# Aero : issue and questions... **URL:** \ **Category:** WaveLab\ **Created:** [July 9, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886 "2011-07-09T08:08:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cubic13](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/cubic13/32/286924_2.png) [@cubic13](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/cubic13)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/1 "2011-07-09T08:08:20Z")
Since Vista days, Aero was known to be a crap that slows down any system configured with it. Recently, I saw a lot of statements about it which say the opposite : Aero is supposed to use the GPU, freeing the CPU from the graphix tasks and, by this, increases the overall graphical performances. So, I wanted to check this by myself. Problem : all my Aero themes and even the ‘Window 7 basic’ one are greyed out (I always used the ‘Windows classic’ theme until now). Here are the Windows performance indexes of my system : - Processor : 7.5 - RAM : 7.5 - Graphical (desk performance for Aero) : 3.7 - Graphical (game) : 5.8 - Main hard drive : 5.9. According to Microsoft, graphical performances are enough to make Aero available. Don’t know what’s happening. Which leads to two questions : - what is truth about Aero, concerning the overall performance of a DAW ? Can’t see anything related in the Knowledge base. - How should I proceed to make Aero themes available again ? Thanks for any tips… ---
**Author:** ![system](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/3X/b/e/becc0b2f3a148c189008691bb9be347bc647ba07.svg) [@system](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/2 "2011-07-11T00:31:50Z")
> **[Understanding Windows Vista Aero Glass Requirements](https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/understanding-windows-vista-aero-glass-requirements/)** > > The Windows Vista Aero Glass interface is one of the major changes in the newest version of windows. What is less clear for most people is what conditions have to be met for Aero to be enabled. If you are sure your system meets the requirements but... ---
**Author:** ![cubic13](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/cubic13/32/286924_2.png) [@cubic13](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/cubic13)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/3 "2011-07-12T17:12:46Z")
Thanks, but this dates a little and was written for Vista. Any other suggestions ? ---
**Author:** ![Timo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Timo](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Timo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/4 "2011-07-12T20:56:01Z")
Aero in Vista is something you should always turn off if you want to do serious audio work. Aero in Windows 7 depends on your graphics card driver. If it’s WDDM 1.1, you should try to leave Aero ON. If it’s WDDM 1.0 (ATI calls these drivers ‘legacy’), you should turn Aero OFF and switch to Windows 7 Basic theme. How to find out if your graphics card and driver support WDDM 1.1 in Windows 7: Click START, then type DXDIAG and hit Enter. Go to ‘display 1’ and look at driver model. Read these: > **[Windows Display Driver Model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Display_Driver_Model)** > > Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) is the graphic driver architecture for video card drivers running Microsoft Windows versions beginning with Windows Vista. > It is a replacement for the previous Windows 2000 and Windows XP display driver model XDDM/XPDM and is aimed at enabling better performance graphics and new graphics functionality and stability. Display drivers in Windows Vista and Windows 7 can choose to either adhere to WDDM or to XDDM. With the removal of XDDM from Windows 8, however, W... [http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/04/25/engineering-windows-7-for-graphics-performance.aspx](http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/04/25/engineering-windows-7-for-graphics-performance.aspx) But in the end it’s something you have to try out - shouldn’t be too difficult to see if Aero ON or OFF gives the better performance. ---
**Author:** ![cubic13](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/cubic13/32/286924_2.png) [@cubic13](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/cubic13)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/5 "2011-07-13T05:34:48Z")
Hi, Timo Thanks for chiming in. Your second link clearly shows the technical differences between Vista (WDDM 1.0) and Windows 7 (WDDM 1.1). So, I checked with DXDIAG, and here is what I got (excerpt from dxdiag.txt) : ## \_------------------ System Information ## Time of this report: 7/13/2011, 07:23:55 Machine name: I870 Operating System: Windows 7 Professionnel 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1\_gdr.110408-1631) Language: French (Regional Setting: French) System Manufacturer: System manufacturer System Model: System Product Name BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/27/10 13:04:41 Ver: 08.00.15 Processor: Intel(R) Core™ i7 CPU 870 @ 2.93GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.9GHz Memory: 8192MB RAM Available OS Memory: 8190MB RAM Page File: 1032MB used, 7155MB available Windows Dir: C:\Windows **DirectX Version: DirectX 11** DX Setup Parameters: Not found User DPI Setting: Using System DPI System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent) DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode \ ## DxDiag Notes ## **Display Tab 1: No problems found.** Sound Tab 1: No problems found. Input Tab: No problems found. \ ## DirectX Debug Levels ## Direct3D: 0/4 (retail) DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail) DirectInput: 0/5 (retail) DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail) DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail) DirectSound: 0/5 (retail) DirectShow: 0/6 (retail) \ ## Display Devices Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5400 Series Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc. Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x68F9) DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz) Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN\_1002&DEV\_68F9&SUBSYS\_E157174B&REV\_00 Display Memory: 3559 MB Dedicated Memory: 500 MB Shared Memory: 3059 MB Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz) Monitor Name: Moniteur Plug-and-Play générique Monitor Model: ASUS VW266H Monitor Id: ACI26A4 Native Mode: 1920 x 1200(p) (59.950Hz) Output Type: DVI Driver Name: aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll Driver File Version: 8.17.0010.1036 (English) Driver Version: 8.753.0.0 DDI Version: 11 **Driver Model: WDDM 1.1** Driver Attributes: Final Retail Driver Date/Size: 7/7/2010 03:53:20, 594432 bytes WHQL Logo’d: Yes WHQL Date Stamp: Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-2BB9-11CF-F770-5DC1BEC2C535} Vendor ID: 0x1002 Device ID: 0x68F9 SubSys ID: 0xE157174B\_ Guess my card driver is up to the task of using Aero. I also checked with the Windows 7 troubleshooting tool for Aero and it doesn’t report any error either. So, I am still wondering why all my Aero and Windows Basic themes are deactivated. I’m afraid that I’ll have to look in the registry but, as I read here and there, it seems that several keys are involved, so I would rather avoid it… ---
**Author:** ![Timo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Timo](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Timo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/6 "2011-07-13T09:35:14Z")
Who did configure your PC? Ask him / her. There’s several group policies to force classic mode, and it also depends a bit on the services that are running. ---
**Author:** ![cubic13](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/cubic13/32/286924_2.png) [@cubic13](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/cubic13)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 9:46am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/7 "2011-07-13T09:46:42Z")
> [@Timo](#): > > Who did configure your PC? Ask him / her. There’s several group policies to force classic mode, and it also depends a bit on the services that are running. It’s me… 😊 I purchased all the components mounted (excepting my E-Mu audio device, installed just after) and proceeded to install W7 (OEM version) myself to avoid any installation of useless tools (such as IE 8 ; I use Firefox and so on…). I made all the tweaks usually known for a DAW usage and, es far as I can remember, I immediatly set the Windows Classic theme as I always used it before, even with XP. That was about 9 months ago. Thought that I’ve been careful, but I probably made a mistake somexhere that is related to this… ---
**Author:** ![cubic13](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/cubic13/32/286924_2.png) [@cubic13](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/cubic13)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/8 "2011-07-13T11:48:46Z")
OK, thanks to the following thread : [Latest Ati video drivers incompatible with C6 video - #2 by cubic13 - WaveLab - Steinberg Forums](https://www.steinberg.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=10756&p=70725#p70725), I went to the ATI site and discover this : _Known Issues under the Windows Vista Operating System The following section provides a summary of open issues that may be experienced under the Windows Vista operating system in the latest version of AMD Catalyst™. These include:_ _Windows Aero may be disabled after installing the driver._ This up to the Catalyst 11.5 version. In the Catalyst 11.6 (latest) version release notes, the last statement is replaced by : _Windows Aero settings might not be available in some circumstances._ The problem isn’t mentioned in Windows 7 known issues, but still… And there is more ([http://forum.telecharger.01net.com/microhebdo/materiels/affichage/fonction-aero-de-w7-et-ati-5450-355656/messages-1.html](http://forum.telecharger.01net.com/microhebdo/materiels/affichage/fonction-aero-de-w7-et-ati-5450-355656/messages-1.html)) : seems that Catalyst Control Center could be the culprit. Uninstalling it apparently solves the problem of the deactivated Aero issue. To be honest, I’m a bit afraid of doing so : I don’t know if it is essential or not to the graphic card work. Can’t believe that such an issue is persisting, though… 😒 Would like to know if someone is using an Radeon HD 5xxx series card without CCC or successfully deactivated it. ---
**Author:** ![shaquapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@shaquapa](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/shaquapa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/9 "2011-07-13T16:22:54Z")
I never install the Catalyst Control Center, only the drivers. One of my cards was a Radeon 5600 HD (IIRC) No problems with Vista or Win7 here using aero with any ATI cards Shaq ---
**Author:** ![cubic13](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/cubic13/32/286924_2.png) [@cubic13](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/cubic13)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/10 "2011-07-13T18:46:14Z")
> [@shaquapa](#): > > I never install the Catalyst Control Center, only the drivers. One of my cards was a Radeon 5600 HD (IIRC) No problems with Vista or Win7 here using aero with any ATI cards > > Shaq Thanks, Shaq. 🙂 I’m still wondering if it is worth taking the plunge… Will report back if I do so 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Nemyss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7feea3/32.png) [@Nemyss](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Nemyss)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/aero-issue-and-questions/604886/11 "2012-08-01T07:04:39Z")
Just for the ones who still have problems with activating aero while cubase is running: For some reason cubase Artist 6 is using some Quicktime librairies (maybe for the video section?) I installed a video software with an older quicktime version and cubase started to disable Aero. After installing a recent quicktime version everything changed back to good again.