Can't even get close to 32-track count on PT LE 6.4...Why?

[Geddyleewannabe]

I am running Pro Tools LE 6.4 and the most tracks I can get is generally around 18-20 tracks. I am not running ANY plugins.

My system:
running Windows XP Service Pack 2 on
Dell Dimension 1100 with Intel Celeron 2.53 GHz
768MB of RAM (256MB + 512MB)
System Hard Disk 108 GB
Second Hard Disk containing all sound files, sessions, etc. 232 GB
ProTools LE 6.4 is running at default settings.

Is more RAM the answer? I was initially planning to upgrade to a matched pair of 1 GB sticks for a total of 2 GB, but I hesitate spending the $150-$250 to find out that my track count didn't go up at all. Protools itself runs smoothly without any hiccups as far as I can tell. Some posts I've read lead me to believe that more RAM mainly helps with plugins (which I don't use). All I need is more tracks. I believe that ProTools LE 6.4 with a maximized system goes up to 32 tracks. Is this correct? What do I lack to get there?

Please help me. I'm getting desperate and frustrated.

[T_R_S]

Is your CPU supported? I don't see it in the list of supported CPU's

[theblue1]

I think I might save my RAM money and put it in the computer-upgrade fund, instead.

Celerons are kind of the can't-get-no-respect CPU of the late 90s and early 21st C... they're fine for general purpose office or home machines but once you start taxing the machine they just don't have a whole lot of oomph.

Still... I'm wondering if there might not be something EXTRA dragging down your machine...

I'm afraid your track count is what I was getting on a good day with a Pentium "I" running at 133 MHz (that was 16 bit, though, back around '96 and '97).


Are you running any of the nasties like anti-virus or other background processes? Big vendors install ALL KINDS of junkware on the boxes they sell and leave it running all the time, dragging those systems down unconscionably. My very modest cheapo Dell tower had a whoppin' 68 processes running in background when I got it, for a total RAM footprint after boot of almost 200 MB -- WITHOUT any A-V or other vampiric goodies. I stripped that down to 19 processes for a boot profile of around 120-130 MB.

In fact, have you followed the computer tweaking recommendations at www.MusicXP.com and/or www.TweakXP.com?

Those sites give invaluable tips on what can safely be done without...

[dub3000]

are your hard drives running DMA mode or PIO mode?

[funeral]

i would suggest a dual core PENTIUM processor - also you need at least 1gb ram - preferrably 4gb ram