Windows 8 lag when window is not in focus

[mateusviccari]

Hi guys, i just want to know if there is a solution for this problem.
First, i use reaper and kontakt. I noticed that sometimes, when for some reason, if kontakt window loses focus, or i keep anything in front of reaper main window (so reaper loses focus), the audio starts stuttering, a chord stops playing even if the notes weren't released, that kind of stuff... Anything runs normal when having all windows in focus (Reaper and Kontakt UI).
I don't know if this is a windows issue, or asio, or reaper, or kontakt... Does anybody have faced something like this and know anything about it?

[dsan@mail.com]

Well, this is certainly a new one, and I'll hazard a guess it's something about your system. Not W8 or Reaper or Kontakt, but most likely some setting or device driver. Windows 8, Kontakt and Reaper are very solid.

First be sure all drivers, including onboard chip drivers are up to date. Check you computer manual for how to do this.

If it's drop outs you experience it's possible your settings are not correct. Make sure your sound module and Reaper both have the same buffer settings and the same sample rate settings. You will set up the settings in each device panel (Reaper/Sound module)

Not sure which sound module you have to better advise how to do this so check the manual of the device. Be sure to make the setting and restart the device with Reaper closed.

Then, if you need to reset in Reaper be sure to restart it afterwards. Probably a good idea to restart your system also.

I assume you have made the recommended tweaks to the sytem also? If not take a look at these:
https://www.steinberg.net/en/support/kn ... -daws.html

http://support.presonus.com/entries/213 ... s-Settings

Please post your system specs, sound module and specs and other relevant information for best help. Otherwise we are shooting in the dark here.

Cheers!
dsan

[mateusviccari]

Well, this is certainly a new one, and I'll hazard a guess it's something about your system. Not W8 or Reaper or Kontakt, but most likely some setting or device driver. Windows 8, Kontakt and Reaper are very solid.

First be sure all drivers, including onboard chip drivers are up to date. Check you computer manual for how to do this.

If it's drop outs you experience it's possible your settings are not correct. Make sure your sound module and Reaper both have the same buffer settings and the same sample rate settings. You will set up the settings in each device panel (Reaper/Sound module)

Not sure which sound module you have to better advise how to do this so check the manual of the device. Be sure to make the setting and restart the device with Reaper closed.

Then, if you need to reset in Reaper be sure to restart it afterwards. Probably a good idea to restart your system also.

I assume you have made the recommended tweaks to the sytem also? If not take a look at these:
https://www.steinberg.net/en/support/kn ... -daws.html

http://support.presonus.com/entries/213 ... s-Settings

Please post your system specs, sound module and specs and other relevant information for best help. Otherwise we are shooting in the dark here.

Cheers!
dsan

Thanks for helping.
I don't think it must be a hardware problem, i have a pretty decent notebook (I7 4700 with 8GB of RAM and dedicated video card). But who knows...
I use a M-audio keystation 88 plugged in the computer directly in the USB, so this is the only "device" i have. I use it with ASIO4all.
I have tried several VST's (Addictive keys, True Pianos, Steingerg The Grand, Pianoteq) and they work perfectly fine, the problem just happens in kontakt (Using Fazzioli ebony concert grand because i only have this library).

You said that i should have the same Buffer setting and sample rate on the device and reaper, by "device" you mean my keyboard? This values are fixed? I coultn't find them on Keystation manual

[UltraJv]

edited. If the problem only happens in kontakt, then its something about kontakt.

[mateusviccari]

Hi guys, i think i solved my problem...
It was not caused by focus out of the window, but by a MS Windows background service.
I noticed that when the lag used to occur, there was a windows service running on 100% disk usage, it was something related to disk defragmentation.
I just disabled automatic disk defragment schedule and things started working good, until now i played more than two hours with fazzioli VST in kontakt and not a single lag... Hope it remains like this... Thanks for the help everyone.

[dsan@mail.com]

Glad to hear you got it sorted. Thanks for getting back to us with the info

Defragmentation is essential for a smooth running audio machine.

If you leave your machine running during times you are not using it I suggest scheduling defragmentation during that time. I have mine set to defrag at 2 am every day.

Windows background services can be quite disruptive. I suggest again, if you have not done so, run those tweaks from the sources I previously provided.

Cheers!
dsan

[BertKoor]

Defragmentation is essential for a smooth running audio machine.

The jury is still out on that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defragmen ... nce_issues

file systems such as NTFS are designed to decrease the likelihood of fragmentation. Improvements in modern hard drives such as RAM cache, faster platter rotation speed, command queuing (SCSI/ATA TCQ or SATA NCQ), and greater data density reduce the negative impact of fragmentation on system performance to some degree, though increases in commonly used data quantities offset those benefits. However, modern systems profit enormously from the huge disk capacities currently available, since partially filled disks fragment much less than full disks

Defragging can even have negative impact on an audio system. Suppose I record a dozen (or two) audio tracks of several minutes (or hours) simultaneously. The disk stores each point in time of all tracks on disk tracks very close together. So during playback the head does not need to move that much.
After defragmentation the data that logically belongs together is now scattered all over the place! More movement of the disk head, less performance.

[camsr]

Yeah Defrag can be a drag.
Heres how I solved a rather crummy problem that bertkoor mentioned, use partitioning.

[mateusviccari]

Yeah Defrag can be a drag.
Heres how I solved a rather crummy problem that bertkoor mentioned, use partitioning.

I thought of doing that... How did you do?
A small partition for windows and another for apps, vst files and projects?

[dsan@mail.com]

Defragmentation is essential for a smooth running audio machine.

The jury is still out on that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defragmen ... nce_issues

file systems such as NTFS are designed to decrease the likelihood of fragmentation. Improvements in modern hard drives such as RAM cache, faster platter rotation speed, command queuing (SCSI/ATA TCQ or SATA NCQ), and greater data density reduce the negative impact of fragmentation on system performance to some degree, though increases in commonly used data quantities offset those benefits. However, modern systems profit enormously from the huge disk capacities currently available, since partially filled disks fragment much less than full disks

Defragging can even have negative impact on an audio system. Suppose I record a dozen (or two) audio tracks of several minutes (or hours) simultaneously. The disk stores each point in time of all tracks on disk tracks very close together. So during playback the head does not need to move that much.
After defragmentation the data that logically belongs together is now scattered all over the place! More movement of the disk head, less performance.

Well now, this is quite confusing.

This article written January 2013 states the opposite. That defrag puts the blocks together so the read head is NOT going all over the place.
http://lifehacker.com/5976424/what-is-d ... y-computer

What you say Bert makes sense that it is counter intuitive and inefficient to have your chunks of audio all over the platter but that's not my understanding of a defrag or of disk storage routines.

The way I understand disk store is that when writing the system drops the chunks into any available slot, attempting to write into adjacent areas when it can.

Naturally, in your scenario the optimum will be to have all chunks next to each other; however, this may only be possible on a new disk. Once you start removing files, freeing up disk space, the next writes will utilize those spaces causing the writes to be all over the disk.

I could be wrong; however, in your scenario I doubt those minutes or hours of capture are written into adjacent slots unless adjacent slots are available, such as with a new, unused, drive.

I am under the impression this is the purpose of defrag - to move far away files together. Admittedly I'm not an expert of such matters.

Still, it's always great to learn something new. Thank you for pointing me to the Wiki article

Cheers!
dsan

[camsr]

I think all the Windows defrag does is attempt to improve file contiguity, NOT position them in any strategic manner.