More of a PSA, really.
I'm using a Windows 11 PC. Specs are very good, but not relevant for the story. For the last few months, I've been troubleshooting why Ableton Live 11 (and now 12) would hard lock my PC at random times. I also have a Push 3 and a bunch of 3rd party VSTs, so I tried all kind of A/B testing with that, and nothing would stick.
It's a fairly frustrating experience to constantly worry whether the PC will hold during a creative sesh.
So I ultimately decided to downgrade to Windows 10 Pro, wipe my entire PC and start from scratch. I re-installed everything, and lo and behold, since then (a month ago), I haven't had a single crash in hours and hours of music making.
I don't care what level of compatibility Ableton say they have with Windows 11, empirically, it's not stable AT ALL, and Windows 10 is what I would recommend to any Windows 11 user. Do yourself a favor.
Windows 11 is a bust
Re: Windows 11 is a bust
Windows 10 will be supplied with updates until 10/2025. after that you could freeze the system, try windows 11 again, which could be frustrating, or switch to mac. Alternatively, you could test live on Linux (or choose another DAW that runs on Linux).
Freezing Windows 10 from 10/2025 could in principle be ok, because most VA sound generators never get updates. You just have to come to terms with the fact that you can't always have more - which in turn can be very liberating. Only Ableton and many others don't earn any money with it.
Freezing Windows 10 from 10/2025 could in principle be ok, because most VA sound generators never get updates. You just have to come to terms with the fact that you can't always have more - which in turn can be very liberating. Only Ableton and many others don't earn any money with it.
Re: Windows 11 is a bust
You can play Ableton in linux?x3000 wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2024 6:58 pmWindows 10 will be supplied with updates until 10/2025. after that you could freeze the system, try windows 11 again, which could be frustrating, or switch to mac. Alternatively, you could test live on Linux (or choose another DAW that runs on Linux).
Freezing Windows 10 from 10/2025 could in principle be ok, because most VA sound generators never get updates. You just have to come to terms with the fact that you can't always have more - which in turn can be very liberating. Only Ableton and many others don't earn any money with it.
And what is VA sound generators?
Re: Windows 11 is a bust
No, i can't use ableton in linux, but I haven't tried it yet either. Others have already done so.
There are other DAWs that run natively on Linux.
A VA sound generator ist a virtual analog hardware synth/sampler with an operating system that could actually be updated (like most hardware synths). Strictly speaking, va synths/sound generators are just dedicated computers with an operating system and an optimized controller.
There are other DAWs that run natively on Linux.
A VA sound generator ist a virtual analog hardware synth/sampler with an operating system that could actually be updated (like most hardware synths). Strictly speaking, va synths/sound generators are just dedicated computers with an operating system and an optimized controller.
Re: Windows 11 is a bust
Sounds like a hardware build issue and definitely not a DAW issue. You didn't list your specs, which are actually extremely relevant when it comes to stability... for all we know, you went with top of the line CPU and memory, but went with a low quality mobo... or any other boneheaded mistake someone trying to save a few bucks in a build might do.JJ Jr wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:13 pmMore of a PSA, really.
I'm using a Windows 11 PC. Specs are very good, but not relevant for the story. For the last few months, I've been troubleshooting why Ableton Live 11 (and now 12) would hard lock my PC at random times. I also have a Push 3 and a bunch of 3rd party VSTs, so I tried all kind of A/B testing with that, and nothing would stick.
It's a fairly frustrating experience to constantly worry whether the PC will hold during a creative sesh.
So I ultimately decided to downgrade to Windows 10 Pro, wipe my entire PC and start from scratch. I re-installed everything, and lo and behold, since then (a month ago), I haven't had a single crash in hours and hours of music making.
I don't care what level of compatibility Ableton say they have with Windows 11, empirically, it's not stable AT ALL, and Windows 10 is what I would recommend to any Windows 11 user. Do yourself a favor.
I've had tons of issues with Windows 11, but I've never had a BSOD, or a "hard lock" or any freezes... your build sounds like garbage, frankly... and to blame a DAW manufacturer for freezing and BSODs is lame.
two oscillators are better than one
Re: Windows 11 is a bust
I agree - two computers here with Windows 11 (one of which isn't even fully hardware compatible now) and both work flawlessly.
This PC (tower) was custom built by a company who specialise in computers for music studio use, but it never shipped with Windows 11. I installed it when I was a Windows Insider, after which Microsoft changed the hardware requirements, which means I can no longer update it.
My laptop (Alienware) did come with Windows 11 installed, and I use it for live streaming whilst playing music and running VJ software.
This PC (tower) was custom built by a company who specialise in computers for music studio use, but it never shipped with Windows 11. I installed it when I was a Windows Insider, after which Microsoft changed the hardware requirements, which means I can no longer update it.
My laptop (Alienware) did come with Windows 11 installed, and I use it for live streaming whilst playing music and running VJ software.
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notecrusher
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Re: Windows 11 is a bust
I had similar issues when I first switched to Windows 11 with some other music production tools. They’d crash randomly or lag, even with solid hardware. It’s frustrating to troubleshoot when everything seems like it should work on paper but doesn’t hold up in real-time.
Downgrading to Windows 10 is a smart move if stability is priority number one for you. If anyone’s set on sticking with Windows 11, though, maybe try re-installing with a fresh windows 11 pro cd key and see if that helps any. But yeah, until compatibility is better ironed out, Windows 10 might be the safer bet for music production.
Downgrading to Windows 10 is a smart move if stability is priority number one for you. If anyone’s set on sticking with Windows 11, though, maybe try re-installing with a fresh windows 11 pro cd key and see if that helps any. But yeah, until compatibility is better ironed out, Windows 10 might be the safer bet for music production.
Re: Windows 11 is a bust
From my own experience, I can report that every Windows from NT/2000 onwards worked well with various DAWs. You should perhaps slim it down a bit and not install too much garbage - provided the hardware is right. The many small and large VST plug-ins, most of which are not even necessary, can destabilize a DAW.
I've found that even Windows 11 runs very well for DAWs - provided the hardware is right. But it's exactly the same with Apple. If Apple stops supporting the hardware, and they will, because they want to make money, then that's the end of it. It's vendor lock-in.
In principle, Windows tends to annoy me - but it works. I use Linux for work. It's much more secure and it works very well for my purposes - but I wouldn't make music with it for the time being, because my lifetime is limited.
Unless Ableton brings the Live Suite for Linux - but then the third-party plug-ins still won't work ...
Other people make music with Linux. Because there are also many possibilities for this (some nerds use PD and the like). That works - but it's a new start. But it would also be significantly cheaper.
In my next life I'll try Bitwig on Linux
I've found that even Windows 11 runs very well for DAWs - provided the hardware is right. But it's exactly the same with Apple. If Apple stops supporting the hardware, and they will, because they want to make money, then that's the end of it. It's vendor lock-in.
In principle, Windows tends to annoy me - but it works. I use Linux for work. It's much more secure and it works very well for my purposes - but I wouldn't make music with it for the time being, because my lifetime is limited.
Unless Ableton brings the Live Suite for Linux - but then the third-party plug-ins still won't work ...
Other people make music with Linux. Because there are also many possibilities for this (some nerds use PD and the like). That works - but it's a new start. But it would also be significantly cheaper.
In my next life I'll try Bitwig on Linux