I'm back.....:~}!!!

[elwoodblues1969]

As it turned out,my old computer was cleaned out & upgraded by my brother,but originally,my old pc had 256k of ram-which was upgraded to 512,but still only a 40gb hard drive....which is fine,but since I have have plans in the future to enter into the softsynth world,I took advantage of the loan I recieved to upgrade to a new computer.
For $300,I managed to score a Hewlet Packard Pavillion,which has a dual core 2.20Ghz processor,3GB of ram and a 500GB hard drive!!

I know there are some hardcore Mozilla fans here,but I have to admit that so far,I am really enjoying the Windows Vista software quite thoroughly!

Currently,I am facilitating the Norton security package that came with the pc and I will be looking into additional security.

It's wonderful to be back "home" and again,thanks to all for everyone's support through my ordeal.

Thom

[kara]

Welcome back Thom ! Good to see you back with a clean machine 
300$ for that configuration looks like a great deal to me.

k

[elwoodblues1969]

Thanks Kara!

Thom

[Oren]

As it turned out,my old computer was cleaned out & upgraded by my brother,but originally,my old pc had 256k of ram-which was upgraded to 512,but still only a 40gb hard drive....which is fine,but since I have have plans in the future to enter into the softsynth world,I took advantage of the loan I received to upgrade to a new computer.

Does this mean you're a two-computer guy, now? Did I hear you say softsynth? 

[offthewall]

Welcome back, thom.
And even though you have this massive capacity hard drive, believe me, it will still pay to get another external drive and back up everything onto it at regular intervals. These drives are so cheap at the moment.
 
James

[elwoodblues1969]

Oren,

It was actually the new Korg M50 that finally broke me down & convinced me to expand my horizons into the softsynth world!

Once I get the M50,the Karma-Lab software will be the first package I jump on.

Thom

[elwoodblues1969]

James,

I'm way ahead of you friend,as the first thing I did when I set up my pc-was that I created recovery discs on 3 dvd's and I am in the process of converting all of my data from my 14 flash drive's onto dvd's,so that I can free up all that space(which adds up to about 12GB).
For the time being,I will have enough flash drive space to back up all of my existing photos & music,to last me for quite a while,until such time as I can buy a external hard drive.

I agree,the external hd's are extremely cheap! 8)I've done some price shopping on those & I was amazed at thier costs.

Thanks for your continued support(tip-wise).

Thom

[Laguna Rising]

It's good to have you back with us.
...and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with soft-synths ! 

Cheers

[elwoodblues1969]

Thanks L.R.-much appreciated!

[folderol]

Nice to see you back

... even better to see your front

[elwoodblues1969]

  -Thanks Will...so nice to be back!

Thom

[MarioD]

Welcome back Thom,

If you have two computers I would dedicate one for the Internet and one for your music.  The Internet computer would have all of your anti-stuff on it while your music computer would not as it should never see the Internet.  A dedicated music computer is much faster then a music/internet one as you never have to load any thing other than your music stuff and you will never get any anti-interrupts while recording. 

I use the above-mentioned system.  I use a KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) switch so I can use one mouse, one keyboard and one monitor for both computers. I use thumb drives to communicate between the computers, but only after I scan them prior to going to the music computer.  This works for me.

Good luck and have fun.

PS - I should note that my music computer is also my photo computer.  The only things on this computer are my music stuff and my photography stuff.

[elwoodblues1969]

Mario,

Some really sound advice & your set up sounds ideal,but one of the reasons why I have decided to get into softsynths,is due to the fact that I can expand on my sound library,without having to buy a new keyboard every time I want new sounds-meaning that,with every new hardware device I get,it requires more things to plug into the wall.
As it is now,I have 5 electrical outlets in my room and they're just about maxed out...so it comes down to a single choice for my next device; do I get the new Korg M50 to run my pc software programs,or do I use both of my computers?

Also,I think I may be near the limit of how much power I can draw from my outlets while still being safe.
An additional pc will draw more power,than another keyboard will.Besides which,from what I understand of your set up,your computer is the centerpiece of your studio,which means you need alot of pc power to run what seems to be a very stout pc studio,whereas the centerpiece of my studio is my hardware gear & my pc for a musical purpose is secondary.

I purposely bought the most powerful pc I could afford to do the job,so I think I've got sufficient power for my specific needs.

As far as protecting my work,I got plenty of flash drives to back it all up.I also have another situation in my bedroom(which by the way is only 11' X 13),which is that I've managed to re-configure my room enough to allow a small vocal booth to be built,so once that's done,my room will be utterly maxed out space-wise.

This business of using thumb drives to communicate back & forth & running scans & such does not sound appealing to me,but like you said,it works for you.

I think that if I were that serious about pc music production,I would just buy a custom built Sweetwater computer and from what I understand of them,those music pc's are among the best in the business.

I threw in a pic of my bedroom to give you an idea of just how cramped my room is currently and everything you see in this photo,excludes the bed & the dresser!

Thanks for your input though,as I do appreciate it!

Thom

[MarioD]

Thom, I’m very impressed with your studio.  Actually I’m sitting here in envy!  Most all of my hardware are tone generators that are at least 5 years old with a couple, a Yamaha TX81Z and a Kawai K1M, going back 20 years!

Yes the computer is my main instrument, other than my guitar that is.  I had my music computer custom made at the local computer store I was working in so it is optimized for music.

I run a ton of softsynths.  When you run softsynths you put a bigger strain on your CPU.  Any interrupts by your anti-whatever stuff may cause you problems.  That is one of the main reasons I suggested using two computers.  The other being if you crash your system you may loose everything, softsynths and all. 

However I understand your situation. If you start having problems I would suggest that you use two hardware profiles on your system, one for Internet work and one for music only. On the music profile you can shut off everything that you don’t need, i.e. anti-stuff, Ethernet card, etc.

Have fun and enjoy your system.

PS – If you want to lighten up your electrical load feel free to ship me any of your keyboards      I will even pay for the shipping 

[kara]

Mario, don't be jaelous 
In the past I owned a K1 and still regret that I've sold it 
Another stupid thing I did was selling my DX7...

Stuck to your gear, it allways has some use...

k