golemus]

As long as you cannot disable automatic updates I really cannot recommend Windows 10 for anybody serious of work, music or whatever important.

Usually when you change configuration of your system, a professional way to do it is to 1. take backup, 2. update 3. test that everything is OK, 4. continue production. As Win10 does updates automatically there is always the risk that your DAW could break at any moment and you do not have a recent backup.

Not exactly the same thing, but Win7-->Win10 update made the start menu of my girlfriends computer to disappear. You cannot use it anymore (unless you reinstall the OS or do some time consuming hit/miss registry editing). And she claims that it automatically updated the OS to Win10. Although I am not sure if I believe her in the "automatically updated" part, this anyway tells a lot about the quality control and stability of recent Windows updates.



I really would want to update as many things that I want have improved but as long as the automatic updates cannot be disabled it is an absolutely no go for me.

[telecharge]

I really would want to update as many things that I want have improved but as long as the automatic updates cannot be disabled it is an absolutely no go for me.

I could not agree with you more. I was none-too-pleased, to put it mildly, when Windows re-enabled the Windows Update service after I manually disabled it.

The sad thing is, it's only getting worse...
http://www.infoworld.com/article/312780 ... pears.html

Microsoft is really employing bully tactics these days.

[incubus]

My issue with windows 10 is simple. They keep re-inventing the wheel to the point that it's a square peg. It was fine at first, but they KEEP FORCING UPDATES NOBODY WANTS. Not surprisingly, it's pissing people off and causing more problems than are necessary.

I'll have everything fine and then some f**king update I didn't ask for and don't need forces itself, requiring me to "fix" a bunch of things that were not broken.

Do I sound like a skipping CD? Good, because I want to beat the point in.

[tonedef71]

As long as you cannot disable automatic updates I really cannot recommend Windows 10 for anybody serious of work, music or whatever important.
...
I really would want to update as many things that I want have improved but as long as the automatic updates cannot be disabled it is an absolutely no go for me.

Microsoft does provide a utility to hide Windows updates; I suppose you can use this utility to ignore every update Microsfot Updates puts out, if you really want to: How to temporarily prevent a driver update from reinstalling in Windows 10

Here is the direct link for the utility's installer: http://download.microsoft.com/download/ ... de.diagcab

Here is a screenshot of it in use:


That said, I still think Windows 10 is too unreliable for pro-audio processing, as there is so much going on under the hood now. My gaming laptop has an Intel i7 processor with 32 GB RAM and 4 hyper cores, yet it has audio stuttering problems caused by the Windows Memory Manager ("System and compressed Memory") intermittently pre-empting the ASIO thread for who-knows-what reason.

[telecharge]

Microsoft does provide a utility to hide Windows updates

Microsoft is doing away with that. See the above article I linked to.

That said, I still think Windows 10 is too unreliable for pro-audio processing, as there is so much going on under the hood now. My gaming laptop has an Intel i7 processor with 32 GB RAM and 4 hyper cores, yet it has audio stuttering problems caused by the Windows Memory Manager ("System and compressed Memory") intermittently pre-empting the ASIO thread for who-knows-what reason.

Don't be afraid to try WASAPI/Windows Audio. I know that sounds like heresy to many on KVR, but that's actually an area where Microsoft has made improvements. See this recent thread on Cakewalk's Sonar forum.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Wasapi-vs-asi ... 93308.aspx

[tonedef71]

Microsoft does provide a utility to hide Windows updates

Microsoft is doing away with that. See the above article I linked to.

Really? I read the article you posted, but I could not find anything mentioned about the utility. Does it specifically say in that article somewhere that the utility would stop working at a future date?

Don't be afraid to try WASAPI/Windows Audio. I know that sounds like heresy to many on KVR, but that's actually an area where Microsoft has made improvements. See this recent thread on Cakewalk's Sonar forum.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Wasapi-vs-asi ... 93308.aspx

Thanks. I will try out the WASAPI mode driver (perhaps Microsoft is secretly sabotaging the performance of ASIO in Windows 10 to improve adoption of WASAPI anyway). I am happy to see that WASAPI is supported by Voice Meeter just like ASIO.

[incubus]

Ok, I say it again, even though there are SUPPOSEDLY ways of stopping updates,

THEY
DON'T
LAST.

Sorry, but most of us have tried to keep it from updating. The collective is too strong.

[koolkeys]

Forced updates aside, I'm actually very happy with Windows 10. I upgraded from Windows 8.1 on my laptop, and from Windows 7 on my desktop. I did have a few glitches at first on my desktop, and a minor issue with the fast startup and sleep functionality on my laptop, but everything else has been very solid. I expect those things considering how many different types of software, and how many drivers, including beta drivers and software, I run at any given time. I run multiple server environments and other items as well. So I always anticipate some issues. But I'm happily running Windows 10 and really love what they have done with it. It performs better for me than 7 or 8 did, and I am a huge fan of the combined Start menu and tiles system.

I don't do as much audio these days, but I haven't noticed anything of significance to report either way. Everything seems to run as well as it did before. Between audio work, graphic and web design work, and gaming, I use my computers for a bit of everything these days. No complaints here.

Brent

[incubus]

Well, you know me, I bitch about the things that DON'T work

I just hate shitty unnecessary things. If everyone is happy, don't f**k with it. What can cortana do for me? STFU and go away