By Full Compass LiveFrom the Department of “Write What You Know” comes this issue’s tale of woe: the unexpected setback known as computer failure. No, I’m not talking about a laptop deciding not to work at a gig, but the backbone of our home base: our studio and office computers. First, I’ll tell you my sad tale, and then the many ways you can avoid being in the same position.
Not So Happy Holiday
It all began a few weeks before Christmas... Working with my studio computer, which had been referred to as “Bigass Pentium” since it was built in the late ’90s due to its enormous bulk, I decided to cap off the workday with some maintenance: software updates, an antivirus scan and a quick restart. It was at this point that the “fun” began: bootDefinition:
Short for Bootstrap Loading. To boot a computer means to start it up ,and place its operations under control of the operating system. failure. Not only did it refuse to boot, but would not even go into safe modeDefinition:
Status of a recorder or track that does not recording, and thereby discourages accidental erasure.. Something very big was very wrong.
To be honest, although it was very inconvenient timing- wise, I saw this as a bit of an opportunity. The old beast had been having its parts swapped out for decades, and the putty-colored ATX housing looked like a relic, despite updated drives and other hardware. It was time for an upgrade. So, to keep this story short, my tech guy and I took a trip to the computer geek HQ known as Micro-Center, picked up a more modern chipDefinition:
(slang) Integrated circuit., motherboard, RAMDefinition:
(Random Access Memory) A method of solid-state data storage where stored data can be addressed in any order. RAM is volatile, meaning that all data is lost when power to the RAM is turned off. cards, a much smaller, yet feature-packed case, then headed back to my home studioDefinition:
A recording studio located in a residence that may be dedicated to a hobby, or to commercial projects. See also: Project Studio. to build us a new beast...with as many drives from the old computer as we could filch. A new solid stateDefinition:
In electronics, making use of semiconductors like integrated circuits, transistors, diodes, Ices, and the like instead of vacuum tubes. drive is now the boot drive for this new bad boy, and we were able to rescue all of the dataDefinition:
Information used by a computer in order to arrive at a decision. Although this is a plural term, it's often treated in the singular. from the couple of drives that would no longer fit into the box. Mission accomplished! Little did I know, this would be a prelude to the real disaster.
Winter Arrives
Contrary to popular lore, Michigan winters have been fairly tame over the past few years. This year has been about the most docile one yet! So when the night of the ice storm happened, I wasn’t too worried. It looked like it was going to pass without incident. That night, I finished my work and headed off to watch some TV, and that’s when the lights went out for the first time. It was brief, with power returning in less than five minutes. Neither computer was on an uninterruptible power supplyDefinition:
A device (internal or external to another device) that provides power for active circuitry. Can be AC, DC or battery-powered., because my old ones had failed and I hadn’t yet replaced them. (It was in my budget and on the calendar!) I really wasn’t worried, because the new computer was programmed to stay shut down. It performed as advertised. My office computer was another story. While it sits maybe a foot or two away from Lucy, my studio computer (it glows a sinister red, so I named it after Mr. Deity’s sidekick), the office box is programmed to come right back on when power is restored. From the next room, I heard it play the familiar login music. My TV program was back on, so I ignored it. Then the power cut a second time. This time was going to be a bit more traumatic! Note to Windows 10 users: If your power goes out while parked on the login screen, it could mean trouble. For me, it meant a corrupted boot sector. Déjà vu! No boot sequence, none of the automatic repair features working, system restore points all failed—and no safe mode. After trying every- thing in my extremely limited arsenal of tricks (“I’m a DJDefinition:
DJ (Disk Jockey): 1. Traditionally applied to people who played recorded music on the radio or at events. 2. Artists who perform using any combination of pre-recorded music, samples, turntables, and musical instruments., not a computer nerd!”), I contacted my amazing duo of IT pros: Monty Boleyn of New Concepts Software, and my aforementioned tech guy, DJ colleague and friend, David “Scary Guy” McMahon.
Back in the Windows 98 and XP days, we routinely would respond to such a crisis by taking any old copy of Windows, inserting it into the disk driveDefinition:
The mechanism that holds a storage medium (hard disk, Blu-Ray disc, DVD, floppy disk, etc.) and causes it to rotate. This rotation allows locating a particular section of the disk or disk for reading or writing data. and selecting “system repair” in safe mode. No, it doesn’t always work, so I’m told, but for me it did, many times. This is why I brought my diskDefinition:
A storage medium, typically applied to magnetic-based media (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk). of Windows 10, from the new computer, along with the ailing computer, to Monty’s bench. Things, however, did not go as planned. Despite near-heroic efforts, there was no way to repair the system. The drive appeared healthy, but the files were in such a state that only a fresh install would do. Monty was able to boot off of the DVD-ROMDefinition:
DVD-ROM (Digital Video Disc - Read-Only Memory): A DVD dedicated to data in read-only form, not specifically video/audio playback., and we moved all of the files from the disk onto an external HD. Then, using that same discDefinition:
A storage medium, typically applied to optical-based media (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Blu-Ray, etc.). we loaded into the studio computer, put the OS on the office box. We’ve got a pulse! The files restored overnight. Now it was just a matter of putting all the pieces back together.
Back at the office, I was very relieved the next day when Scary Guy was able to restore most of the settings and program functionality to the thing. Next came the battle with Microsoft to get a fresh activation key. (It’s a bit hard to explain all of this to a guy on the phone who barely speaks English!) In any case, here’s your predictable payoff for reading this terrible tech tale: back-up is ESSENTIAL!
Back DAT [Data] Up!
With these two repairs, the difference between minor inconvenience and near-disaster was my almost complete lack of backupDefinition:
1. (verb) To create a copy of existing software to insure against loss of the original. 2. (noun) The copy of the original software. and lack of a UPSDefinition:
(Uninterruptible Power Supply): A battery-powered, AC power backup device that takes over in the event of a power failure. The power last for a limited amount of time, depending on the power consumption of the unit(s) being powered. Usually conditions AC power as well.. An uninterruptible power supply will keep your machines running during a power outage for long enough to properly shut them down. (There’s even software that will shut down any running programs and properly shut down your computer hands-free.) The one we’ve just installed will keep our entire network (both computers, modem, monitorDefinition:
1. (audio) A loudspeaker or headphone/earphone used for accurate reference monitoring for recording or broadcast. 2. (live performance) A device that reproduces sound, like an in-ear monitor or speaker wedge, so performers can hear themselves. See: IEM. 3. (computers) A device that provides a graphic representation of operations occurring inside the computer. 4. (video) A device that enables seeing what is occurring with a video shoot, or program material from a broadcast or other video media source. and printers) powered up for a full 45 minutes before needing to be shut down. This step alone would’ve prevented the whole SNAFU. Another thing we’re now implementing is Drobo, a rather clever, redundant file back-up system that should handle both computers, and possibly my wife’s video editing network, rather nicely. Considering how maniacal I am about onsite backups at gigs, I now know firsthand that backups are every bit as vital in the studio and in the office! That is, unless you have a couple spare days to devote to data recovery.
Now it looks like the studio is ready for the rest of 2016. Over the coming months, the final phaseDefinition:
Sound waves are variations in air pressure that, like water waves, have peaks and troughs. Phase is the waveform's position in its current cycle. For example, if two versions of the same waveform are both at their peak, or at their trough, they're considered in phase. If one is at its peak and one is at its trough, they are considered out of phase. If one is at its peak and the other is at zero (between the peak and trough), then the two waveforms are 90 degrees out of phase. See also: Polarity of the rebuild and relaunch of my DJ business, Stu & His Crew, will play out, and I hope you’ll join me on that hopefully more pleasant journey right here in Mobile Beat. Until next time, safe spinnin’!
By Stu Chisholm
Originally published in Mobile Beat issue #169 – link to www.mobilebeat.com/emagscurrent/169