Setup: G4 Powerbook/512 RAM; Firewire Solo for Audio; I have a external hard drive, however right now I'm not recording to it, M-Audio Uno for Midi.

Everything records and plays fine until I get to a section with three seperate MIDI tracks all running MOTU virtual symphony instruments, then it starts sputtering and skipping. I really don't want to have to bounce them to audio, any other suggestions?

Also, will recording to my external help? If so, do I simply "Save As", or is there somthing else I have to do.
Thanks for the advice

What audio software are you using, how much free disk space and what speed Powerbook?

Your first issue is the amount of RAM you have, 512MB is barely enough to run OSX. Max out your RAM.

With that amount of RAM, you are forcing OSX to use your hard drive for virtual memory, then you open your recoring app. more space on your hard drive is needed, you open the plugins, because of the lack of RAM more space on your hard drive is used, THEN you attempt to record to the same disk. OSX will have priority, and will delay other processes so it can handle it's business.

I suggest recording to your external drive, so the drive will allways be available for audio, but only if the drive is 7200rpm or faster. If you are using SX none of the above will help, only a G5 class machine will help SX.

Sorry...I'm running logic expres 7.0, G4 is 1.5 Ghz...and the external drive is 7200rpm. So the best thing to do would be record my clips and projects to the external? Should I store my samples there as well or would that be countrproductive. And then what's a decent price for another gig of RAM and will that be enough...and can I only buy that at the Apple store? Do I need to up my sound card? Right now I'm working with Core Audio. Sorry for so many qustions. Relatively noob here
Thanks

1Gb of RAM is about £110 in the UK. At the Apple Store it's considerably more expensive. You don't have to buy this "Apple Certified RAM", but if there are any further issues, Apple will tell you to remove the third-party RAM before they'll troubleshoot your computer any further. Apple simply doesn't support any RAM other than its own. However, it's never been an issue for me - I always buy my RAM elsewhere: Crucial.com, for instance.

Do all your recording on the external drive. Leave the Mac's hard disk for running Logic, your VSTis, plug-ins, automation etc. Samples can also be on the external drive if you like.

As for the sound card, everything works through Core Audio. Don't confuse Core Audio with Built-in Sound. Your interface is OK. If you spent a lot more on a higher-end device, you would get better results. Stands to reason. But you don't _need_ to upgrade, unless your ears tell you otherwise.

The computer might simply be stuttering because you've got three complex instruments happening in real time simultaneously. Your G4 suddenly finds itself doing a whole lot of work at that point… maybe too much. Freeze tracks?

Great thanks so much for the advice. I'm gonna run out and buy an extra Gig of RAM tomororw. I think I'm gonna go with the Apple brand just because I have no clue how to install and I'm sure I'll probably need the hardware support in the future.
Thanks again

Adding RAM takes about five minutes, it's the little panel with four screws on the bottom.

Save you money for more gear. There should be instructions on adding RAM in your owners manual, also on the Apple site.

okay i'll give it a shot...thanks

So I bought the 1 gig from apple (a whopping $300)...far more than I wanted to spend, but hey I was there. Installed it myself. Then for whatever reason my computer isn't recognizing the additional RAM. I looked on mac.com and apparently there is an issue with the make of my G4 and recognizing new memory. This solved all the problems with the skipping and clicking and my computer is definitly running more efficiently...sooo, is it really necessary I go and have apple fix the problem with recognizing the new hardware? Or is it not a big deal?

I probably would if I were you. Who knows...there might be problems later. When I paid my 300 bucks the apple rep who sold it to me installed mine on the spot & then showed me the window that indicated that the computer recognized the RAM. I would have done it myself but the tiniest precision screwdriver I had threatened to strip out the screws to the RAM cover on my laptop. Take it back to the guys who sold you the RAM & I bet they will have you up & running in about 10 minutes & it probably won't cost you anything. However you may just want to call someone down at the apple store & see if they can walk you through whatever troubleshooting you might need to do over the phone.