Yikes! We were beset by the evil gremlins of Windows 7 and Pro Tools 9 today, as unexpected errors invaded the vocal session.

The recording system conked out at least three times during takes, plus a few BSOD's (Blue Screen Of Death) moments for no apparent reason.

Fortunately, our resident geek was to hand (me!) and with the aid of The Google (all knowing) and the very-recently updated Protools/Windows 7 optimisation tips, we got back on track.

The fact that the most recent optimisation tips was released 7 days ago suggests that we're not the only folks experiencing the joys of Random Software glitches.

For all you DIY recording enthusiasts, remember to keep calm and to avoid cursing the computer out too much - a little steam venting is ok, but you still have to get along with your hardware.

Here are my own tips for dealing with this kind of stuff:

1. Don't assume causal relationships between actions and failures. PC's are filled with software trying to coexist and despite your best efforts, or lack of apparent changes, sometimes things just stop working.

2. Try to get as much info about the errors as possible and then google the crap out of it. You will find other people all over the world have had the same problem (quite often) or a similar problem, and these may give you pointers as to what to look out for.

3. Learn basic PC maintenance skills - how to check the event log, how to check the properties of a drive, how to check the fragmentation state of a drive, how to update device drivers.

4. Use a process of elimination - in today's case, we had a DAE error, saying that the Hard Drive was running too slow for data to transfer properly. We tried error checking, a defrag, checkdisk, checking the cabling, changing the indexing service etc etc with little result. In fact, it looks like the CPU was busy running off to do something else during the recording and things went back to normal after switching the setting to prioritise Background tasks (counter intuitive huh?)

5. Don't expect any given solution to work - just be thorough and patient. For example, one of the Optimisation suggestions from ProTools was to disable the Networking services of the machine, which then sent the iLOK dongle authentication into a tailspin. Fortunately, we quickly reversed course and everything was Jake.

6. If all these Technology buzzwords scare the bejeebers out of you, perhaps a Macbook would be safer :-) For one, I can't offer any tips on how to fix those, so you're on your own.

Oh yeah, we also did some work on songs as well. We're still looking for the right approach for the chorus to Suit Yourself and Light In The Distance. No conclusions yet and it's fraught with peril - will they make it to the album? Are they too hard to get right? Was there something flawed in our musical thinking from the Get Go? -  but these are the necessary steps if you're keen on getting a good result.