is it possible to have two boot configs for the same installation

[lancaster6]

i disable alot of devices in dev manager in order to achieve the best latency for a live audio rig. i also use the same laptop for alot of other generic activities in which i want all devices active. since the removal of "hardware profiles", i have not figured a way to boot into the same OS with different device manager settings. i was wondering if i created a 2nd boot partition, could it access the single OS that is on my hard drive? 1 OS, 2 boot configs?
thx
L

 

[Spirit Wolfe]

Why not try a separate User logon?

 

[lancaster6]

i have. they both use identical dev manager settings. afaik, this won't accomplish what i need. does any1 have an answer to my question, not an alternate approach?

 

[whs]

That won't work. You will need 2 seperate systems. And I wonder anyhow whether you would really accomplish anything by disabling devices in device manager. If your device drivers are up-to-date, there should not be a latency problem.

 

[lancaster6]

when certain devices are disabled (all drivers current), i can set my buffer size to 64, down from 256, with no pops or clicks or audio anomalies. the result is a much more realistic "feel" when playing,due to less latency. every person using laptops live, DJs and keyboard players, and producers of audio daws and equipment will validate this. it is listed on all of their sites under performance tweaks. it boggles my mind that hardware profiles are deemed not needed anymore. this is simply not true for us, albeit a small community, but paying customers nonetheless. i continue to search for a resolution. are you REALLY listening win 7?

 

[Duzzy]

Are your problems solved by just disabling the devices without a reboot or do you need to reboot after disabling them to free any resources?

 

[lancaster6]

well i haven't tried the two different methods, but freeing resources is the goal listed on the audio sites. i assume the reboot is needed.

 

[fseal]

Well depending on what the services are. Can you set them to be disabled on boot, then simply have a script or batch file that "net start"s the services as necessary? You can then have two logins, and on one you would run that script/batch file on start using the task scheduler and the other you wouldn't. Or you could just have a shortcut on the desktop to run the batch file/script IF you want the services running (and another could turn them all off again! No rebooting required)

So a little setup and it would then be all automatic from then on... Or at worst a single double click?

 

[lancaster6]

a friend suggested this method to me. one of the devices that needs to be disabled is battery\microsoft acpi-compliant control method battery, for which we can find no "service".
DUZZY-i'm currently checking to see if the reboot is needed to answer your question. will take some time and i will post results.

 

[Duzzy]

Well if a reboot is not needed then you could run devcon.exe via a batch file for a one click solution to disable multiple devices. You could also do this then reboot but that would be a pain.

You can find devcon.exe on Google but it might be a old version that won't work on Win7 or you can get it from the Windows Driver Kit but that's a large download.

There's also a chance you already have it somewhere on your computer as I did. I found it was included in the install of Slysoft Virtual Clonedrive which is a tiny download but does require installing to access the file which can then be copied to where ever you like before uninstalling Virtual CloneDrive. It was also included with one of my device drivers.

 

[lancaster6]

reboot is definitely needed!
i re-enabled everything in dev mgr, then disabled the "battery\microsoft acpi-compliant control method battery" device, and started forte (audio midi software) and the program froze.twice.
so i'm back to wanting hardware profiles.
any other ideas? i'm no programmer, but it seems i could modify an existing system boot , and have the choice of which to boot from on startup. 2 boot log choices into 1 OS.

 

[HammerHead]

Mconfig

You might try configuring msconfig to get the boot configuration where you want it. But that still leaves you with having to edit and change it for different configs. There might be a way around that.

 

[lancaster6]

thats what i want, multiple configs. how? lol.

 

[Duzzy]

The only suggestion I have is trying to run devcon in a batch file when logging on from the Run registry key. This might disable the devices before too much loads.

but it seems i could modify an existing system boot

I don't think it would be possible. What info has led you to believe you could?

 

[Duzzy]

reboot is definitely needed!
i re-enabled everything in dev mgr, then disabled the "battery\microsoft acpi-compliant control method battery" device, and started forte (audio midi software) and the program froze.twice.

Have you ever disabled this before?
Did you reboot and see it forte was working ok with it disabled?

 

[lancaster6]

yes , i disable that, both onboard sound devices, and wifi. i reboot, and all works beautifully. latency is screaming fast. i have what i want, i just want to switch between that config and full on dev mgr at startup. without a redundant 2nd operating system. the frustrating thing is MS thinks hardware profiles are antiquated, and i say they are needed!!!!!

 

[Duzzy]

Wish I could help more but the only thing I could suggest trying is what I wrote in post #14, running devcon at startup.

 

[Spirit Wolfe]

reboot is definitely needed!
i re-enabled everything in dev mgr, then disabled the "battery\microsoft acpi-compliant control method battery" device, and started forte (audio midi software) and the program froze.twice.
so i'm back to wanting hardware profiles.
any other ideas? i'm no programmer, but it seems i could modify an existing system boot , and have the choice of which to boot from on startup. 2 boot log choices into 1 OS.

Have you tried reinstalling your audio software (forte) in windows compatibility mode?

What about running VM ware (virtual machine) and installing XP x64, or even dual booting into another OS?

 

[gregrocker]

I don't see why you couldn't do your Device presets in a secondary installation which would not affect the other in a Dual Boot.

You can try it anyway by shrinking Win7 in Disk Mgmt then boot the installer to install to second partition, which will auto-configure a Dual Boot menu.

If it doesn't work out just delete the partition in Disk Mgmt, extend C back over.