Mac Computer Crash Musician Woes
I suppose I have been fortunate that I have never had a computer crash on my watch. I don't mean not ever having the little spinning rainbow screw up a project or a PC do, well, whatever it is that PCs do, but I have never had a computer entirely die on me...even that one time that I taxed my old Power Mac to the point that it smelled like smoke. (Yeah, I don't do that anymore).
However, a few weeks ago, the hard drive fried...for a number of reasons including a new update, overheating, fuzzballs, and summer heat (no A/C in our apartment).
Fortunately I have a friend in my writer's group who volunteered her husband to fix the computer (after a ridiculous price quote from the local Mac that essentially meant that I might as well buy a new PC for the same amount).
So now my computer is functioning again and thankfully all of my information was saved, including the 3000 family pics that I haven't gotten around to printing...next on the to-do list.
Of course, Time Machine didn't work properly, which means that while I have all my files (nothing lost!), I have to reinstall everything and abandon my original user account due to a permissions issue that I cannot seem to rectify regardless of what I do. (Hand hits forehead here). Is it a backup if it isn't functional? Ask Apple. :/
After reinstalling, and spending a good amount of time with a Sweetwater Sound Tech (they have free, yes FREE tech support, so the only place I buy gear and software..and the customer service is AWESOME), I have most of my major programs running properly now, meaning that although I am about a month behind schedule on my latest commission, nothing is lost and everything can be fixed. Well, still need to reinstall a ton of stuff - plugins, Photoshop, Final Cut, etc. But I can WRITE MUSIC and create SCORES, which is all I need to do at this point in time.
SO WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE THE NEXT TIME MY MAC CRASHES????
1) Back up Everything...like Everything
2) Create a Time Machine Backup more than a few times a year
3) Print up 3000 family photos...
4) If the computer is running hot, put it to sleep
5) Sing lullabies to my Mac so it doesn't get angry
And #6, while I don't want to admit it, this Mac Lover may be switching to a PC for her next Digital Audio Workstation...Apple Computers are cool, but they no longer have the monopoly on music production. And to be honest, I'm tired of proprietary garbage.
It's 2014, the century of the open source and DIY generation.
I want to fix my computer myself, quickly, cheaply, and easily.
And I want to be able to upgrade it when I need to. And yeah, the new Mac Pro is gorgeous...(I am sooo salivating), but I can't drop several thousand dollars for a pretty computer that does what I need it to do and actually allows me to upgrade it. Who knows, maybe I'll just buy another imac in the end, but I can't afford to depend on Apple to get my work done. I hate saying this (and my brother who is a PC nerd is probably having a party). Anyway, those are my thoughts today as I slowly get my computer up and running again.
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