Tweaking Your Laptop for Audio Recording

I have a laptop for recording voice-overs on the road, even when on vacation. A voice talent's work is never done (cue the superhero music). Today's laptops pretty much can get the job done in a stellar fashion right out of the box, but then there are some issues with Vista...but it seems that recently A/D soundcard manufacturers are making drivers that work better with Vista. Everyone's computer will have its own hang-ups and glitches, and there are a many different tweaks one can make to improve audio recording performance, and many of them are well documented. Here are some of the more unusual ones I've stumbled across that actually can make a difference if you're at your wits' end about tweaking your laptop for optimized audio recording:

1.) Put your Temp files and Session files on different drives. Use an external drive for your Temp files. Audition recommends this, and it makes a load of sense: why make the computer work on two levels with the same drive simultaneously? I've done this tweak with an old laptop, and it made the 4200 rpm drives sound like 7200 rpm drives.

2.) Disable your CD/DVD drive temporarily. This will really get a computer that limps along back up to speed.

3.) Knock out your Startup Items via (run > msconfig > startup ...then de-select the junk). You don't need Quick Time auto-start or the Printer Updater or Advanced Monitor Configuration or various software updaters. Chuck 'em out!

4.) Use windows classic display scheme, and knock out all of the display effects, and set your color quality to lower settings. In general, do what you can to have your display and video working at the lowest level possible.

It's tough being chef, cook, and bottle-washer...good luck!