Global Music Resource

See the Hardware Section for preparing computer hardware and MS Windows.

First, are you left-handed and your mouse is set for a right-handed person?

• In Windows 98 double Click on the My Computer icon
• Double Click on the Control Panel icon
• Double Click on the Mouse icon
• Click once on the Basics Tab
• In the middle of the dialog box you will see Button Selection
• Click once on the Right or Upper radial button
• Click once on the OK Button at the bottom of the Mouse Dialog Box
• Close the Control Panel dialog box and the My Computer dialog box

To determine how much free drive space you have for installing new programs or undertaking a large audio project

• In Windows 98 SE, Me and 2000 double Click on the My Computer icon
• Right click on the C: drive and click once on Properties from the pop-up menu
• The properties dialog box will open and gives a clear indication of unused space
• On may also perform Disk Cleanup, Scan Disk and Defra from the Properties box

If you purchase a multi-channel recording software application from one of the major developers, complete a few minor preliminary tasks in order to insure a clean install of the program (all versions of MS Windows):

• Defrag the hard drive so that the application will be installed in continuous sectors
• Close any other open programs prior to the installation
• Close programs that run in the background such as Task Scheduler, instant messaging or multimedia players that open at Start (look at the System Tray in the lower right hand corner of the computer’s screen, next to the clock, by right clicking on these icons there is usually an option to suspend or exit the application)
• Disable or deactivate the anitvirus software application (again by right clicking on the icon in the System Tray)

To create a Folder and File for your work in a Windows-based system:

• In Windows 98 SE Click Start once
• Click (or merely point to) Programs once
• Click once on the Windows Explorer icon
• The Exploring Dialog Box usually opens with the C: Drive already highlighted. If not, click on the C: Drive once to highlight.
• Click once on the File button in the upper left hand corner
• When the Dialog Box opens, move the Pointer Arrow Cursor down to point or click on New
• Click on Folder
• A Folder will be created that is highlighted with the Cursor blinking within. Type the name of the file you with to create by giving a relevant name (Wav Files, Recording, Audio Data, etc.)
• Press the Enter Key and the Folder is created.
• To create Files within this Folder, go through the same steps above to open up Windows Explorer. After that, use the Scroll Bar to search the C: Drive Root Directory to locate your new Folder (it should have been alphabetically inserted between existing folders)
• Highlight your new Folder by clicking on it once. Repeat the steps outlined above by clicking on File, New, etc., to create a File (really a new Folder within your recently created Folder) to hold various recordings, files, etc.

In order to have certain audio files opened by certain applications running on an MS Windows-based system:

• In Windows 98 SE Click Start once
• Click (or merely point to) Programs once
• Click once on the Windows Explorer icon
• Click once on the View button in the Tool Bar along the top of the Windows Explorer Dialog Box
• Move the Pointer Arrow Cursor down to point or click on Folder Options
• Click once on the File Types Tab
• Use the Scroll Bar to scroll through the Registered File Types. When you find the type of audio file you are looking for, click on it to highlight it. The dialog box will automatically display the properties of the file.
• Click once on the Edit button
• Click once on either the Open or Play option in the Actions Dialog Box
• Click once on the Edit button. The Editing Action for Type dialog box will open and you can either enter the string for the application or browse your directory for the application. You should know ahead of time whether the application will support the file type.
• In Windows 98, Me, 2000 and NT open Windows Explorer
• Open a Folder that contains a file type you are interested in
• Click the file once to highlight it
• Hold down the Shift key and right click the file and a menu will open
• Click once on the Open with… option, and the Open With dialog box will open
• Scroll through the registered programs for the correct application (you may see names of programs you thought you had uninstalled)
• Double click on the application you wish to use to open this specific file type
• If you also place a check within the box next to Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File then in the future it will do just that

To turn off the Power Management so it will not interfere with recording and CD data transfer applications:

• In Windows 98 SE Double Click on the My Computer icon
• Double Click on the Control Panel icon
• Double Click on the Power Management icon to open the Power Management Properties Dialog Box
• Click once on the Power Schemes Tab
• In the Systems Standby option, open the Dialog Box by clicking on the arrow on the right of the Box, then click once on “Never” to highlight
• In the Turn Off Monitor option, open the Dialog Box by clicking on the arrow on the right of the Box, then click once on “Never” to highlight

Similarly, in Windows XP, animated graphics of the operating system itself can consume resources that may promote audio latency, thus:

• Right Click the My Computer icon
• Select Properties from the menu
• Click once on the Advanced Tab
• Within the Performance box you will see the Visual Effects Tab
• Click once on the Settings button
• Click once on the Best Performance button (this will deselect / uncheck all items in the list, clicking on Best Appearance reselects all the items again)
• Click once on the Custom button to be able to work through the list and check only the items you desire
• Click on the O.K. button to save any changes

Similarly, in Windows 98 SE, Me and XP (not 2000), one can use msconfig (MS Configuration Utility) to reduce the number of MS Windows and application applets that run in the background and consume resources that may promote audio latency, thus:

• Click once on Start
• Click once on Run
• Within the Open line (within the Run dialog box) type: misconfig, then click once on OK
• The MS Configuration Utility box will open
• Click once on the Start Tab
• A list of applets has a box that is checked or unchecked next to it on the left
• You must be extremely careful with what you decide to deselect. It is possible to render MS Windows incapable of booting
• Look at the file location description on the right for an explanation of each applet. Do not uncheck any applets related to the MS Windows operating system (Systray, TaskMonitor, ScanRegistry, Explorer, PowerProfile, StateMgr)
• If you do select any items then you will receive a Selective Startup Mode notification message next time you reboot your computer. This provides you with an opportunity to undo any changes. Unfortunately, you will not know until you have rebooted whether you may have unchecked an integral applet to the Windows operating system.
• If for some reason you cannot reboot the computer then you can start the computer in Safe Mode by starting the computer again while holding the Control Key (Ctrl) while windows starts to load. Within Safe Mode you have the opportunity to type msconfig again and you can reselect the applet you unchecked, and you can attempt to reboot the computer again.

To clean up the hard drive in order to increase disk storage space for audio projects:

• In Windows 98 SE Double click on the My Computer icon
• Right click once on the C:Drive icon
• Click once on Properties in the drop-down menu (a Properties dialog box will open)
• Click once on the Disk Cleanup button
• Several types of files that can be deleted safely (Temporary Internet, Offline Web pages, Downloaded Program files, Recycle Bin and Temporary files) are listed. Click once in the box next to each file type in order to have these types of files deleted.
• Click once on OK (you will be prompted to be sure you want to delete theses files, click Yes)
• The disk cleanup utility will close when it is finished
• Close the Properties dialog box
• Close the My Computer menu box

To determine what applications are opening with Start-up of your computer, and reduce the amount to improve system performance and conserve resources for audio projects:

• In Windows 98 SE and Me right click on the Start Button
• Click once on Explore and Windows Explorer will open; If this does not automatically take you to the Start Menu folder in Windows Explorer then double click the C: drive, double click Windows and double click Start Menu and the Programs Folder listing will expand
• Click once on Programs and then on the plus sign within the box next to Programs to expand the listing of programs. These are all of the applications that are opening (not in their entirety) at Start-up
• In the right hand pane of the Windows Explorer window you can click once on a program to highlight it and then click once on the Delete button at the top to remove the program only from Start-up (this does not permanently delete the application from your computer, you can still find it in the Windows, Programs folder)

To adjust the volume control of the Windows OS (not the actual soundcard software application, although adjusting the Windows OS will affect the quality of the audible sound output):

• In Windows 98 SE Left Click the Volume icon in the right hand bottom corner of the screen
• Click once on the highligted Open Volume Controls
• A basic Play Control center will open in the left-hand upper corner
• The volume and balance of several audio functions can be adjusted
• The Advanced Properties button for the Play Control Balance&$47;Volume and the Microphone Balance/Volume allow one to adjust the Treble and Bass audible sound output. In the Microphone Balance/Volume Advanced Properties has an option to click on a 20dB mic boost which is very helpful for improving microphone response.
• Click Options and then Exit to save your adjustments.
• In Windows XP Click Start, select the Control Panel
• Double Click the Sounds and Audio Devices icon
• Click the Volume Tab to adust the Balance and Volume of various audio functions. In addition, if you have 5.1 surround sound speakers attached to your computer, in the Volume dialog box click on the Advanced Properties button within the Speakers section, this will will open the Advanced Properties dialog box and there is an option in the Speaker Set-up box to select 5.1 surround configuration.
• Click the Audio Tab to select which devices will be used for Recording audio Playback and MIDI Playback

If you have installed two different soundcards and you want to use one for recording projects and one for playback (this should not really be necessary if the new sound card is a high quality full duplex card); or perhaps you are having problems getting sound from the sound card (MS Windows 98 SE and Me):

• Click Start once
• Click (or merely point to) Settings
• Click Control Panel once
• Double Click on the Multimedia icon and the Multimedia Properties dialog box will open
• Click once on the Audio Tab
• You can use the drop down menu in both of the Playback preferred device and the Recording preferred device sections to select the sound card of your choice. In most instances it will be the same sound card for both.
• The Advanced Properties button in both of the Playback preferred device and the Recording preferred device sections allows one to improve the playback and/or recording quality.
• Click Apply for an changes made to be updated

On the Windows 98 SE, Me and 2000 operating system one can utilize a basic sampler and editor. To begin:

• click once on Start
• Click once (or merely point to) Programs
• Click once (or merely point to) Accessories
• Click once (or merely point to) Entertainment
• Click once on Sound Recorder

You may have to locate and open the Mixer for your sound card and select the source (.wav, MIDI or line-in) and specifiy the recording source. If one inserted a microphone into the connection in the back of computer then you could record by clicking on the Record (button with the red circle). Once completed you must click File, Save As and then specify a folder / file to store the sample to hard disk in .wav format.

One can also open an existing digital audio file (in .wav format) and edit it. With Sound Recorder open, click on File, Open and then use the drop down Windows Explorer-like Open dialog box to navigate to the folder to locate the file. Once the file is located and then clicked once to be highlighted, click Open and the file is loaded into the Sound Recorder. Click Play (button with the arrow pointing right) to audition the sound.

The basic effects in the Effects drop down menu are Echo, Volume and Speed increase/decrease, all of which can be applied several times if desired. One can also Reverse the signal. Of interest is that one can insert one file, move the slider back to the left hand side, and click Edit, then Mix With File, and you can add an additional file which will play simultaneously with the first file. If you do not move the slider back to the left then the new sample is added at the end of the previous sample. The result can be saved into a new file (File, Save AS). Sound Recorder will also allow conversion of files between several basic, PCM formats and several sampling rates. One can also convert an .aiff or .snd file to a .wav file by loading it into Sound Recorder and then saving it as a PCW .wav format.

To determine which version of Windows Media Player you have installed (MS Windows 98 SE):

• Click Start once
• Click (or merely point to) Programs once
• Click (or merely point to) Accessories
• Click (or merely point to) Entertainment
• Click once on Windows Media Player
• Click once on Help
• Click once on About Windows Media Player
• The dialog box will indicate the version
• Click OK once to close the dialog box

To install updated MS Windows audio codecs (MS Windows 98, ME and 2000):

Quite simply, it is a matter of installing the most recent copy of the MS Windows Media Player from the MS Windows web site and then rebooting your computer

To determine which Hardware Drivers you have installed (MS Windows 98 SE and Me):

• Click Start once
• Click (or merely point to) Programs once
• Click (or merely point to) Accessories
• Click (or merely point to) System Tools
• Click System Information and the Microsoft System Information dialog box and menu will open
• Click Software Environment then click on the box with plus sign in it to expand the index
• Click Drivers then click on the box with plus sign in it to expand the index
• Click on each one of the index options: Kernel Drivers, MS-DOS Drivers and User-Mode Drivers to see what versions are installed
• Click File then Exit to close the dialog box
• This procedure lists all of the Drivers on the system, if you wish to concentrate on one particular device such as your sound card (MS Windows 98 SE and ME):
• Right click the My Computer icon on the desktop
• Click once on Properties and the System Properties dialog box will open
• Click once on the Device Manager Tab
• A list of devices is along the left side of the dialog box, click once on Sound, video and game controllers and then click on the box with the plus sign inside of it to expand device list
• If, for instance, your sound card is a Creative Labs SoundBlaster, click once on Creative SB Live and then click once on the Properties button at the bottom of the dialog box
• The Creative SB Live dialog box will open, click once on the Driver Tab, then click one on the Driver File Details button at the bottom of the dialog box (the Drive File Details dialog box will open)
• By clicking once on each specific driver, library file, etc., within the dialog box, the Provider and File version will change with each highlighted selection. By copying down the driver file and file version you can than get onto the manufacturers web site and determine if a driver has been updated
• Click OK, Cancel and Cancel to close each dialog box and exit without changes

If you are having a problem with DirectX components or drivers you have installed (MS Windows 98 SE and Me):

• Click Start once
• Click (or merely point to) Programs once
• Click (or merely point to) Accessories
• Click (or merely point to) System Tools
• Click System Information and the Microsoft System Information dialog box and menu will open
• Click Tools and from the drop-down menu click once on DirectX Diagnostic Tool and the DirectX Diagnostic Tool dialog box will open
• There are several Tabs across the top of the dialog box that list DirectX components and drivers that can be diagnosed for problems and there are some solutions and trouble shooting offered.
• Click EXIT to close the dialog box

If you would like to use the Sound Troubleshooter utility in the Windows Help (MS Windows 98 SE and Me):

• Click Start once
• Click once on Help and the Windows Help dialog box will open
• Click the Index Tab (if it did not open as the default tab)
• In the Keywords entry line type TRO (this is usually sufficient to bring up the Troubleshooting entry
• Use the scroll bar to get to the Sound entry under Troubleshooting
• Click once on Sound to highlight the entry
• Click once on the Display box and the Topics dialog box will open
• Click once on Sound Troubleshooter to highlight the entry (you can also launch DirectX troubleshooter from this box)
• Click once on the Dispaly box
• the Sound Troubleshooter dialog box will open in the right pane and click on Click here to open it
• Sound Troubleshooter offers several basic sound problem scenarios and their possible solution by clicking on the appropriate radio button and then clicking on the Next button at the bottom of the pane

If you have purchased a new computer with MS Windows XP operating system or you have upgraded / installed the operating system and you cannot get one of your older audio editing or recording programs to function now:

• Click once on Start
• Click once on All Programs
• Click once on Accessories
• Click once on Program Compatibility wizard, then click once on Next to start
• There are three options to locate the application that you wish to install
  • From a list programs
  • From a program on a disc in the CD-ROM drive
  • Locate the program manuallly
• The third option allows to manually search through the drives and the CD-ROM
• When you locate the application click once / highlight the SETUP.EXE or APPLICATION.EXE file
• Click once on Open and then click once on Next
• There is a dialog box that allows you to configure the system for a specific application. You must select the edition of the MS Windows OS that the application was written for. MS Windows XP will then virtually emulate this version of Windows when the application is opened. Select the edition you require and click once on Next.
• Click once on Disable visual themes (which are MS Windows XP specific functions and not part of earlier editions of Windows)
• When you have completed setting the operating system options you may test the application to now see if it will function correctly. If the application will now function then select the: Set This Program To Always Use These Compatibility Settings. There are only so many options to select for resolving the problem. If none of the options result in the application functioning then you must contact the manufacturer to download a patch program.

If you have purchased a sound sample CD-Audio and wish to rip a sample track from the CD and have it stored in a specific file of samples rather than in the folder of the default setting in Windows Media Player XP:

• With Windows Media Player open click once on Tools in the upper left of the menu bar
• Click once on Options
• A Options dialog box will open
• Click once on the Change button in the Archive Section
• The window allows once to browse through the folders of the C drive
• Click once on the desired folder in order to highlight it
• Click once on OK

If you downloaded or ripped from a CD a digital audio sound file and you forgot which file you placed it in or where it was downloaded to in the first place in (Windows 98 SE):

• Click once on Start
• Click once or merely place the cursor on Find (In Windows Me and 2000 click or highlight Search)
• A menu will slide open to the right and click once on Files and Folders
• Click once on the Advanced Tab
• Click on the Of Type: drop down menu
• Here you will find the opportunity to select many types of audio files (not just audio, any type of file), such as AIFF, AU, Liquid Audio, M3U, MP3, QuickTime, RealAudio, Windows media, and formats that may be associated with audio applications you may have installed
• Click once on the desired audio format
• Click once on the Name & Location Tab and click on the Look In: drop down menu. You can either specify the entire C drive directory or an individual file or folder
• Click on the Find Now button
• Find will begin listing all of the files with that particular file extension (which can be quite voluminous)

If you downloaded or ripped from a CD a digital audio sound file and you would like to rename to match your own Folder and file names (Windows 98 SE, Me , NT and 2000):

• Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder that holds the sample file
• In the right pane of Windows Explorer click once on the file to highlight it
• Right click on the file to open the pop-up menu and click once on Rename
• Make sure you edit to the left of the period that is part of the file exstension
• Press the Enter key on the keyboard to have the new file name registered in the folder
• If you have already used the sample in a project you may have to rename the track also for it to open in the project

If you have a digital audio sound file sample that you do not want anyone to edit (Windows 98 SE, Me , NT and 2000):

• Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder that holds the sample file
• In the right pane of Windows Explorer click once on the file to highlight it
• Right click on the file to open the pop-up menu and click once on Properties
• A the bottom of the Properties dialog box you will see Attributes, click the box next to Read Only
• Click once on the Apply button and then click on OK to close the dialog box

If you have a digital audio sound file sample that you would like to preview / audition without opening up an editor / audio application and then loading the file (Windows 98 SE, Me , NT and 2000):

• Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder that holds the sample file
• In the right pane of Windows Explorer click once on the file to highlight it
• Right click on the file to open the pop-up menu and click once on Properties
• Click on the Preview Tab
• Click once on the Play arrow icon in the center of the dialog box
• Click once on OK to close the dialog box

To create a Windows Start-up Disk that you store and then use to restart your computer in the event of a system failure (Windows 98 SE):

• Your computer must have a 3.5 inch Floppy Drive that will accept 1.44MB floppy disks.
• Install a 1.44BM floppy disk in the 3.5 inch Floppy Drive
• Click once on Start
• Click once or point to Settings
• Click once on Control Panel
• Click twice on the Add / Remove Programs icon
• Select the Startup Disk Tab
• Click on the Create Disk Tab
• The instructions will guide you through to the creation of the disk

MS Windows 2000 and Windows XP do not have a simple boot disk creation option. First, if there is a problem starting either of these versions of the Windows operating system one must shut down the computer, wait a few moments and then start the computer again. As the computer begins to boot one must press the F8 key. After depressing the F8 key a menu of options will display. The mouse cannot be used so one must use the arrow keys to navigate within the menu. One should start with the Last Known Good Configuration option. An alternative selection is Safe Mode. The creation of an actual off site boot disk requires formatting a 1.44MB floppy disk and copying several essential files to the disk by opening Windows Explorer. The essential files to be copied are boot.ini, ntdetect.com and ntldr. These files are accessed by navigating through the MS Windows folder tree in Windows Explorer to the C:Drive.

If you installed a copy of an audio application, plug-in, software sampler, etc., and suddenly the computer is no longer operating as it was in the past (error message, system crashes):

• In Windows XP open System Restore
• A Calendar of the present month will be presented. The Calendar will have certain dates that are high-lighted as dates that a Restore Point was created by the application (for instance, a Restore Point is automatically created when one installs a new software application)
• Select a Restore Point (highlighted calendar date) and it will automatically disply what software was installed on that date
• Select the date you desire by clicking on it and then select Next
• The MS Windows XP operating system is rolled back to that date when everything was operating correctly. All files on the C Drive are saved intact and the application that was causing the problems is automatically Uninstalled
• If you use System Restore to roll back to a certain date you will lose access to any application (even if it was not the application causing trouble) that you may have installed since then. Secondly, System Restore consumes quite a lot of hard drive space in order to store the system configuration. It is possible to disable System Restore if you so desire.

If you have too many icons on your desktop screen:

• In Windows 98 / 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP:
• As long as the icon has a box with an arrow inside it in the bottom left corner then it is a shortcut icon to an application, not an actual program icon
• Right click once on the icon
• The drop down menu attached to the cursor will offer several options, including Delete
• Click once on Delete and a dialog box will open to prompt you if you want to delete the specific icon
• Click once on Yes to delete the icon (you can still access the program from the Start menu or from within Windows Explorer)

Preparing Apple Computer / Macintosh OS-based computers for Audio Projects

To create a Folder and File for your work in a Macintosh OS-based system:

• Click Finder once
• Click File Menu once
• Click New Folder once
• When the untitled folder appears on the Desktop, type in a relevant name for the work to be stored in the folder
• Click anywhere on the Desktop to complete the creation of the folder

The most recent MAC OS Apple computers ship with the iTunes application. The application is supported by the Mac OS 9.04 OS or higher. Owners of older machines may download and install the application from the Apple web site. The application itself is primarily for managing and playing MP3 files and CDs on the Apple MAC OS (includes ID3 tag editing). The application will encode MP3 files up to 320 kbps. It also provides a CD-RW burning capability, which is compatible with several manufacturer’s CD-RW devices. The CD-RW authoring application does not require the intermediary step of decoding mp3s to .aiff format.

Digital audio files in MP3 format or streaming media can be listened to with Quicktime. The new OS X includes the Music Player application, which will play CD Audio and MP3 files.