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ProfessorTomoe

The Saga of the New Music Computer

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Of course, looking at your parts list, any major end item you have cost more than my current computer, never mind pi-400.
I couldn't use your keyboard.  My typing style is just enough different than "classic" touch typing that a bent keyboard is next to impossible to use.

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Personally, I prefer the USB-compatible reproductions of ye olde Model M keyboard—I like the “clicky” feel and sound that I grew up with, as well as the large travel distance of the keys compared to the collapsible-dome keyboards.

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The anticipation builds. UPS reports that my motherboard is one day away from delivery (Thursday Dec. 9th). I'm getting antsy.

In unrelated news, specifically because it might be coming out of the house budget in installments, I might be getting a replacement for my old 2017 Samsung model J Android smart phone (which is not that smart anymore). Said replacement? A Google Pixel 6 Pro. I hope. Supposed to be a damned good phone this time around. I really hope it's in the cards for me.

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All I want a phone to do is make calls and send/receive SMS messages. I'll use the clock app to set alarms, but I have others to do that if the phone doesn't do it.  Most phones I've had cost less than the tax on your new target phone.

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18 minutes ago, mlooney said:

All I want a phone to do is make calls and send/receive SMS messages. I'll use the clock app to set alarms, but I have others to do that if the phone doesn't do it.  Most phones I've had cost less than the tax on your new target phone.

I've said that for years, but now I've been dragged kicking and screaming into the Age of the 5G Phone. Every doctor I go to is forcing me to switch to cell phone access, with several headed toward virtual visits via cell phone. My old 2017 model J phone just can't hack it anymore.

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My shrink does virtal visits via zoom, which I do on my laptop.  I've added zoom to my new tablet, but I don't plan on using it other than maybe for my D&D game

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4 hours ago, mlooney said:

My shrink does virtal visits via zoom, which I do on my laptop.

Consider thyself lucky. My shrink uses some app that only works on a cell phone. It *barely* works on my model J. Bleaugh.

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2 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Consider thyself lucky. My shrink uses some app that only works on a cell phone. It *barely* works on my model J. Bleaugh.

Only on a cell phone or only on Android/iOS?  Either way a tablet should work.  

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3 hours ago, ijuin said:

Don’t forget to ground yourself when handling the parts!

Worry not thy head on this matter. I haven't even taken it out of the anti-static bag yet. All I've done is extract the documentation, which is remarkably static-free.

One note one the motherboard: it is heavy. UPS said the package weighed 5.5 pounds. I have no argument with that. Practically none of that weight is made up in the peripherals that came with the motherboard. It's all mobo. Very, very hefty. I'm glad I bought a heavy-duty Fractal Design case.

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10 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

One note one the motherboard: it is heavy. 

Glad that is the case. Most modern electronics are light weight to the point of being flimsy and breakable.

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15 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:
17 hours ago, mlooney said:

Only on a cell phone or only on Android/iOS?  Either way a tablet should work.  

I guess only on Android/iOS. All I know is that it wouldn't work on my laptop.

Less than optimal. 

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Okay, folks - as the build date approaches like a steam train, I am facing a conundrum. I don't know the best way to migrate my software to the new Music Computer, and I can use all the advice I can get. Here's the deal.

I have a ton of what's called VST plugins that I use to process audio data. These plugins store presets all over the smegging place - in my registry, in my Documents directory, you name it. There's no easy way to back up the presets, and the presets are essential to my music writing. If I lose them, I lose years of data.

For that reason, here's what I'm thinking of doing: I'm planning on mirroring my entire hard drive setup (using Clonezilla) to an external USB drive before I transfer everything to the new system. I'm going to install my new hardware, then restore my drive data to the new NVMe drive and try booting up as is. I expect to see error messages galore, at which point I'll install my new motherboard drivers over the top of the old ones.

I really don't know of any other way to do it that'll preserve my plugin presets. If any of you have any suggestions, please let me have them ASAP. Build date is this Thursday the 16th. Thanks in advance.

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That strikes me as the best way to do that.  It's too bad that the plugins don't all fit in the same place.  Registry entries might be tricky to restore, depending g on how faithful the copy program is.  You might look at a separate registry tool to save the ones that are VST entries.   It's been years since I have dealt with Windows machines so I can't offer a tool for doing registry work, sorry.

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IT HAS BEGUN.

The massive backup of all five (5) hard drives is under way on my old Music System. It took me around three hours to get through my C: drive. I'm just now backing up my D: drive. It's funny, though - Linux has them assigned in reverse:

nvme01 = H:
sda = G:
sdb = E:
sdc = D:
sdd = C:

(Drive F: is a Blu-ray burner.)

Good thing I can remember what type of drive is which by the drive serial numbers, or I'd be toast. The new system is going to have two NVMe drives in it, but hopefully it won't be more confusing: one will be a Samsung, while the other will be a Kingston. The serial numbers should differ enough for me to tell them apart.

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Status update:

I am backing up the 4 TB G: drive overnight. My backup speed is hampered by the fact that my target drive is a WD MyBook 8 TB spinning rust USB drive - not the fastest thing on Earth. My CPU is a bottleneck as well, slowing down the compression of the backup. And before you ask, I can't do it uncompressed - not enough space on the target drive.

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On 12/14/2021 at 2:08 PM, ProfessorTomoe said:

It's funny, though - Linux has them assigned in reverse:

nvme01 = H:
sda = G:
sdb = E:
sdc = D:
sdd = C:

And if you were to reboot (into Linux) they might have a different arrangement.

(For those who don't know: Linux does not use drive letters. A disk partition gets mounted to a folder. The more recent Windows version can do that too, but it isn't the default and is seldom used; in Linux it's the only way. There's a file, /etc/fstab, which specifies where various partitions, usually defined by GUID or partition label, are to be mounted; and there are defaults for partitions not listed there - usually they go under /media/$USER or /cdrom.)

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The system has been put together and all has been recognized by the uEFI BIOS.

However.

When I try and boot Clonezilla to restore my mirrored drive data, Clonezilla bombs out with an "AHCI Unavailable!" error. I've tracked it down to a conflict between Clonezilla and the ASMedia 1061 controller chip that runs one of the SATA ports in use, specifically the one being used by my Blu-ray drive. From what I gather, if I switch my Blu-ray drive with another system drive, the problem might go away. I'll try that tomorrow.

EDIT:

Mrs. Prof tried but failed to get inside to where the cables are to do the swap, so we just unplugged the Blu-ray player for now. Problem solved. Clonezilla is restoring my backup as I type this.

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