Mac with broken logic board has my Logic songs- What to do?

[Seek]

Hello. Looking for some ideas:

I own a refurbished Powermac G5 (dual 2.0ghz) that I bought in 04' from the online Apple store. This was my first and only Apple computer purchase.

The other day the computer just stopped working. I took it into the local Apple store who has diagnosed that the problem is a broken logic board (a.k.a. motherboard, part #661-2950). The cost for getting this replaced is $900.

At this point, I'm not sure if sticking with Mac is the right way forward.

Is there any PC software that will open and/or convert my Logic songs? Otherwise, I can probably borrow a friend's Mac to dump the songs to and extract the audio and midi files, but I'm not sure about the arrangement information.

Looking for some ideas as to how I can recover all the work we've done in Logic with minimized hassle, but without spending any more money on proprietary hardware.

Thank you.

[Switchcraft]

put the drive in a firewire case and bring it to a studio that uses logic. have them export it as a OMF File. burn it as PC hybrid CD. but you lost all of the intrument plugs that are native to logic.

[quincyg]

that sucks. i had a logic board die on a $2000 powerbook 1 month out of warranty. i sold it as parts for $700. apple would not budge on their warranty. i now always buy apple care as part of any mac purchase. do as the other user said. there is an export all instruments feature in logic that will bounce all your instruments as audio. it sucks having to learn a new system.

[Seek]

Originally Posted by Switchcraft

put the drive in a firewire case and bring it to a studio that uses logic. have them export it as a OMF File. burn it as PC hybrid CD. but you lost all of the intrument plugs that are native to logic.

Thank you. I researched the OMF file and the hybrid CDs: it looks like this will be a close enough solution. Much better than exporting all the audio tracks individually.

The other option I was hoping for was the ability to run Logic on a PC. I read before about people running OS X on a PC, but didn't know if that was only a temporary ability with a development version--and whether Logic could even run on it.

[Seek]

Originally Posted by quincyg

that sucks. i had a logic board die on a $2000 powerbook 1 month out of warranty. i sold it as parts for $700. apple would not budge on their warranty. i now always buy apple care as part of any mac purchase. do as the other user said. there is an export all instruments feature in logic that will bounce all your instruments as audio. it sucks having to learn a new system.

Well, some good news is that the person I spoke to at Apple told me I can legally sell my Logic, FCP, and DVD-Studio licenses. I haven't checked on Peak yet. All the rest of my software works on a PC as well.

The people I've dealt with at the Apple store and Apple HQ have been great, and I really appreciated the quality of the hardware and software design of the system (separate from the reliability). But the pricey parts overwhelms it. Even with Applecare, you still have to deal with it after the 3 years.

It really sucks how much time I'm going to use up on this.

Now I just have to choose a new program. If Nuendo/Cubase worked with the Mackie C4, my decision would be easier.

[Switchcraft]

seems like it wouldd be better just to fix the mother board, but in any event logic has a export all tracks as audio function. Including instruments, aux tracks, everything. I would do that cuase some programs suck at dealing with OMF. Always buy applecare. I have found that If a mac is good for 2 years, it will never break down. Some people sell their old macs for parts you might want to check ebay. installing those is not too difficult.

[Seek]

Originally Posted by Switchcraft

seems like it wouldd be better just to fix the mother board, but in any event logic has a export all tracks as audio function. Including instruments, aux tracks, everything. I would do that cuase some programs suck at dealing with OMF. Always buy applecare. I have found that If a mac is good for 2 years, it will never break down. Some people sell their old macs for parts you might want to check ebay. installing those is not too difficult.

I made a mistake by not getting Applecare. It was my first Apple: I didn't know how expensive replacement parts are.

My Mac broke after 2 years and 4 months. The replacement logic board would have a 90 day warranty--the risk of the machine breaking again...?

As far as short term productivity is concerned, staying Mac would be smarter. However, expensive parts, a $300 upgrade, and a general opaqueness and unpredictability doesn't inspire confidence. Tough decision.

Thank you for the insight.

[quincyg]

i dont remember if export all tracks exports w/ effects or panning.