PC playback as an alternative to CD Players

I have all mixed.My PC is HTPC + music PC + web browser.
Before I install Bitdefender,I too needed the fresh installation due to junk files which used to come from net.Now I dont format PC for less than 6-8 months unless any serious driver issue.(I have a habit of trying new drivers).
 
Goodness, I aim to only re-install for changed hardware or OS upgrade! Sometimes, though, things get screwed up, or we screw them up. My policy of keeping an original plus a recent DriveImage-XML image on a separate (or external) hard disk has rescued me nicely once or twice. Note: you can extract individual files from the DI-XML image, making it a multi-purpose backup. If you do happen to know what DLL(s) got screwed, no need for the entire restore. To be honest, I have not formulated similar protection for Linux yet, and the fact that it is a lot less fragile is no excuse.

It might look offtopic ... but really it isn't. Some people are going to invest a lot of time in tweaking their audio PCs. Now, be honest: how many of us document every change we make to a PC's setup?

A lot of tweaking means a lot of work to redo that tweaking, but, perhaps more importantly, it means that you are more likely to break your OS and need to re-install. Take, for instance, an aggressive approach to turning off Windows Services, and you'll soon see what I mean. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been there, done that, and regretted it.
 
If you don't want to use antivirus, then tools like Deepfreeze, sandboxie etc. can be used to run your pc in a protected mode. These softwares will undo all changes made to your system when restarted.

If you are one who frequently reinstalls Windows, then imaging tools can be used to take the image of your 'C' drive and restore it from the image when needed. I'm using Norton Ghost for imaging.
 
This is somewhat off-topic, but within the context of the previous posts.

Does anybody have experience with the built-in system image backup of Windows 7? (There is a built-in facility in Win 7 to write a system image to DVD, that can be restored later.)

I've also installed Win 7 in a separate partition, so this will be convenient to do (= only the system data will get "imaged").

As Thad mentioned in his previous post, I've made quite few tweaks to the system over time, and quite frankly nearly all tweaks were done on the fly (= nothing noted down for reference later), so I doubt if I'll be able to redo all those tweaks when something goes wrong later, or when I upgrade to an SSD boot drive.

I'm asking because I really don't want to install something simply for the purpose of taking a system image.
 
Drive-Image XML is tiny. IIRC, in fact it is just a .exe (been a while, I can't be sure). It's free.

Remember, that when your OS is screwed, you need something to boot from and access the discs. Bart-PE is one solution. Again, free. Whoa! I've no idea if this works for W7. I'd better edit my previous post in case it misleads.
 
<After some Checking...>

Bart-PE is a great tool for XP users. It is not intended for later versions of Windows. It seems that W7 includes a tool to make a System Recovery Disk. Does that boot into Windows, with full access to your C: and other drives? Maybe Bart-PE/DI-XML could still be used: DI-XML is dealing with raw data. If not, there will be other tools. At the least, there will be proprietary tools

I don't know: I have left the Windows camp, and don't intend to return, not for audio, or for anything else, so I can't research this one, as I don't intend to ever own a copy of W7. Can someone oblige with this? Rockfella has already mentioned Ghost. In work, we used PowerQuest; I think Symantic swallowed it.

The writers of CC Cleaner also have a defragger. See their site Piriform. It's a neat idea to defrag before making an image.

Reality: Most of the WinPC "This Will Enhance Your Performance" stuff means about as much as the adverts in the press that offer you two inches less on your waistline every time you visit (until the top of your body falls off, I suppose ;)).

There was a manager in my last company who was perpetually defragging his machine and then telling everybody else how improved it was ... except that no-one else could see the improvement (probably because all his data was on the network, not on his PC at all!). There was a big implication, too, that this made him cleverer than the IT dept. Reality was we had to almost make it a disciplinary matter to keep his hands off other people's machines, because he was always wrecking stuff.
 
For taking image backups and restoration, I am using Norton Ghost Bootable CD with mouse support. If something happens to my windows and I'm unable to login, then I can always restore it using the bootable disk.

It is a common notion that defragging can speed-up your pc. I was in the habit of constantly defragging the disks a few years back, but never found any speed difference. So stopped doing so. Over defragging can cause damage to the HDD due to increased read write access to perform the defragment. Another thing I found is that dedicated partitions for songs and movies were least defragmented.
 
Thad, what sort of Linux setup are you using for your audio PC? I tried dual booting my laptop with Ubuntu and Win7 but the initial setup of Linux was pretty annoying. I work on RHEL5 all day so I'm semi-confident of what I'm doing but a Linux package that is more complete from the get-go will be easier to live with. Suggestions?
 
Taking an image of the C drive and reinstalling it, in my opinion, does not solve the issue I face. I use Driver Magician that backs up my drivers. I also have a list of software that I use. Things like MS Office and others update themselves automatically, and it is not a killer if they work at the installed level. Most of the applications I use, other than a few for which I have licenses, are all freeware.

I just reformat the C drive, reinstall the OS, reinstall all my applications from one or two DVD, and I am done. Never faced any issues. I am usually able to restore my PC to the level it was before reformatting within 2 to 3 hours. Works for me. I have list of software I cannot live without, and I am not bothered about anything else. This way I have new and clean OS environment.

This is for my laptop and general computer that I use.

As I mentioned before, for my Audio PC, it will have nothing in it excepting the drivers for the sound card, ASIO drivers, and one application to play music. This is not very difficult to manage. Here also I use Driver Magician that keeps me up to date.

For me, the most precious data are the FLAC files. These are installed in a secondary physical HDD inside the machine. This works for me.

Cheers
 
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Venkat, that is probably easier if you are using Win7. Imagine doing the same thing with a Win-XP disk. Whilst I have created one with SP3 slip-streamed, it still leaves a vast amount of Windows updates to download and install. The same will become true of W7. I really hate the task of re-installing Windows and my essential software, possibly because I have done it dozens of times. If it is a brand new machine (and mine) then there is a flicker of pleasure in seeing it come to life, otherwise it is just a chore, and one that can be avoided.

As I mentioned before, for my Audio PC, it will have nothing in it excepting the drivers for the sound card, ASIO drivers, and one application to play music. This is not very difficult to manage.
Click to expand...
That's fine, but it is not what you previously said. My previous answers addressed your previous statements.
Bluu said:
Thad, what sort of Linux setup are you using for your audio PC?
Click to expand...
I am using Ubuntu 10.04 (Ubuntu Studio variant). The installation, alongside XP, is a dream, and easily accessible to someone with no previous Linux/Unix experience. Is it different with W7? I don't know (I expect the internet does ;)) but it would surprise me. If you work with Red Hat, you might find Ubuntu disappointingly easy ;)

Using it as an audio PC? there are some doubts and frustrations...

--- Most of the "studio" software is intended to interact with a system called Jack, and Jack is best used via Firewire. If you want to use a firewire device, it pretty much means running jack. That would be fine; I have what should be a very nice Firewire audio interface, in it's box. Jack, and the firewire drivers is an absolute pain to set up. Ubuntu 11.04 has, apparently, properly integrated the firewire. One day, I'll upgrade and find out, but, at this time, I don't have enough external hdd space to do a complete backup of my current Ubuntu system. Working on it.

--- Otherwise, the on-board sound is simply plug and play, as is my much-loved-but-very-old RME card (at least the analogue side of it). That's nice, as my decade-plus card is no longer supported past XP by the makers.

--- Device drivers may not be available for the audio hardware of choice.

--- Here's a deal breaker. For some reason it is difficult to achieve gapless playback of multiple tracks even when there is no gap in the music. How stupid is that?

--- I hate what they are doing with the user interface. 10.04 came out with something that could easily be used by any Win (and probably any mac) user and is very configurable and impressive (Compiz, Emerald and all) and then, less than a year later, they change it.

Otherwise, I have no problems with the sound, but recent hearing tests show why you should no longer take my word on that one.

A Linux music machine should be possible. Lets give Windows the heave-ho! :D
 
I found Ubuntu's initial install to be a breeze. Further, installing some components, so to speak, was a strong wind. Setting up wifi was a gale and getting it all to talk to each other was a full-blown tempest.

Which is why I asked the question in the first place. I want a Linux release that does not require me to download a multitude of files, install stuff and generally be harassed by the machine, just to make wifi work, as an example. It'd be great if all the basics worked right off the bat, a la Win7, and I only need to install a music player of my choice. The part where one is expected to download tiny files for EVERYTHING, is pretty annoying.

I love Win7 but I love Linux better. Just cannot live with it in its present avatar. Do you think I'm doing something wrong? If yes, please post what the best approach is because a simple Linux based machine to be used only as an audio PC will beat the pants off a Win7 machine, any given day!
 
Bluu, I don't know, and it sounds like you are likely to find the answer before I do. I don't think I can offer my current machine as an answer.

I don't know why the distribution ISOs can't be updated so that a huge download is not an inevitable part of the installation --- but it does impress me that the network was instantly configured to do that. Even Virtual machines talk to the net with no problem. Haven't tried it with wireless.

Of course, Logitech have already given us Linux audio computers...

Both the Touch and the Duet Controller are Linux machines :)
 
Thad E Ginathom said:
Haven't tried it with wireless.
Click to expand...

If you get a chance, please try it. It was a nightmare for me. Doesn't help that my old laptop runs a BroadCom chip that doesn't get along well with Linux. I spent a couple of days blacklisting the chip config files so I could go online wirelessly and start the actual installations.

OT: How is wirelessly not a dictionary recognized word?
 
It is possible that one may get so entangled in trying to unravel a new technology, that one looses sight of the original goal.

Which should be:

"A simple, effective set up for listening to high fidelity music".
 
ajay124 said:
It is possible that one may get so entangled in trying to unravel a new technology, that one looses sight of the original goal.

Which should be:

"A simple, effective set up for listening to high fidelity music".
Click to expand...

True, and a custom Linux gear for audio/video transport provides the same and far better then any so called user friendly platform could.

Regards ....
 
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