Yesterday was a normal day as far as my work days go. I'm not a really smart guy, but i do enjoy helping push the cart put of the mud, so to speak. Yesterday I had that opportunity.
At the studio, we were working on a commercial soundtrack when the main PC "bluescreened" and said "WHEA Uncorrectable Error."
The engineer freaked out because there were a lot of files in that device and he couldn't access anything. I offered to help, despite knowing nothing about computers.
I pulled the unit out of the cabinet and it was literally plugged solid. I mean the external vents were covered completely and it was totally full of dirt. I took it to a auto repair shop nearby and they were kind enough to allow me use of their compressed air.
I made sure to hold the fans so the air wouldn't over-speed them. That's when I realized the rear chassis fan was locked up. I borrowed a drill but and twisted it by hand to bore a hole over the shaft and it was dry as a bone. I used some borrowed silicon lube to free it up.
When I got it back to the studio, we plugged it in and the PC went into "Checkdisk." I suggested a new PC be purchased immediately, and they sent a courier to go and score a brand new Lenovo.
After about an hour, the PC completed this operation and started normally. All the Pro Tools files were recoverable. The new PC arrived and a tech was called in to do the data transfer and backup.
I felt pretty good about that.
At the studio, we were working on a commercial soundtrack when the main PC "bluescreened" and said "WHEA Uncorrectable Error."
The engineer freaked out because there were a lot of files in that device and he couldn't access anything. I offered to help, despite knowing nothing about computers.
I pulled the unit out of the cabinet and it was literally plugged solid. I mean the external vents were covered completely and it was totally full of dirt. I took it to a auto repair shop nearby and they were kind enough to allow me use of their compressed air.
I made sure to hold the fans so the air wouldn't over-speed them. That's when I realized the rear chassis fan was locked up. I borrowed a drill but and twisted it by hand to bore a hole over the shaft and it was dry as a bone. I used some borrowed silicon lube to free it up.
When I got it back to the studio, we plugged it in and the PC went into "Checkdisk." I suggested a new PC be purchased immediately, and they sent a courier to go and score a brand new Lenovo.
After about an hour, the PC completed this operation and started normally. All the Pro Tools files were recoverable. The new PC arrived and a tech was called in to do the data transfer and backup.
I felt pretty good about that.
