DigiDesign Mbox 2, Getting Started

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Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 11
Formatting an Audio Drive
For optimum performance, audio drives should
be formatted as FAT32 or NTFS.
To format an audio drive:
1
Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
2
Under Storage, choose Disk Management.
3
In the Disk Management window, right-click
the hard drive you will use for audio and choose
Format.
4
Do one of the following:
• Select the Quick Format option. Quick op-
tion should be sufficient for qualified
mechanisms.
– or –
• For optimal disk performance, you can se-
lect 32K from the Allocation unit size pop-
up menu (make sure Quick Format is not
selected). Though this option takes longer
to complete, it can increase efficiency of
drive recording and playback.
5
Click Start, and follow the on-screen instruc-
tions.
6
When formatting is complete, close the For-
mat window.
Audio Drives and Disk Cleanup
The process of recording and editing can quickly
decrease overall drive performance. It is sug-
gested that you regularly use Disk Cleanup (or
an equivalent utility) to assess the condition of
drives and, if necessary, delete temporary files
and other unused data.
To use Disk Cleanup:
1
Choose Start > Control Panel.
2
Double-click Administrative Tools.
3
Double-click Computer Management.
4
Double-click Storage.
5
Double-click Disk Management.
6
Select the desired volume in the list, then
choose File > Options.
Disk Cleanup determines how performance is
being affected by drive conditions, and lets you
review and delete unnecessary files from the se-
lected volume. For more information, see your
Windows XP documentation.
Defragmenting an Audio Drive
Periodically defragment audio drives to maintain
system performance.
To defragment an audio drive:
1
Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
2
Under Storage, choose Disk Defragmenter.
3
In the Disk Defragmenter window, choose the
drive you want to defragment
Disk Management window (Windows XP)
Pro Tools only supports Basic drive Types.