Announcement Concerning HIKYM!

[MSperoni]

I recently (1-12-2010) have had my computer virtually destroyed by either a virus or some kind of hardware malfunction or both. I have no idea what's up, I'm not tech savvy. All I can do on my end is work on Safe Mode or use a much older, much more average, computer in the other room. Either way, I do not currently have a computer which can do what I need to make the art for HIKYM.

What this means is that until I get it fixed or get a new computer (which will be hard seeing as I have very little money) there will be no HIKYM unless Brian gets another artist (which I hope doesn't happen) :(


I suppose I could do it all by hand, it's possible, but may be a kind of radical shift in design. I might try something here in a day or so because I'll get bored w/o my computer to work on.


I am hoping to get something soon. A week or so. Maybe sooner. We'll see. Till then I'm very sorry for the delay and wish that this hadn't happened.


(This all started because I was looking up pictures for reference for HIKYM, so I guess technically it's HIKYM's fault... )

[Bells]

Just to pitch a Feeble idea... is it not possible for you guys to work with slower updates and hand-draw art until you manage this out? Maybe some sort of filler or temporary spin off?

Also, sadly i don't have contacts that i can reference your work to, but maybe there is something that can be done to help you get commissions for a new pc?

[MSperoni]

I suppose it's possible I could do a kind of 100% hand-drawn thing and then that can serve temporarily till I can get something up and ready for digitals.

One of my most favorite art styles is the style found in those "Blade of the Immortal" manga.. all gritty and scribbly and intense.. That would be something I could try to do purely by hand. Probably not as well as that manga, since I don't have much experience, but imagine that w/ a "me" twist (meaning more Americanized in my style). Think that might work okay?

I mean, would something be better than nothing? I suppose tomorrow I can try to do a page 100% by hand (not a HIKYM page but something else) and scan it and post it here and see what people think.. if the art style seems fine to everyone I might just stick with it for the time being (or who knows, if people like it better and it's faster I might just stick with it for the remainder of the comic! ^_^)

[Bells]

Probably something you should work out with Brian to see if a temporary change of design (or forced hiatus) could harm the story flow in anyway, as that would be bad.

But you guys make a very nice team, so any work you guys do together has a fair change of being really good. So a slowed pace due to real technical difficulties wouldn't be a drag, i mean, PC's are pretty expensive to replace out of the blue like that...

[MSperoni]

Well the good thing is that the next page starts up at a new "scene/chapter/arc" so if there's a time for an artistic change now is the time to do it.

I was actually changing up the look of it, and was liking it, it's just I couldn't get anything finished before my computer got crippled.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

I can possibly help fix your computer depending what's wrong with it? Alternatively if you can put your forums in the tech support subforum can get some help- forum is usually pretty good.

[phil_]

I mean, would something be better than nothing? I suppose tomorrow I can try to do a page 100% by hand (not a HIKYM page but something else) and scan it and post it here and see what people think.. if the art style seems fine to everyone I might just stick with it for the time being.I'm for this in that we'll at least have something to read while you work out your computer troubles. Plus, I'm interested in what this "not HIKYM" thing might be.

[Mirai Gen]

Damn it if I was nearby I'd totally come over and help. Saw this on your Twitter earlier - bummer man.

[Bells]

Well, just spitballing here... but you know those "Encyclopedia" pages some Mangas do?

They display drawing of characters, places, items, and the such and give trivia info or the Bio on that item/person/place .

[MSperoni]

I'm for this in that we'll at least have something to read while you work out your computer troubles. Plus, I'm interested in what this "not HIKYM" thing might be.



Well the "not HIKYM" thing wouldn't be something long term, just something to do as a sample of what a by-hand comic page might look like. I don't wanna do HIKYM pages that way because if the art style doesn't fly then we'd have a couple of pages we can't use :p


However if people look like they might be cool with the art for awhile this way then I might just stick with it. Tho maybe we CAN do a little spinoff for a week or so till I get up and running.

I dunno if Brian would be cool with that though (somehow I think he'd say "Just wait till you get your computer going again so you can do real pages") ^_^



Thanks for all the volunteers for technical support! I'm working with a few people now, it doesn't seem like a lost cause but it doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere either. I'm going to contact Best Buy later today to see how much it would cost for their help (I'm pretty sure it's the virus that is preventing me from reformatting the HD and reinstalling Windows --I have XP by the way-- a hardware malfunction just doesn't make sense, if the hardware is failing why is it that I can boot up in Safe Mode? And why is it that I can boot up in normal mode for about 2 mins before it freezes?)


However, I was saving up for a new computer ANYWAY, and I've been loaned some extra money from various sources (namely parents and some friends) so that's been hugely helpful. Gonna do some research to see what options I have PC-wise and if Paint Shop Pro 8 will work on them (that's my art program, it's old so I'd be afraid it wouldn't be compatible w/ Vista or Windows 7).

I don't really have the time to wait on getting this one repaired or building a new computer from scratch. I don't know from experience how long something like that takes, but I want to get up and going again ASAP so I can get back to work.

But do I wanna get this computer repaired? I mean, it'd be my luck I'd get it fixed and it'd get ANOTHER virus. It works on Safe Mode now, it does the basic stuff I need it to do (look for pictures, send Emails, watch porn on DailyMotion, etc). If/when I get another virus on this computer, if it's already fucked up it's like shitting on a box of shit. Who would shit on a box of shit? It'd be an empty gesture! (that's a Mr.Show reference to the uninitiated).

[ChaoticBroth]

No way, I had no idea you use Paint Shop Pro 8. I found it in a pile of old CDs my dad had, and I decided to load it and use it.

It's not actually compatible with Vista, but you can use Vista's Compatibility feature to get it running. I've had it working fine, aside from some hiccups every now and then. I'm not sure if Windows 7 has it since I've never bothered touching that.

Good luck on getting your computer fixed, though.

[Krylo]

I don't really have the time to wait on getting this one repaired or building a new computer from scratch. I don't know from experience how long something like that takes, but I want to get up and going again ASAP so I can get back to work. If you know someone nearby who can do it, about 1 afternoon + shipping time for whatever parts you picked out. If you have an actual company do it, shipping time + roughly a month. 'Cause apparently their assembly lines are slower than sitting in a living room plugging components together and installing software.



My suggestion:

FIRST: Go into safe mode, activate windows restore points (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084). Restore to just before this shit went down. This should fix it (temporarily at least). Start downloading virus scans and running them like a mofo, as you may still have the offending program on your computer.

If that doesn't work: Go into safe mode, burn any data you want to/have to keep onto a DVD (or 20 or whatever), pop it out, format your HD, reinstall windows.

If it runs in safe mode I'm like 99% sure you have a software problem, so one of those should fix it, for the time being, anyway.

Then get your new computer and use that for everything that isn't HIKYM so this never happens again.


Edit: Best Buy + Geek Squad = Formatted HD. Sooooo just do that yourself before sending it into them, after backing everything up.

[MasterOfMagic]

Yeah, I've heard horrible things about Best Buy. Most people say they charge outrageous sums of money to wipe everything, without even making backups first. And other such nastiness.

I am unsure of how a virus could prevent you from formatting the hard drive. That'd have to be one crazy security leak. What happens when you reboot with an XP install disk in your drive, exactly?

[MSperoni]

What happens when you reboot with an XP install disk in your drive, exactly?

The windows installer gave a blue error screen in relation to setupdd.sys with a STOP code of 0xf7416f3e. A buddy of mine researched this online and found it is commonly related to problems with failing hardware (RAM, processor L2, etc).

However that seems strange to both of us cos my computer had performed so far without any real issue or hardware burping at all. So to have the hardware "fail" the same time I get a virus is either a case of extremely bad luck for me or something else. I didn't even get an option to format the hard-drive or mess w/ any windows partitions or anything when I put in the XP install disk.


However, instead of taking it into Geek Squad, some very kick-ass and nice tech people who work at the County Courthouse (my Dad is a Judge) offered to look it over and do what they can with it for free. At worst they say they'll just put in some new parts (which I'll pay 'em for), and at best they think they can bypass all this stuff with Windows not being installed, reformat the HD and give me the comp all clean again.

Either way I'd be starting over with my computer, but I've backed up all the critical stuff and so it'd just be a matter of putting all that back on and getting some of my old programs reinstalled like my Wacom and my art program.

However I STILL might get a new computer. I want one to be 100% offline, and I'm not sure if I will get a new one for that. I found one that seems pretty good and very powerful, like 2-4 times better than the one I have now (my computer that got this trouble was about 3-4 years old). That would be cool cos I could run the newer art programs and maybe work on bigger and more detailed images. Also it'd run games pretty well which is a nice perk.

I'd keep the old one as the 100% online computer, to avoid this virus shit in the future :)



I tried using restore points, but they didn't work in Safe Mode. I don't know why, seems kinda obnoxious really if your restore points don't even work. I also tried running various Malware removal/searching tools like Malware Bytes and Super Anti-Spyware and neither program would work on my computer in Safe Mode.

However another buddy recommended a program called "Combo Fix" which he said would have done everything, but I got this from him about the time I heard from my Dad in regards to the techies at the Courthouse so I figured I'd just turn the sucker over to them. They're experienced guys and I figure if they can't fix it no one can (at least locally that I know of) and it's a lost cause.

[MasterOfMagic]

Sounds like my help isn't needed then. Hope you get it fixed soon~

[MSperoni]

IT'S FIXED!!!

with enough time for me to get a page done by monday!

[Meister]

Hooray!

At least it happened between chapters, I guess, not right in the middle.

[MSperoni]

Only issue is the mouse is behaving a little oddly but everything else works just fine.

[Meister]

Check the mouse for dirt or dust or hair on the sensor or a bent cable or something.

I'm helping!

[Tev]

Check the mouse for dirt or dust or hair on the sensor or a bent cable or something.

I'm helping!And lotion build-up. Don't forget to scrape that off.

[Bells]

Also for tears and sweat, i mean, we all can imagine the sorts of mental abuse Brian can dish out via e-mail ...

Other than that, congrats! Great to know things are back on track.

But, have you renewed your PC defenses to prevent this from happening again?

[MSperoni]

But, have you renewed your PC defenses to prevent this from happening again?

For now I've adopted the policy called "Not do shit online with this computer"

but then I'm going to try to get a better AV program.

I will probably still get a new computer since I was saving up for one anyway, but having this computer back and going again really cuts down the sense of urgency. Now I can take more time to really study what I want and stuff. Before I was looking for whatever option I could find that was "good enough" so I could get back up and going ASAP.

[Mirai Gen]

AVG Free, Spybot S+D, and Ad-Aware. That should do the trick.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

I came back too late to help but I'm claiming I fixed it with my mind.

[MasterOfMagic]

I always prefer Avast. AVG tends to miss things in my experience. Otherwise, what Mirai said.

And, sweet! Can't wait for more updates.

[rpgdemon]

Also, Avast.

[Krylo]

I always prefer Avast. AVG tends to miss things in my experience. Otherwise, what Mirai said.

AVG also has a much larger system foot print. The last family member that put it on their computer was experiencing constant slow downs. A check of the error logs showed AVG to be the main culprit. Upon replacing it with Avast everything was kosher.

[MSperoni]

To all you who recommend Avast? I appreciate your recommendations and I hope it works for you, but as for me: Fuck Avast. That's what I had. It didn't help shit.

(sorry if I sound mean/bitter but I just narrowly avoided my computer being completely destroyed by a virus which Avast did not prevent)

[MasterOfMagic]

Did you have a firewall as well, other than the shitty windows firewall? Did you scan regularly? Did you let it update when it needed to?

Just because you got a virus does not mean avast automatically sucks. There are other things that come into play.

[MSperoni]

Well I'm not sure really. My computer had a virus on it before back in April and that caused me to have to reinstall windows, however I didn't put any anti-virus software back on it since, well, it didn't do me much good before. So instead I just got Avast, since it was recommended to me.

I didn't tell Avast to scan regularly, but I thought it sorta automatically did that all the time? Kept scanning scanning scanning and constantly updating itself. It did seem pretty good for awhile, about 8 months, but then *kaboom* again.

I think this computer doesn't have anything on it now, but I'll put something on it when I get the time. Then again I might just keep this as my work computer and get maybe a netbook with all the bells n' AV whistles on it and use it as my primary online comp.

I'm just not sure yet ^_^ Having the old computer back and operational changes the strategy quite a bit.

[Bells]

Check out the Iobit programs them... Iobit Security 360 is nice and Iobit Advanced SystemCare is also pretty good. They are both light, work nicely and really, you can run it in the background while you work, or just take 20 minutes of your whole week to do a couple of scans. It's a harmless habit with huge payback

[MasterOfMagic]

Well I'm not sure really. My computer had a virus on it before back in April and that caused me to have to reinstall windows, however I didn't put any anti-virus software back on it since, well, it didn't do me much good before. So instead I just got Avast, since it was recommended to me.

I didn't tell Avast to scan regularly, but I thought it sorta automatically did that all the time? Kept scanning scanning scanning and constantly updating itself. It did seem pretty good for awhile, about 8 months, but then *kaboom* again
Avast does attempt to scan things as you receive/open them, but its not perfect. Its a good idea to still do a manual scan every once in awhile. Also, a firewall in addition to any anti-virus is a good idea.

You're basically trying to make it as hard as possible to attack your computer, not make it impossible. Making it impossible would be...rather impossible, sadly. There's just too much that goes into making your computer work to eliminate all of the bugs.

But yeah, if this is happening regularly you should probably go ahead with the offline computer for all of your important stuff.

[Krylo]

You can also set it to run a full scan whenever your computer idles by using the avast screen saver.

Which is what I do.

[Kurosen]

Looks like Matt got everything settled and he's back to work.

[Krylo]

Awesome.

I'm kinda getting into HIKYM.

[MSperoni]

Looks like Matt got everything settled and he's back to work.

Yup. Though I'm still not done w/ page 37 yet. I underestimated:

1.) How long it would take me to draw it

2.) How busy I'd be in these past few days.


I suppose I've done pretty well deadline-wise w/ everything so far so hopefully one week of unreliability won't be the end of me :p

I think I started off on Twitter last week by saying something like "Time to work on comics like nobody's business" .. I think I must've jinxed myself. I fully intended at the start of last week to get 2-3 pages done.. *explode*

[rpgdemon]

Nope, too late, we all clearly hate you now. ;)

[Aldurin]

If you're worried about another crash that could put you behind then maybe you should install Linux (http://www.linux.com/) (an open-source (free) operating system that works very well and is very secure) as a dual boot with Windows. It's got the graphics programs and stuff you would probably need (free, of course. That's what open-source is all about.) There's so many variations that there might be a version made especially for artists. (I just looked through the website briefly and noticed that Ubuntu Studio was the most recommended distribution for multimedia.)

It's slightly more techy than using Windows but less techy than solving the problems on Windows.

I use the most common version (Ubuntu) and I must say that I love it. No viruses for the 3 or so years I've been using it, no horrendous crashes that made my backup storage necessary, and once I got the hang of it (only took around a week, but it was worth it) I was really having fun.

If you have any questions then you can PM me and I'll do what I can. (I mean only Matt PM me, if the rest of you are curious you should consult your local supernerd.)