June 24th, 2009 jeffwa
I have been running SP3 on my XP laptop for quite sometime without issues. However, recently I ran into a show stopping issue that rendered my laptop borderline useless. It all started when I tried to add a USB to PS/2 converter. Windows would recognize the device, but refused to install a driver for it. I dug for hours and hours and found quite a few complaints about post SP3 USB issues of all varying degrees, but few fixes and even fewer fixes that seemed even remotely applicable. My first instinct was to remove all USB devices from the system, including the actual USB hubs and controllers. That made things even worse because now the system wasn’t able to install drivers for the USB controllers and hubs. I again dug again, but couldn’t for the life of me find a solution. Finally, a colleague pointed me to a forum post that eventually fixed my issue. Here are the two likely causes:
- Missing USB inf files. Look in %SystemRoot%\inf and make sure usb.inf, usbhub.sys and usbd.sys are all present. On my system usb.inf was missing, but the others were present. Fortunately I had a SP3 system that WAS working, so I just copied the usb.inf file from the working system. A quick “Scan for Hardware Changes” and I was back in business. If you’re missing these files and don’t have access to a working XP system with SP3, follow these instructions:
- Insert your XP CD and open a command prompt
- In the command CD to the I386 directory (i.e., D:\I386)
- Issue the command “expand usb.in_ %SystemRoot%\inf\usb.inf” (do not include the quotes)
- Do the same for the usbhub.sys (usbhub.sy_) and usbd.sys (usbd.sy_) files if they are missing.
- Also make sure %SystemRoot%\inf is present in your device path. The DevicePath registry key is located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion If %SystemRoot% is not in the path, add a semicolon to the end of the last entry and then add %SystemRoot% (i.e., C:\drivers;%SystemRoot%\inf).
I’m sick of wading through endless forums with people posting irrelevant MS KB articles and “I have the same problem, let me know if you fix it” posts, so I’m making it a mission to post fixes like this with the hope that other admins encountering the same issue will stumble across my page and not have to go through the grief I did. I can’t take credit for this fix and am only summarizing the steps. Credit goes to the original posters in the following topic - http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=42200
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February 19th, 2009 jeffwa
Why is it that at any production, regardless of the expertise of the person behind the console, there is always at least one person who has a vendetta against the "sound guy". Sometimes this person is a drunk patron at the bar, an elderly gentleman in the audience, or even a member of the band. Regardless, there is always at least one. A recent show got me thinking about all the incidents I’ve had or witnessed involving that one person in attendance who insists that the entire performance was a flop because of the sound guy. There was the "Yesterday" Beatle’s Tribute show I mixed where an elderly gentlemen burst into the booth and shouted at me that "everything you’re doing, everything you’re doing with the knobs is ALL WRONG", slammed the door and stormed off. Wow. I looked at the event organizer with complete bewilderment and asked him to honestly tell me if the mix needed work. His reply of course was that it was perfect. Then there was the time last fall when a guitar player in a large group feat it necessary to interrupt the bands performance and chew my head off in front of the entire crowd. He was upset because he couldn’t hear his monitor mix (he had his guitar amp on a stand about 10 inches behind his head…not sure how he could hear anything). I’ve witnessed countless butt-chewing sessions from parents at "Launchpad" because WE ruined their child’s chance at winning. Not the fact that their kids don’t understand the concept of "stage volume" or know how to use a microphone. Listen, if your kid stands 6 feet from the mic, even though I told him 10 times to stand closer, it’s not my fault that no one can hear him. Likewise, if your child ignores my instructions on guitar amp level (why is it always the guitar players…) don’t yell at me because their guitar amp is completely burying the entire band even though they’ve been completely pulled out of the mix. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of loud amps….if you are a small group playing in a <1000 seat venue, you don’t need a 1200w Marshall half stack for every guitar player and an 8×10 bass rig. I’m a musician and the best guitar and bass players I’ve worked with use modest amps sized for the gig they’re playing (I personally use a 300w 2×10 bass amp even for the largest of gigs and I play in a 20+ piece big band!). If they play a large gig, they still use the modest amp - that’s why there’s a monitor mix and a system out front, your amp doesn’t need to do all the work.
I could go on for pages with stories like this, but the bottom line is people need to be a little more courteous at a show. I’ve been to plenty of shows with an AWFUL sound tech that shouldn’t be running an AM radio let alone a large PA, but I just keep my mouth shut. It’s rude and unprofessional to castrate the sound tech. If you feel inclined to say something to the sound tech, which is to be expected from the performers or organizers of the event (you did hire them, you have a right), be professional and offer constructive suggestions. Yelling at the sound tech, regardless of whether it is warranted or not, is just going to put you on their bad side and not get anything done. Don’t run at them the second something isn’t right either - chances are they are well aware of the problem and trying to correct it. You’re insulting their intelligence and taking time away from correcting the problem by notifying them of an obvious problem they are already aware of. If they’re staring blankly into space and oblivious to the problem, then it’s open season and they have it coming 
When someone approaches me and offers a suggestion, or even tells me things are awful, but does so politely, it really makes my day. Sometimes my ears become desensitized during long shows and I enjoy getting constructive feedback when someone feels something could be better. It helps me grow as a tech and a second opinion can often make the mix that much better. Just remember that I put 100% into every show I do, so keep the constructive criticism and suggestions coming and the show will go great.
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July 27th, 2008 jeffwa
If you’re a musician or a frequent concert goer, you owe it to yourself to look into custom ear plugs. I’ve been aware of these for quite sometime, but at $180-200 per set I was reluctant to purchase them. I recently picked up a set and I can’t believe I waited so long. These things are amazing! I play bass in a big band orchestra (20+ piece) and also work as a front of house tech for a local sound company, so my ears are very important to me and at the same time are abused quite frequently. I usually wear foam ear plugs when I’m working a gig or attending a show, but I have always hated the way they muffle the sound and rob me of the true “live” feeling. At the same time, I have sensitive ears so the high SPL’s hurts which means I have to sacrifice sound quality for my ears safety. Not anymore! The Westone and Ultimate Ears custom plugs have a changeable attenuator that “filters” the sound rather than kill it. I compare it to turning the volume nob down; the overall frequency range is there, just a little more quiet. I have the 15db attenuates and recently ran front of house for a 3 day festival, which normally would have been pain and agony. I sound checked without the plugs and then put them in when the band would start. The 15db attenuators (I will note that the 15db filters are a little to much for mixing and I plan on getting the 9db filters for front of house work) allowed me to mix just as I would without plugs, in fact I would take them out once an awhile just to see if my mix was still true - and it was perfect! Last weekend I went to Rock Fest in Cadott WI, something I normally would dread because of the poor sound quality vs. painful ears dilemma. I love concerts again! Every band sounded perfect in my head, plus I found the ear plugs have an added bonus - because of their filtering characteristics you can hear someone talking next to you over the band! I found the same characteristics playing bass - the overall level of the band, which normally drowns me out (trumpets on my left and drums on my right) was brought down a notch and I could hear myself as if I was twice as loud as I really was.
Again, if you work in an environment where your ears are a valuable asset, or just want to enjoy concerts in a whole new way, you owe it yourself to check these out. Most local audiologists can make an ear mold for you and in my case, if you order the plugs from them the mold is free. You can get 3 different filters, which are interchangeable, to suite a complete range of applications. Save your ears!
http://www.ultimatears.com
http://www.westone.com
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July 18th, 2008 jeffwa
With Microsoft announcing the end of Windows XP production, sales of the operating system have skyrocketed (no thanks to the endless sea of incorrect Vista information spewing from mouth’s of people who have never seen the operating system…more on that later). Oddly enough, cnet reports that it may be Mac users buying up the licenses. This is not surprising as almost every Intel Macbook I see is booted into WINDOWS not MacOS. I witnessed this just last weekend at the airport. I almost wanted to walk up to the person and ask them why they bought a $2000 laptop only to turn around and run Windows on it when they could have just bought a Windows based system and saved $1000. This backs my theory that having an Apple is "trendy" and "cool". The majority of people who have Macbooks don’t own them for their powerful OS, but rather so they can say "I have a Macbook" as if it makes them a better member of the worlds society. Every time I hear someone say "I’m buying a Mac" or "I have a Mac" with that usual smug tone and stupid "I’m better than all you petty ‘Windows’ users" I feel part of my brain die. Owning a product with an Apple logo on it is not a status symbol. No one cares. Get over it.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13554_3-9987074-33.html?hhTest=1
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July 18th, 2008 jeffwa
Experts still state that our storage needs double every year, and it looks like the HD manufacturers are keeping right up with this predication.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9109018&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1
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