Lots to catch up with now that both computers are back to where I was when I first bought the new one. The state of the machines is at last settled, to the point that the flexible system I though I would have is no longer possible and each machine is going to have to be dedicated to certain areas of the work. The updates to the Dell have made sure it is too much a part of the new smart web with its more modern architecture than the HP. All the updates to the HP are basic and even with the updates to the bios (both machines) but the HP’s age is beginning to show. The original drive was reformatted and put in the machine after buying a DVD to SATA drive replacement tray to double the storage capacity to 2TB with the new SSD 1TB and the old drive in the tray (no eternal box and cables) but the drive and the tray connection are not working. The old drive has been in an external caddy to still be used but even the Dell does not find it. Another working drive was put in the new tray to test the tray and the IO of the machine and the HP did not find that drive either. So the old external 2TB drive is connected to the HP USB port giving the machine a 3TB storage base to process the animations and the video processing that needs to be done.
This is because the Dell keeps switching back to a private network all on its own and the local network gets lost so just file transfer between the machines is flaky. It takes restarting the machine (hard reboot) so it rereads the network ethernet settings. After using the run command to reset the connection to a private network before the reboot. It is faster to just get up and move the drive between the machines and less hassle in the long run, it is just a pain to have network capability that keeps resetting itself to public and the Dell not finding the HP (a static private definition) that does not switch on the fly. The old HP DVD will be getting a new USB cable so it can be used on both machines for some old software solutions to install from. The main backup is a brand new 8TB drive and it is not a great solution but it is workable, it needs attention every now and again with a chkdsk test to fix the odd index errors that keep popping up. No real damage has been done to data as the index now has a copy kept to just reset it. Nothing is perfect and if its man made it has man made problems built in. I have a working system but not the one I though I would have and the home network can be cured with a new ethernet USB with a dedicated IP address to stop the flip flopping.
The old HP is basically the audio recording, web development system. It can deal with video and animations but is slower (even with a brand new SSD drive) that it is going to have to be set up to work overnight to do the work. The main video processing is down to the Dell and even it has to be set up to work overnight for large films and is faster than the HP but the work loads are not that small to begin with. No internet work will be done on the Dell machine with the blog and websites and emails all being done on the HP.
The original system has been restored with only about a ten percent loss of data, and the Dell has just been restored to what it was when I first set it up. It has stopped giving the blue screen of death and seems to be stable, updating the bios did it a lot of good. I bought a reconditioned XBox scanner rewired for the PC and it has to use the USB 3.0 port and out the box it did not work. So that had to go back, this knocked a dent in getting facial features and speaking animation into the animation programs quickly. I have a photo to 3D program (free) and it is excellent and allows you to photograph a series of images in a 360 degree pan of an object and it creates a 3D file of the object all automatically and the demonstration looked impressive. Still have to buy some software about five hundred dollars worth to get the animations to character quickly but it will have to wait as clothes and other essentials are becoming pressing.
I still have to take the cameras out for a field trip and Dunfermline is still the first jump off but that is still down to the weather. The shoot will have both tripods and camcorders and the kodak but it will be an early start and getting the light at this time of year means it will be a long day and a late return home. The previous TRNSMT and the other footage is still to be edited, they were started before the last setback in late June. So till the last change of weather this year it is a case of finishing off the edit, setting up the characters and rigging them for the visual based blog while keeping this article based one on the go till it can be replaced.