Windows has been designed for a wide variety of applications. Unfortunately that means that, out-of-the-box, it works correctly for office or entertainment applications, but for DAW applications, several settings and features have to be fine-tuned.
Windows 7 SP1 is mandatory to run Merging software.
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2.WINDOWS CONFIGURATION
DEVICE DRIVERS
Merging recommends to install WHQL (Driver certified by Microsoft) or if not available, the latest drivers from the manufacturer website.
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You should install Important updates, recommended updates are optional.
You may create a System Restore point before installing Windows updates.
Win 7 users: click on Change Settings: Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them.
Due to the "Meltdown and Spectre" Windows Update, Pyramix 11.0.6 / Ovation 7.0.6 is mandatory for MassCore users.
If for any reason you can't update to that version, do not install updates KB4056894, KB4056897 and any other following Important update (as Windows update are cumulative)
See this page for further details on Windows 7 updates configuration.
DPC LATENCY CHECK
To handle real time application, the CPU gets a defined amount of time to perform the required tasks.
If those tasks are delayed, the result is usually drop-outs in the signal.
A common tool to verify if your computer is able to handle real-time audio is DPC Latency Checker.
If you experience DPC latency issues, disable each device one by one to see if there is any improvement in DPC latencies.
Remember that some devices cannot be disabled.
Wi-Fi, LAN, specific USB devices, on-board audio, PCI / PCIe devices are the common culprits.
See http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml for further details.
!!! The DPC latency utility runs on Windows 8 or 10 but does not show correct values.