I'm damned and I need help!!

[dobber]

'Got a problem.

I've got two machines. A P4 3.2ghz and an AMD64 2.8. The Pentium machine is the center of my little studio universe. I was out for a week having a good time, vacationing, and came back to a 4-bit video display on my main computer. The Pentium has an NVidia FX5500. The AMD has the FX5200. I pulled the card out of the AMD and put it into the Pentium. It was the same. Super low resolution 4-bit graphics. The AMD gets little use since it was primarily used for soft synths and minor things like that. Both cards work fine in the AMD machine.

My main question:

What the hell is the problem? The motherboard? I've done the driver thing. Uninstalling, installing, updating, etc. I can hook up hardware and install software. That is about the extent of my computer savy.

The worst thing is. I have two records that need to be bounced down to go to mastering.

Second question. It may be stupid but:

Can I open my projects with this low resolution? I need the two albums off of the computer asap but I haven't opened Nuendo since it has happened. Not knowing what the results would be. The company that built the computer will replace the motherboard for the cost of shipping. So I'm covered there.

Again, I apologize if this is something that is common knowlege. I don't know what the hell is happening.

[Phrygian]

You tried re-installing drivers so that's covered. Have you considered restoring your system to an earlier day? If you can, try restoring the system to the last day you had it up and running. (If you did some work in Nuendo the last day it ran then don't do a restore...I have lost files with a restore). Because the other video card did the same it could very well be a motherboard issue (oh the joys of computers) but I wouldn't go that far until you try a restore. Maybe also try booting up in safe mode, see what you get. You can also contact the video card company to see if others have experienced the same thing and what you can do to fix it. They may be aware of motherboard issues that have rendered their cards useless. Best of luck.

[dobber]

I have restored it. I've booted in safe mode. I've gone through the other checklists as well. I'm pretty much looking at a motherboard problem. I think. If it was a driver or hardware issue, it would have been fixed with the uninstall and install of the other card. Right?
I just don't know. I've been shitting in tall cotton here lately too. The system has been running flawlessly. Will Nuendo open in such low resolution? Will the plug-ins open? I've never had a problem like this so I don't know if the GUI will support such low resolution.
Do you think I can open Nuendo and export the audio tracks without freezing the system up? I don't want to just try. Incase this just throws the proverbial wrench in my gears somehow. I really need to learn more about the inner workings of my computer.

[natpub]

How bout this---Install Nuendo on your AMD on your O/S Hard Drive.

Then, go to your song files for Nuendo on your O/S hard drive on your Intel Computer, and just copy them to a single folder you create on your Audio Hard Drive.

Then, power down, and physically take out your Audio Hard Drive, and put it into the AMD computer. Power up the AMD, move the nuendo song files from the audio drive to their proper place on the OS drive. Open the songs you need and re-point them to the new audio files locations.

That should tide you over (I am assuming of course that you keep seperate hard drives for audio files and your O/S---if not, there is still a way, just involves more shuffling of HD"s back and forth--what you dont wanna do is put your OS drive from one comp to another, as it will go bonkers when windows recognizes a completely different motherboard---if you have any spare hard drive, or an extrenal drive, you can do all the same things).

If it is not the card or drivers problem, you may have an AGP slot on the motherboard that has broken (this sometimes happens if the card is bumped from the outside and shakes the agp slot). That would probably mean a new motherboard.

[dobber]

Alright. This is a calming answer. To an extent. I lose the ease of my UAD plugs. I lose the other non-transferrable plugs too. I still may try it though. Maybe move everything over to the AMD machine. Damnit. The MOTU drivers were a pain in the ass. Not like I don't have to completely reinstall the whole systems worth anyway.

In any of you guys/gals infinte wisdom, would I be able to just open Nuendo and export the tracks? Then send the damn thing off and get it fixed.

Two full albums on the thing. One that has to have intros and samples added to it. So it can all be 2 track stuff. Both have to be mastered and reproduced.

[dobber]

Alright. Here we go. I'm going to move everything over to my AMD machine. The MOTU, UADs, Plugins, blah blah.

As I've said before, I am unclear of all the specifics of moving drives over and technical computer stuff in general. Can I take my second harddrive out of my Intel machine and insall it into my AMD machine? If I move this over and install all of my plugins and other shit onto this machine I should be fine. I hope. If someone could chime in and give me a hell yeah it would help. Or a no dumbass, it would help too.

This is not my OS drive. Not my main drive. Audio only.

[natpub]

BTW man, you did make sure it isnt the monitor itself, right??? haha, just makin sure....

anyway....

you should be fine moving your HDD from one to the other, just dont fire up a C Drive with an OS on it from one comp to another, haha. Like i said, it will go bonkers

any other drive will be fine, and yeah, just move over your UAD's as well, pain in the ass, sure, but has to be done

REMEMBER< you also MUST get into your C Drive on the problem computer and take out all the SONG files, the data files for the songs, and you IMAGE folder, whatever it is called, the one with the wave images. You must get these two and burn them to disc---just drag them from the C drive and burn them to a disc---then put them on your good comp

Once everything is done, take that old MOBO out back and shoot it, lol!!

[C Heat]

It's all fun and games until your comp decides to do something like this.

What a KILLJOY.

My prayers are with you...

[BillyJack]

Originally Posted by natpub

BTW man, you did make sure it isnt the monitor itself, right??? haha, just makin sure....

That does sound funny but, it's not. If the monitor is on the fritz the Video card or Windows settings could be defaulting to 4 color CGA graphics, not knowing what drivers to run on the monitor.


So dobber, did you try switching monitors out?

[dobber]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

That does sound funny but, it's not. If the monitor is on the fritz the Video card or Windows settings could be defaulting to 4 color CGA graphics, not knowing what drivers to run on the monitor.


So dobber, did you try switching monitors out?

I have. Boy do I wish this was the problem. Not really. I've got dual 17" display and it would be more awful to replace those. Maybe it's all the damn heavy metal.

On a side note, I'm getting my first Distressor tomorrow. Hell yeah.

I'm moving the shit over to the other machine. Now I'm debating on moving Nuendo over or just keeping the AMD on SX 3 and cruising on from there. Being that I don't do any post work or surround work.

Thanks for the help everyone. And I will just blame all of you if this doesn't work right.........................hahaha, kidding. It's not your fault I didn't pay attention in computer science and application class.

[cdog]

Pop in your cloned DAW backup drive and get back to work.

YOU DO HAVE A CLONED DAW BACKUP HD DONT YOU??????

www.norton.com/ghost/

If you Mobo or video card died, pop your clone in your backup system.

[dobber]

I do not. I have been eyeballing this for a year. Just haven't done it. I've been backing up to externals. I feel even more amateurish because of this shit. Haaaaaa.

[just.steveo]

Originally Posted by dobber

I do not. I have been eyeballing this for a year. Just haven't done it. I've been backing up to externals. I feel even more amateurish because of this shit. Haaaaaa.

Download a Linux LiveCD, boot it and see what you get.
If you get a correct resolution display then you know the hardware is ok and it is Windows that puked.

http://www.knoppix.com/
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download/

You want the LIVECD which is a bootable Linux system that will not touch your hard disk. It runs completely from CD.

If you have a limited bandwidth internet connection try Damm Small Linux which is only 50mb or so but may or may not have drivers for your video card.
Even still, you should at least get SVGA from any of them.

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/


I use them all the time to recover from Windows headaches.

Good luck...
SteveO

[dobber]

Thanks everyone. This has been a huge pain in the ass by the way.

[Stisse]

Originally Posted by dobber

Thanks everyone. This has been a huge pain in the ass by the way.

Maybe a bit late and fwiw....if you connect the computers you could try the Terminal Client (mstsc.exe) and see if you can work something out from there.

Stefan