Although many musicians are nervous about using laptops live, I’ve been using them for live performance since the late ’90s, and so far, the only problem I have had wasn’t in concert — it was while giving a seminar (“Hey, don’t worry — that music stand is tightened down really tight. No way it would ever tilt!”). However, there are definitely ways to make using laptops safer and more reliable when wowing the crowds, so here are five tips on how to do that.

1. Never Trust a Laptop

Because laptops need to be light, they tend to be more fragile than desktop machines. Smaller hard drives run hotter, and they usually don’t last as long as bigger drives. Solid State Drives [SSDs] are great because they’re immune to vibration and shock; but as insurance against failure, you should also make a clone of your laptop’s drive on a bootable external SSD or hard drive (with Mac OS X 10.7.3 or later, you can even boot from a Time Machine backup disk).

To start a Mac computer from an external drive:

With the external drive connected to the Mac, reboot it.
After turning on or restarting the Mac, hold down the Option key during the boot process.
When the Startup Manager window appears, release the Option key.
Choose the startup disk, then press return.
To start a Windows computer from an external drive:

Different Windows machines have their own protocols for booting from an external drive, but the general procedure is to go into the BIOS, choose a different boot priority, then reboot your computer. Your computer’s manufacturer may even have an FAQ on how to do this. You can probably find it online by searching.

Caution
If authorization for your software is based on a unique hard drive identifier, you’ll be in trouble unless you also authorize your alternate boot drive. At times like this, authorization to a USB memory stick seems like a better choice (as long as you don’t lose it!). And in case your main computer gets run over by a PA stack, external authorization also makes it easier to move to a different computer.

2. Your Live Performance Needs High Performance

Dedicate your laptop to live performance: remove all programs you don’t need, and disable any unneeded functionality (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet). Also turn off anything that scans the system, like anti-virus software — with the Wi-Fi off, you won’t be online anyway.

If you use Windows, the default power management option is “Balanced.” Choose the high-performance power mode (Fig. 1), and also choose “Never” for both “Put the computer to sleep” and “Turn off the display.”

3. Be Sensitive to the Environment

No, this isn’t about recycling bottles and cans but protecting your computer. Never put drinks or food anywhere near your laptop, and don’t place the laptop on top of a convenient speaker cabinet that vibrates components worse than an airport shuttle bus without shock absorbers. Use gaffer tape to tape down and secure all cables that go into the computer so nobody can trip on them or get their foot caught in one and bring your laptop crashing down to the floor — you really don’t want a new meaning for the words “computer crash.”

Consider securing the laptop in a pedalboard enclosure with a tour case, like the Pedaltrain Classic 1 TC (Fig. 2). Securing the laptop to it might be a bit of a challenge, but there may also be enough room to mount its power supply and an audio interface, making it easy to pack up your pet brain in a secure home.

4. Use AC Power

Some people believe that the AC power at most venues can’t be trusted, so they run the laptop from the internal battery. Don’t! Laptops have power-saving modes that decrease performance when running from batteries. If you’re nervous about power spikes and similar issues, buy an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The APC Back-UPS Pro (Fig. 3) is affordable and will handle laptops easily. It also protects your other gear (like an audio interface that requires an AC adapter) from spikes and surges and even keeps everything running if someone trips and disconnects that AC power from the wall. That can be a real show-saver.

5. Extend Your USB Port

A USB flash drive has many uses for live performance. It can hold backed-up data files, as well as store virtual instrument samples for wicked-fast load times. It may even be necessary if it serves as a dongle. So buy a short USB extension cable and insert it between your USB stick and the laptop. Having a USB drive sticking out of your computer is asking for disaster; if there’s downward or upward pressure on the stick, it could break off, and in the process, damage the USB stick, the port into which it connects, your sanity, or all three.

Remember too that USB connectors are rated for only about 1,500 insertions. If you follow the recommendation above about housing your computer in a pedalboard, then you can probably leave the extension cable connected to the computer to minimize insertions, and plug the USB stick into the extension only when needed.

Bonus Tip: When going through airport security, put your laptop bag on the X-ray belt last — after your carry-on, shoes, etc. That way, hopefully your complimentary TSA body massage will be finished in time for you to grab your laptop off the belt before someone else does.

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