This mysteriously disappeared from the forum. It was still in the archives, but as I often refer newbies to it, I thought it was worth having immediately available.)

I STRONGLY recommend that all those serious about music and audio production on their PC check out the following link: http://videoediting.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=13970

I also recommend the book "PC Recording Studios for Dummies" to help get started. I am NOT a newbie--I have been doing sound and recording since the mid-70s and under the hood of my PC for at least 10 years--but making it all work on a PC was about to get the best of me. The author writes in an annoyingly cutesy manner, but the book is loaded with useful information. PLUS, it is equally applicable to PCs AND Macs--he uses Logic Pro and Pro Tools as his working examples of applications throughout the book.

Hope this helps ya fight the good fight,
R.

P.S. 02/27/08: There is a program which many of you know about--Spybot S&D. Anyone who uses the Internet should have this anyway to keep their PCs free of spyware and hijackers. It has another function especially helpful in terms of performance. Set "View" to "Advanced". Then, under "Tools", click "Startup". You will see a list of programs which start with Windows, many of which are inaccessible in Windows itself. Simply uncheck any that you don't want running and restart. You may have to do this a few times with some (notably Quicktime), but it will eventually pare things down to just what you want running. This is a big help with brand-name machines which come loaded with a lot of accessories and help functions not needed for day-to-day usage.

Happy BiaBoxing!
R.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."