Sounds like all the hassle and reinstalls was worth it, at least so far. 

Win 7 is a better OS than Vista.  As long as the PC hardware is compatible (and since it was a Vista PC it is) Win 7 is the way to go.  Even many die hard Win XP users have switched to Win 7.

  Thanks Firberd, I currently have another laptop with XP on it and it has all the necessary hardware to run Win7. I might just add 2 more Gigs of ram, although that is not necessary. Other than that it should rock just like my Dell...?! So I am not gathering information about all the drivers etc. or in other words, I am step and repeating the actions items used on the Dell. This way I can leave the Dell in the recording space and leave the second laptop in the mixing space and only move the portable external hard drive, as I am looking at getting a two input interface for the mixing space so that I can leave the 8 input interface in the recording space. Then I can take one of my combo amps and midi keyboard to the mixing space and write music, etc. Kinda cool, I can't wait to get this all sorted out. Of course, none of this would be necessary if I had the 20K to 30K to spend on an addition to the garage...30' by 20' with a loft. Then everything would be in one location with isolated rooms etc. for instruments, drums, vocals, you know dual purpose rooms. I have it all layed out already. I just need the money...Ha Ha, who doesn't. Anyway thanks, and I will keep you posted.

That's similar to what I do, I use the old XP laptop for remote recording and copy the folder to an external drive. That goes to the home studio desktop system.
 I used to use the Tascam only for live and an M audio fast track pro for the studio, One issue was you'll have to re assign all the inputs and outputs. Mine used to go nuts. I now use the Tascam for both systems as the M audio was a POS. 

Glad to hear your "optimized" now. Damn computers...

  Re-assigning is a PITA, especially depending on how many tracks you have. I flashed the BIOS on the Lenovo and thank god, as it had support for WIN7 in that flash upgrade so I can imagine the problems I would have had without upgrading it. After the BIOS upgrade I am ready to load WIN7 and then step and repeat the other drivers. I will keep you posted. I did some searching for a two input/midi capable firewire interface and there is not much out there, I will let you know what I find on that front too. Later Brother.

  I recorded this weekend without any problems. I started mixing down on Sunday and really tried to tax the system and I had no problems. I ran DPC and had zero incidents and it barely hiccuped. So far so good! Thank you to all of you for helping me.

  Sounds like its resolved (at least so far).

There are very interesting advices here that do not only apply to Dell but to any computer. Thank you for your suggestions. 

I have a similar case with a HP Compaq NX9420 with Windows 7 and RME FF400. To work with X2 I have to disable the Wi-Fi from the Device Manager, and to stop a bunch of Services. Nevertheless, it still can not play many VST’s, and it pops and cracks when I scroll or zoom the windows while it’s playing.
 
 
That laptop performed nicely with Cakewalk versions previous to X1 under Windows XP, but now I can barely work with it, so I am in the search of a modern laptop with touch-screen.

 You are not the only one that has mentioned "disabling services". What is that exactly and what are you disabling. I, for example, disable all security software, wi-fi, audio card, and a couple other that I can't remember without going back a few posts in this thread. Please advise, thanks.

One issue, with many, is that older hardware designed for XP won't hack it with newer operating systems.  X2 (and maybe X1) is really designed for the newer Operating Systems. 

This forces users that want to use newer OS or newer OS designed software to buy the new hardware (PC's).  A lot of the features or advantages of the newer OS's (e.g. Win 7/8) are designed around the added capabilites of newer PC hardware.

 You are not the only one that has mentioned "disabling services". What is that exactly and what are you disabling.

A lot of the windows operating system are modules (small subprograms), called services, that run in the background, or just sit in memory waiting to be called to do their specific task. Not all of them are actually necessary for general use and many of them may not actually execute any useful operations during a session. Some people think they can radically improve their computer's performance by keeping unnecessary services from loading at all or disabling them after startup. Except for a few instances where a specific service might interfere with a particular application, this is a generally disappointing, and sometimes disastrous, enterprise. Most machines capable of running windows comfortably, can handle the standard services without any noticeable drag on performance.

Type "services" into your start menu "search for programs and files" box  and double click the "services" shortcut and you can see what is running on your machine. Some of these are essential to running anything at all, others will only come into play when needed. You can actually change the way they load, or keep them from loading pretty easily from this control panel applet. The trick is knowing which you can get away with killing, as some are critical.

http://www.blackviper.com/windows-services/