Rats!!! My music computer dies.

[Feanor]

Rats!!! My music computer dies. :(

Push the power button and nothing happens. Could be the power supply or even just the button so repair at reasonable cost is likely. However it cause me to think of what I should to if this computer is really kaput.

Fortunately a genuinely dedicated music PC can be pretty minimal. The key is to run no bloated, sluggish anti-virus software and an OS stripped of superfluous programs and services. Of course that means no Web browsing or downloads. Network connection should be OK provided neither of the preceding.

What is nice is a very quite running computer. To it's credit the current machine, a modest desktop, is very quite. BTW, it's an HP. Yes, it's all mainly the luck of the draw but this is the second HP/Compaq that's proven lacking in long term reliability and it's the last one I'll buy.

A Mini Mac might be nice but at $600 it would be almost twice what I need or want to spend.

[Mr Peabody]

Bummer. You have your music backed up?

[Feanor]

Bummer. You have your music backed up?
Good question!

So oh yeah, all my music (and other data) is backed up in multiple locations. For one thing the music file source for the computer in question is an external USB drive which appears to be unaffected.

Cautionary note: all hard drives eventually fail.

[harley .guy07]

I would see if the computer can be fixed. I know that power supplies are very inexpensive anymore, most running around $35 to $50 depending on wattage needed. and also internal hard drives are really cheap as well and even the solid state drives are getting affordable and they are blazing fast but you really don't need that kind of speed for music. If it is the hard drive you will have to reload the OS and all the drivers on the computer and hopefully you have a system image backup of your computer so that it can be loaded on to another hard drive. If not then the most expensive part would be loading a new OS onto the computer and if this pc is an older model it might be just as well to buy another one. I know you mentioned a mac mini which a lot of people are going to for music servers because it is so small and does everything needed for music but I would also check Tigerdirect or newegg for deals on desktop machines as they sometimes have really good deals on desktop pc's that would definitely fill the bill for music as well.

[Feanor]

So it's gone in for diagnosis at TigerDirect; they're busy so I'll hear in a couple of days. I'm hoping it's the power supply which, as you say, shouldn't be too expensive. If it's any thing much more expensive I would indeed go for a new machine but that would be roughly $400 plus tax unless I when for an off-lease.

I have assembled a good many computers but I don't have the diagnostic tools that the shop has.

[harley .guy07]

So it's gone in for diagnosis at TigerDirect; they're busy so I'll hear in a couple of days. I'm hoping it's the power supply which, as you say, shouldn't be too expensive. If it's any thing much more expensive I would indeed go for a new machine but that would be roughly $400 plus tax unless I when for an off-lease.

I have assembled a good many computers but I don't have the diagnostic tools that the shop has.

Yeah I ran into that recently when I was trying to install a sound card into my pc to use with my Digilink 3 dac and could not get the cound card to work in the pc. Found out it was a dead card but it took me taking it to a service place here and them using different power supplies and such to figure out that was the problem. After that problem is when I decided to say to heck with it and took advantage of PS Audios trade in policy and got the NuWave and everything worked awesome after that. I think USB will be my reference hook up method for computer audio from this point on, there is less of a chance of something going wrong and everything seems to have more compatibility this way. Yeah I would say let them see what they find and go from there.

[dingus]

for a ready made machine in the $400 range i would go with a Vortexbox.

VortexBox 1TB Automatic CD ripping NAS (http://shop.smallgreencomputer.com/VortexBox-1TB-Automatic-CD-ripping-NAS-vb1000b.htm)

[Feanor]

for a ready made machine in the $400 range i would go with a Vortexbox.

VortexBox 1TB Automatic CD ripping NAS (http://shop.smallgreencomputer.com/VortexBox-1TB-Automatic-CD-ripping-NAS-vb1000b.htm)
That's an interesting and economical little server but not really what I'd be looking for.

[Feanor]

Yeah I ran into that recently when I was trying to install a sound card into my pc to use with my Digilink 3 dac and could not get the cound card to work in the pc. Found out it was a dead card but it took me taking it to a service place here and them using different power supplies and such to figure out that was the problem. After that problem is when I decided to say to heck with it and took advantage of PS Audios trade in policy and got the NuWave and everything worked awesome after that. I think USB will be my reference hook up method for computer audio from this point on, there is less of a chance of something going wrong and everything seems to have more compatibility this way. Yeah I would say let them see what they find and go from there.\
The asynchronous USB options that are available today are so good that sound cards built-in or plug-in aren't really necessary. I got the USB option with my Schiit Bifrost and a USB connection works as well if not better than the S/PDIF from my M-Audio Rev 7.1 sound card.

[blackraven]

In the future, if you think that you have a bad power supply, you can buy a power supply tester for about $25-30. I have had 3 PS's die over the years.

Amazon.com: Manhattan Products Digital Power Supply Tester: Computers & Accessories (http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Products-Digital-Supply-Tester/dp/B0016MHQA8)

[Feanor]

In the future, if you think that you have a bad power supply, you can buy a power supply tester for about $25-30. I have had 3 PS's die over the years.

Amazon.com: Manhattan Products Digital Power Supply Tester: Computers & Accessories (http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Products-Digital-Supply-Tester/dp/B0016MHQA8)
That looks like a good idea: thanks.

The PCs I've had die over the years are almost too many to count. Most have be repairable for less than the cost of a modest replacement. The most common reason has been failure of the boot sectors of the hard driver; the next most motherboard failure or power supply failure. I've had RAM failures to due to power surge and hard disc failure other than the boot sectors.

All ways redundantly back up your data. ;)

[Feanor]

My computer is repaired and back in action. It was the power supply that pooped out, not surprisingly. The new PS is better than the original and hopefully will last. It all cost under $100 -- will cost under $80 if I live to get the mail-in rebate. (Who ever invented mail-in rebates should be killed.)

[harley .guy07]

Yeah I agree. The mail in rebate thing is something I never really understood. I know its a marketing thing to get you to buy their product but it is such a pain in the a#$ to deal with. But at least your back in action with your music server.

[Feanor]

Apparently a lot of people don't bother with the hassle of mailing in so the distributor gets a cheap promotional boost. But I'm a spiteful guy so I mail in my rebates.

Thanks, guy07: it's good to be back in action. In desperation I did play a couple of CDs using my CDP as a transport.

[harley .guy07]

Yeah I know how that feels. I played a lot of cd's when my music server was down when I was figuring out if I was going to get another sound card and try it or change DAC's. I ended up upgrading DAC's and haven't looked back. I have only played cd's to compare to the music server which the same music to see the difference. Other than that I have been totally server driven.I thought I would miss physical media but as it turns out I really don't.

[blackraven]

I sent in a rebate for a new video card back in december and still have not received it. I just let is slide.

[harley .guy07]

I think that is what companies shoot for. If they take too long to get you anything on a rebate you as a customer will eventually give up and forget about it and that is just more added to the already high profit margin of computer parts. It happens in all products that have these kind of rebates. It the same thing in principle to how Best Buy used to handle their gift cards, after so long if you did not use their gift card the money on it goes back to the company. Finally the government stepped in and made them change their policy on this and I think the policy on mail in rebate should be changed or done away with and a discount of products needs to be off of the purchase price right off the bat and not some mail in thing.

[Feanor]

I think that is what companies shoot for. If they take too long to get you anything on a rebate you as a customer will eventually give up and forget about it and that is just more added to the already high profit margin of computer parts. It happens in all products that have these kind of rebates. It the same thing in principle to how Best Buy used to handle their gift cards, after so long if you did not use their gift card the money on it goes back to the company. Finally the government stepped in and made them change their policy on this and I think the policy on mail in rebate should be changed or done away with and a discount of products needs to be off of the purchase price right off the bat and not some mail in thing.
A rub I have with these mail in rebates is that I don't get a tax refund -- VAT here is 13% -- instead I pay tax on the whole amount.