Hello party people!
Been a while eh? Well, when your computer goes PHHT in the middle of the night it’s not so easy to write on a blog. Here then is the way I survived the crisis every computer based composer (which would be all of us I suppose) fears the most – the ultimate computer crash.
3 weeks ago I opened the lid on the MacBookPro (the heart & brain of my little operation) to a black screen. No amount of poking and prodding various resest and power buttons would make a difference.
Next day I went to one of the few Apple repair places in the city (and by city I mean the whole of Greater Vancouver). 3 days later I found out the logic board, ie: the computer part of the computer, had fried itself.
The cost to replace and repair? ~$1200. So, put in a new part in a computer with a potential inherent problem (such as eating logic boards)? I think not.
Of course, I could have gone the eBay route and bought a logic board from Hong Kong for cheap. But really?
A new computer was waaaaaaaay out of the budget, although obviously the most attractive option outside of the cost. New toy!!
So, after a few minor freakouts on my part I decided to replace my computer with the exact same 2008 model off of Craigslist. My first foray into Craig and luckily I found someone selling for all the right reasons and for a good price.
So instead of $1200 I got a used computer (which 12 days later still smells of the previous owner’s cologne) with double the RAM (HUGE in the computer composer world), Snow Leopard installed, and a brand new battery for $900. My old drive was fine so it was taken out, encased and turned into a FireWire 800 portable drive. Thanks to the magic of Mac, I was able to move everything over and get all my audio software installed with as little as what, 6 mouse clicks?
So kids, despite bad things happening there is usually a way out of the weeds if you think creatively about it. I always knew heading out as an independent contractor that there would be no one there to give you answers when things go wrong. So it may have taken a few weeks and quashed my creative abilities, but tonight, I sat in the studio and started it all up again. A little file locating here, some directory relocating there and I was happily sound searching once again.
Of course, there was all the updating of software to meet Snow Leopard, but meh, had to be done eventually anyways.
The worst part of it all was that the money that was spent was originally intended to buy me some smelly old used goalie equipment to start playing roller hockey. Ah well, a bummer for sure, but at least the funding was there for me to get the studio running. Something about silver linings or sunshine behind every cloud or some happy phrase or something.
Back to the composing!
David
PS Canucks game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs tomorrow. And I will be sitting in the 18th row. Mmmm Hmmmm 
