OK. Thanks to your advice, I've just created a MUSIC User's Profile because of the "quavery" piano sound problem that just began occurring in my regular profile. For the MUSIC profile I implemented most of the tips in "Tuning Tips." However, my Windows XP Task Manager shows that in my MUSIC profile there are still 54 processes running. I think that when one or more of these background processes start up, which they do automatically from time to time, and access the hard drive (I have two 500 Gb drives in a backup-RAID configuration), it (or they) interfere with the sound production of my Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro Synthesizer A, for the piano sound of my FATAR 88-key keyboard controller (which has NO local sound and is connected to the MIDI In port of the I/O module of the Elite Pro card) becomes "quavery." I can reset the piano sound to "true" by restarting the computer, but that lasts only for a while. The quavery sound occurs when I am using the Creative SoundFont Bank Manager (set to "Piano I"). It also occurs when I am using the eMedia "Piano and Keyboard Method" software . I haven't tested it out in BIAB yet, but it appears that it is not caused by any particular software.

I don't want to "End Task" in the Task Manager, because I don't know what I am doing ending tasks that are background programs. I'm afraid of losing something permanently that the XP system needs. Is there a "safe" way to end these background processes temporarily so that I can eventually discover what is causing the quavery sound?

I need to "stop" functions like Napster, AT&T Yahoo! Music Jukebox, my Logitech QuickCam, iPod.exe, etc.

I've noticed that when I disable the anti-virus, firewall, auto updating for the MUSIC profile, they remain disabled when I switch back into my regular profile, so I have to reset them.

I welcome any suggestions you can give me. Thanks!

Gordon
San Francisco

Last edited by gfross; 11/11/07 07:52 AM.