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.
Native users should also refer to this page for additional recommendations.
Windows 10 Fall Creator (1709) : Pyramix 11.0.6 / Ovation 7.0.6 / VCube 7.0.6 / AMR 11.0.6 required
Windows 10 Spring Creator (1803) : Pyramix 11.1.4 / Ovation 7.1.4 / VCube 7.1.4 / AMR 11.1.4 required
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.
Native users should also refer to this page for additional recommendations.
Windows 10 Fall Creator (1709) : Pyramix 11.0.6 / Ovation 7.0.6 / VCube 7.0.6 / AMR 11.0.6 required
Windows 10 Spring Creator (1803) : Pyramix 11.1.4 / Ovation 7.1.4 / VCube 7.1.4 / AMR 11.1.4 required. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.4 version)
Windows 10 October 2018 (1809) : Pyramix 11.1.6 / Ovation 7.1.6 / VCube 7.1.6 / AMR 11.1.6 required. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.6.2 version)
Windows 10 May 2019 (1903) : Pyramix 12.0.5 - Pyramix 14.0 / Ovation 8.1.5 - Ovation 10.0 / VCube 8.1.5 - VCube 10.0 / AMR 12.0.5 - AMR14 required. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.7 version)
Windows 10 November 2019 update (1909) : Pyramix 12.0.5 - Pyramix 14.0 / Ovation 8.1.5 - Ovation 10.0 / VCube 8.1.5 - VCube 10.0 / AMR 12.0.5 - AMR14 required. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.7 version)
Windows 10 May 2020 (2004): Pyramix 25th Hotfix 3 - Pyramix 14.0 / Ovation 9.0.6 - Ovation 10.0 / VCube 9.0.6 - VCube 10.0 / AMR 13.0.6 - AMR14. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.7.4 version)
Windows 10 Fall 2020 (20H2) : Pyramix 25th Hotfix 3 - Pyramix 14.0 / Ovation 9.0.6 - Ovation 10.0 / VCube 9.0.6 - VCube 10.0 / AMR 13.0.6 - AMR14. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.7.4 version)
Windows 10 October 2018 May 2021 (180921H1) : Pyramix 11.1.6 / Ovation 7.1.6 / VCube 7.1.6 / AMR 11.1.6 required :Pyramix 25th Hotfix 3 - Pyramix 14.0 / Ovation 9.0.6 - Ovation 10.0 / VCube 9.0.6 - VCube 10.0 / AMR 13.0.6 - AMR14. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.67.2 4 version)
Windows 10 May 2019 November 2021 (190321H2) : Pyramix 12Pyramix 25th Hotfix 3 - Pyramix 14.0 .5 / Ovation 89.0.6 - Ovation 10.5 0 / VCube 89.0.5 6 - VCube 10.0 / AMR 1213.0.5 required6 - AMR14. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.7.4 version)
Windows 10 November 2019 update 2022 (1909Pyramix 1222H2) : Pyramix 25th Hotfix 3 - Pyramix 14.0 .5 / Ovation 89.0.6 - Ovation 10.5 0 / VCube 89.0.6 - VCube 10.0 .5 / AMR 1213.0.5 required6 - AMR14. (MassCore mode : RTX64 3.7.4 version)
Windows 10 May 2020 update (2004) : Currently not compatible, Merging recommends you do not install this version for the moment.Editions : Pro or Enterprise (Home editions not tested)
Merging highly recommends you "defer feature updates" in Windows 10, see Updates section below.
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If you can access your computer BIOS, it is recommended to disable all power management features of your CPU, as this implies changes in the CPU speed and that is far from optimal for any audio application.
Same applies to overclocking.
Please have a look at your motherboard manual to locate those settings, may vary depending of the manufacturer.
Intel Turbo Boost Technology: Disabled
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E): Disabled
C-State Support (C3, C6, C7, C8 State): all Disabled
CPU EIST Function: Disabled (also called Intel Enhanced SpeedStep, that should always be disabled)
CPU power saving mode: Disabled
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Install the drivers ONLY, do not install the utilities it can cause much trouble.
Do not install Intel® Control Center that is included in Intel® Rapid Storage Technology installer or Intel® Management Engine installer.
WARNING: Since PMX V11/ Ovation V7, MassCore users running a RAID configuration must use a dedicated RTX dongle (SSK-HUD-RTX) to authorize MassCore.
This issue only affects the system (Windows ) RAID drives, if you have RAID Data drives, a dedicated dongle is not required.
Do not install the RealTek Ethernet Diagnostic utility.
For MassCore users : do not install Intel® Advanced Network Services included in Intel® LAN driver, it may slow down the whole system.
may slow down the whole system.
GRAPHIC CARD DRIVERS
Please install your graphic card driver.
It is mandatory to configure the driver according to the Merging Graphic Cards recommended settings page.
Not properly configured drivers may trigger glitches and drops !
WINDOWS CONTROL PANEL
To access Windows 10 Anniversary (1607) Control Panel, right click on Windows Start and select Control Panel.
On other Windows 10 versions (since 1703), type "control panel" in Windows Search box.
You can right click on the control panel icon from the search result and pin it to the Start menu or Taskbar.
For ease of use, it is recommended to set the Control Panel to Small Icons.
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File Explorer Options > View tab :
Hidden files and folders : set it to Show hidden files, folders or drives
Hide empty drives : disable
Hide extensions for known file types : disable
Leave Hide protected operating system files (recommended) active
Power Options
MassCore and RAVENNA ASIO/ Merging Audio Device users have to first disable the "Fast Boot Startup feature", which indeed put the computer to sleep when you select shut down.
Click on "Choose what the power buttons do” on the left hand side of Power options page.
Then click on "Change Settings that are currently unavailable" and uncheck the "Turn on fast startup" option. Click on Save Changes. Note also that hibernate / sleep is not supported by MassCore engine.
This is also not supported by the Ovation / Pyramix ADR keyboard.
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MassCore users : Set the power scheme RTX – recommended.
Native & MassCore : then Change plan settings
Screen Saver (Turn off the display) is usually set to Never. If you are recording, you surely don’t want the display to turn off after several minutes!
Put the computer to sleep must be set to Never
Access Change advanced power settings and make sure that:
Hard Disk > Turn off Hard disk after: Never
Desktop background settings > Slide show: Paused
Sleep > Sleep after: Never / Allow hybrid sleep: off / Hibernate after: Never / Allow wake timers: Disable.
USB Settings > USB selective suspend setting: Disabled
Intel(R) Graphics Settings : Maximum Performance
PCI Express > Link State Power Management: Off
Processor power management > System Cooling policy : Active
Minimum and Maximum processor state: 100%
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Windows can notify the user of some vents by playing a sound.
If your ASIO device is also used by Windows to play its sounds, it may cause audio drops as it will access the device.
In that case it is recommended to access the Sounds tab and set the Sound Scheme to No Sounds.
Spring Creator : Sound settings have moved in Windows Settings > System > Sound
System > Advanced System Settings
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Spring Creator : Sound settings have moved in Windows Settings > System > Sound
System > Advanced System Settings
Windows 20H2 Users :
The Control Panel > System is no longer accessible.
Please type advanced system settings in Windows search field (next to Windows Start button) to access those pages.
Advanced tab > Performance
Click on the Settings button in the Performance section.
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- (1803 and above) Display > Graphic settings : graphic performances can be configured per application.
Select "Classic App" and browse to C:/Program Files/Merging Technologies.
Add Pyramix.exe - Ovation.exe - VCube.exe depending on your configuration.
Then select the application(s) and click on Options, set the graphics preference to High Performance. - (2004 and above) Display > Graphic settings : Hardware accelerated GPU Scheduling. Merging recommends to enable this feature if available on your system (depends on the graphic card capabilities).
- In Notifications & actions, you can configure which quick action tile and notification will be displayed.displayed (edit your quick actions)
Merging recommends to only have “All settings” & “Network” tiles active.
In the Notifications section, you can configure how and which application can send Notifications.
Merging recommends to disable the “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows”, "Suggest ways I can finish setting up my device..." and "Show me the Windows welcome experience..." for better performance. - Focus assist can be configured to remove several Windows notifications. (1803 and above)
- Tablet: Merging recommends you set it to Never use tablet mode and don't switch to tablet mode.
- Multitasking : Merging recommends to set all Snap options to off, especially for computers not using dedicated graphic cards.
Switching between Virtual desktops is not recommended during real time operation.
In the Timeline section, Merging recommends you disable the "show suggestions occasionally in the timeline". (Spring Creator) - (1809) Clipboard : you can activate the Clipboard history feature (to save multiple items in Windows clipboard).
Note : This feature is only applicable to few Windows applications for the moment. - Remote desktop : since Spring Creator update, remote desktop is disabled by default.
Note : Remote desktop is not supported in MT Security panel, you cannot import keys through remote desktop.
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Since 1903, you may configure Search to search your entire PC (disabled by default). Please note that this search mode will increase the CPU consumption.
This can be set in Search > Searching Windows : Enhanced mode> Searching Windows : Enhanced mode.
Since 2004, a new Indexer Performance - Respect device Power Mode Settings is available. Merging recommends you let this setting to Off, as this will increase CPU consumption.
Update & Security
(In Windows 10 Anniversary, Windows Defender is only accessible through Windows Control Panel > Windows Defender.)
Full Virus Scanning should not run at the same time as Merging software.
If you plan to install an Antivirus software, Windows Defender will be disabled.
You should also disable scanning of the Pyramix files (pmx, pmf, pml, pad, pmw) but also media files (wav, aif, flac, mp3,...), because each time the DAW have to access such file, your antivirus may scan it.
AVAST has already caused a lot of problems with several Merging programs, it is therefore not recommended.
See this page for help on configuring your antivirus exceptions.
Windows Defender users can download and run a script to include the required rules in Windows Defender.
MTWindowsDefenderExclusions.zip
Windows Defender automatic scans have to be configured in Windows Task scheduler.
Go in Windows Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Task Scheduler.
Browse the Task scheduler library to Microsoft > Windows > Windows Defender.
Right click on the Windows Defender Scheduled Scan task and select Properties.
in the Conditions tab, set it to Start only if the computer is idle, and Stop if the computer ceases to be idle.
in Windows Settings > Update & Security, select Windows Security.
In Virus & Threat Protection > Virus & Threat Protection settings, the Controlled folder access feature should be left to default.
In App & browser control, the Exploit protection feature should be left to default (some third party drivers may not install otherwise)
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Cortana can be disabled (recommended but optional)
In Windows Search field, type GPEDIT.MSC
Right click on the gpedit.msc and select Run as Administrator
Browse to Computer Configuration > Adminsistrative Templates > Windows Components > Search and set Allow Cortana to disabled.
If you want to keep Cortana, please configure it :
Fall Creator (1709) / Spring Creator (1803) / October 2018 (1809) :
Cortana can be configured through Windows Settings > Cortana.
In the Talk to Cortana page, set "Let Cortana respond to Hey Cortana" and"Use Cortana even when my device is locked" to off.
In Permissions & History, set "Windows Cloud Search" to off. Turning off ""View activity history", "My device history" and "Activity recommendations"(1809 only) is optional.
May 2019 (1903) / November 2019
Cortana can be configured through Windows Settings > Cortana.
In the Talk to Cortana page, set "Let Cortana respond to Hey Cortana" and"Use Cortana even when my device is locked" to off.
In Permissions > Manage the information Cortana can access from this device, Merging recommends you set all to off.
In Windows Settings > Search > Permissions & History, set "Windows Cloud Search" to off. Turning off "My device history" is optional.History, set "Windows Cloud Search" to off. Turning off "My device history" is optional.
Taskbar
Right click on the taskbar to access its configuration.
Merging recommends you turn off the News and interests, and disable Show Cortana and Show Taskview.
Taskview may cause glitches if used during real-time operation, it is therefore recommended to not use it while recording or other critical operation.
Windows Store Apps auto-update
Merging recommends you disable the auto updates on Windows Apps, for better performance.
Open Windows Store, and click on the profile icon on the top right corner and select settings (On Spring Creator, click on the ... icon)
Set “Update apps automatically” and show products on tile to offor "App updates" (depending on your Windows Store version).
OneDrive configuration / uninstall
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RAVENNA ASIO users have to set WOL & Shutdown Link Speed to Not Speed Down.
For better performance, RAVENNA ASIO users should use a dedicated RAVENNA network adapter.
Find more details on this page.
Please also follow the Native recommendations from this page.
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In both case, Merging recommends you disable updates from other computers (your computer can receive, but also send updates directly to other computers, costing computer resources and network bandwidth) .
Go in Windows Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Advanced options > Choose how updates are deliveredDelivery Optimization.
“Updates from more than one place”“Allow downloads from other PCs” should be set to off. The second option will be automatically disabled.
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 was DPC Latency Checker, but the reported values are false in Windows 8 and 10.
The alternative solution is to use the LatencyMon tool,
Download the tool and install it on your computer.
You can start the test by clicking on the Play icon on the top left corner.
To get useful results, the tool should run for quite some time (10 minutes minimum).
The driver or process using the highest DPC or ISR is clearly stated in the main window.
If you have too high values, you can get more detailed information in the Processes or Drivers tab.
Don't pay too much attention to the hard pagefault resolution time (last indicator)
If you have higher values, you will have to search for the driver/ device that is causing the issue by disabling them one by one.
Remember that some devices cannot be disabled, proceed with caution.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LAN specific (usually ndis.sys),USB devices, on-board audio, PCI / PCIe devices are the common culprits.
On laptops, the ACPI battery driver is also a common problem (ACPI.sys), you can try to disable (do not uninstall!) the "Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery" and "Microsoft AC Adapter" listed under Batteries in Windows Device Manager (but pay attention to not disable any other ACPI device listed under System devices, your computer may not start anymore !)
Note on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth : If you have DPC issues related to Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth, not only the driver might be the culprit, but also the stability of the Wi-Fi network (if the signal is not stable, the Wi-Fi adapter constantly have to work which will introduce DPC latencies) or the Bluetooth devices connected to your computer. Therefore this means that if Wi-Fi does not cause DPC issue in one place, it could in another place with unstable Wi-Fi. Same applies to Bluetooth, it may cause DPC issues with certain devices only.
Be careful if you want to use Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth on your computer.
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