Hi,
 
Could anyone tell me if it is possible to run two accounts on win8.1 pro, that allows me to have all programs and services running on one account and another account customised just for Sonar i.e. no internet, indexer, skydrive etc.? I know how to switch on/off services etc. but I can't see how to do this across separate accounts?
 
I can't seem to find anything that helps with this on the net. Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions?
 
I could do two Win installs but would rather be able to switch accounts on the fly? 
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Gary

I had similar questions as far back as XP Pro, and the answer was at that time (and I think it still is) that the profiling you can set up doesn't really work for controlling things like services for either a single user name or multiple user names.
 
Sooooo, because I am a programmer, although primary a main frame programmer, I learned to program well enough in a language called C# to build a couple of little Windows utilities for myself, to CREATE the means of doing what you are talking about.
 
After some learning curve, I began to use my two little programs for controlling my computer for gigs, where I would run them to load a profile that contained a list of things to turn off or on, setting up the environment to better support running Sonar.  They worked flawlessly for me, and I used them countless times for a good couple of years.  They would change service startup parameters from a profile, to tell a bunch of them not to run at startup, and would also cause specific startup programs not to execute, again from the profile.
 
After they finished, Sonar could be launched into a cleaner, leaner environment, that made Sonar more stable, and eliminated audio issues that I used to have, prior to creating the utilities.
 
SO, sorry for going through all of the above - I just wanted to let you know that with some help from some minor coding and running of a couple of utilities, you can in essence create your own kind of profile for Windows, in support of setting up an environment for Sonar, and having another environment for perhaps just general processing.
 
But, once I move off of a 32-bit Windows XP platform, and I moved to both a 64-bit Windows, I also went to 32 GB of memory, and the combination of it all put me in a position where I no longer had an environment where running Sonar pushed things too far - causing problems.
 
So, no problems, no more need for ME to run those utilities.
 
But if YOUR system runs too close to the wall and you think they might help you - please let me know and I can send them to you.  They are not fancy, but they do work.
 
Bob Bone
 

Hi Bob,
 
Thanks, appreciate the explanation. I run with 4GB ram which is normally ok for my purposes with a customised Windows setup (thank you Black Viper!) but recently I've started to switch services back on to cope with more business oriented stuff. Looking at your post, I think it's time I stopped fighting with it and looked at a new better spec'd and dedicated machine.
 
Thanks again
 
Gary

Cool - that sounds like a grand adventure - new stuff is fun :)
 
Bob Bone
 

I just upgraded my office computer for $300. The mobo died. So I had the case,PS and the drives. 
You save a ton of money if you opt for specs that are not state of the art. If your not gaming you don''t need an i5 or i7. For office work i3 is fine. 
the mobo, the CPU and the RAM ( 8Gigs) were all under $100 each.  
The OS and stuff was already on the original 7200 drive. It was interesting that I didn't have to re install windows. New mobo and CPU and it loaded a few new drivers and booted. My desktop was still there. Wasn't expecting that. Is this new with Windows 8.1??  I had to update the drivers chipset etc and phone MS to re activate which took all of 10 minutes.  
 
Interesting. I was flustered the first time and when the automated voice asked how many computers this version had been installed on I said 2 of course. It said sorry not allowed. 
So I phoned right back and this time said 0. and it worked. 
 
The point of this computer is to do e mail, word processing, printing and bookkeeping. It is smoking the 5 year old AMD that was originally in the box big time. 
 

Thanks guys.
 
I think I'll upgrade the workhorse and get a second basic machine for the office stuff. 
 
Many thanks
 
Gary