Oof, good luck. The hard drive might still be salvageable though… a friend of mine had a laptop that spontaneously combusted his freshman year (True story. It was a nice Alienware, too) and he managed to get the hard drive out of the smoking melted plastic mess, so…

Wow, I was worried for a moment! But the tone of your post didn’t ssssound very panicked, so I figured everything must be alright in regard to BOT.

In case you’re interested, there are a series of Veovis doodles in my name link today.

Please tell us the laptop brand name. I’m guessing Compaq.

Hard drive recovery is possible, but it’s usually very costly. if nothing of great importance was on there I wouldn’t bother with it *shrug*
Thank goodness you had BoT backed up.
I’ve had my fair share of comp crashes…never fails to stop my heart every time. I learned my lesson, I backup my data every month to keep data loss minimal. It’s always devastating to loose any amount of data though, no matter how small.
I hope you find your replacement laptop this holiday =D
~Kia

Can someone clear this up for me, “This now makes the second laptop failure I’ve encountered while working on BoT.” I thought the script to the Myst movie was finished? And people like Cyan are reading it. BoT is Book of Tiana I would presume. Are you writing an additional story or is BoT the codename for the movie?

Wishy, the script is not finished yet. God, if only. It is very near completion, though. What Rand has read is what I had finished at that point in time.
_
The first laptop was a compaq. This one is an e machine. Please save your jeers

Data Recovery is a hobby of mine (strange hobby maybe?) so if there’s anything you need off that HD and it won’t work in the other laptop, please do get in touch as I’d be glad to help out.

I expect there will be a few ‘told you so’ type moans about the Compaq laptop…

I’ve been using Compaq laptops for years and never had a problem with them but I guess it’s the same with any company - you love ‘em or hate ‘em.

Or love to hate them…

Anyway, let the Compaq-bashing commence!

(Personally, don’t let me near a Dell!!!)

Thanks, I.C. I think we’re good to go. We dropped in the new hard drive and it’s working fine. Fortunately, we still had a copy of the system on Patrick’s box from the last time we switched out laptops. The only thing that had really changed from then to now was the script, and I have that backed up on email. All is well. Almost no data loss whatsoever.

Have fun Mr 300

It’s not too late to put “new laptop” on the wishlist. Finding someone to buy it with such a short notice may prove to be difficult though…

That happened to my brother lately. You wouldn’t happen to have a Dell Latitude, would you? I’d suggest keeping the script on a large thumb drive and working directly off of that. In my experience thumb drives tend to lose data a lot less frequently. I attach mine to my keychain so I never lose it. Unless I lose my keys, but as we know no matter how many times keys are lost, they always find their way back.

Glad to hear nothing much was lost! Was it an old laptop?

I don’t mean to be inpatient but how long until I could see the trailer?

Save trouble, buy a Macbook Pro. Macs are reliable. The Flashdrive idea was good. Being a solid state drive, there is almost no chance of losing the data.

Patrick, i seem to remember a post you made a few months back, when you were counting the different conflicts between you and computers. What would the tally be now? Just out of curiosity of course. = P

oh, and adding to Caleb’s comment, i would suggest always having like a breifcase little link thingy for you to have a constantly updatable place to put your files. That way, if you loose the flashdrive, you have an extra place to find the info. I made that mistake once… lost months of work with a piece of software smaller than my thumb! flashdrives are a good idea, just don’t take any chances!

Danny, I’m not quite sure which trailer you are referring to. If you mean the animatic, it is already available here. If you mean the actual live action trailer we were planning on shooting, that is no longer in the works. Cyan suggested that we abandon that venture and instead work toward the feature film. If you mean the trailer for the actual Myst film, that will not be available for some time as we well need to make the film first. Hope that answers your questions.

ouch. dang laptops. hope everything goes well for you. technology can be a tricky mistress. wanted to know how i could be apart of this great moment in Myst history. i edit videos and make my own trailers. here is one i did when i heard hollywood was thinking about making a Myst movie. please note that all i had to go with was Exile trailer, but i think i did it justice. if i could get some kind of feedback or critique that would be great. Again, I cannot wait for this movie. keep up the great work and your laptop flatlining is just a small problem in the many big problems to solve when creating such an imaginary piece of work. Again, keep it up and don’t let it get you down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K47GLfOsZw

First my compaq and now my emachine? I’m not ready to give up my dell yet…it’s only been about six months.

@Ian: So you were the one that made that… I found that video well before I knew a real Myst movie was being made. Nearly destroyed my mouse when I found it was mostly a trailer for Myst III.

Sorry for the double post: Just updated the link to my website. Thought you might find it interesting to know that I’m [i]making[/i] a Myst-type game. I’m calling it Surface Deep.

Hey Adrian, I noticed on your facebook that you have a picture of you with a tattoo on your right arm. It looks Tibetan. What does it say?

Toby, it is Tibetan (kind of). It’s actually a sanskrit (one of the languages of India) symbol. It is an Aum symbol. To me it represents peace and total truth. Most easily summed up as “there is no religion higher than truth”.
_
I’m glad that you recognized its origins. Most people don’t have a clue and they assume it’s a kanji. Kanjis have become so cliche and now I’m often mistaken for one of those people that tattoo artists hate. You know the kind - the ones that walk in and pick their art out of a book. I DON’T SUCK! IT’S NOT A KANJI! Okay, maybe I suck, but it’s still not a kanji.

you have an odd sense of self-loathing I don’t understand. I can’t see how in anyway you can suck. You seem quite nice from the video’s I’ve seen you in and the posts you’ve written. Please show me proof, oh one who believes in total truth, how in fact you do suck.

And, since we are being truthful.. I am in fact a woman. I wrote as Toby (email:tobysalad@yahoo.com) because I was afraid to scare you, giving you the impression I was stalking you. . . . . Although, I guess writing under an alias didn’t help me much. Kind of counter productive, to be honest. I am sorry. I’m not stalking you. I assure you, I’m quite harmless. Do stalkers say that? *sigh

I’m feeling slightly awkward….
You have a Facebook Adrian? I didn’t know that.

I’m sorry… What I wrote wasn’t meant to be serious. I just have a dark sense of humor. My apologies.

@ Zenoc2, yeah that was me lol. Im happy with it but I was bummed when i couldnt download any Myst game footage or Riven footage for that matter. All I could find was the Exile trailer. So I had to work with what I had (which was extremely limited lol) but I just want this film made. I love editing and I love film. Long live Myst

Jessica, no apologies needed. I’m not sure if it comes through here, but I also have a deeply dark sense of humor. Besides, I liked you a lot more when I thought you were stalking me. Having stalkers is neat. It makes you feel good inside - that is, of course, until the blade is twisted in your gut. Then it just hurts inside.

Oh my God Adrian, I LOVE YOU!!!! Awesome!!! I swear, I’ve been in such a sad funk for the last 3 days, thinking I just scared the hell out of you, (breaths a sigh of relief). I’m so glad that’s not the case, and I am so happy you understood my weird sense of humor. Awesome Awesome Awesome!!! By the way, I don’t know how often you check this website’s e-mail, but a few days ago I sent a private e-mail that is very personal and heartfelt. No rush, you don’t have to read it ASAP, but I’m just letting you know it’s there. Yay, Adrian isn’t scared of me!! wooot

I promise to never stick any sharp objects into your gut. That’s an easy promise.

A rope is much more intimate.
uhm.. er.. Merry Christmas! (That’s why I came here, darn you…)

Junee, you came to say Merry Christmas or to stalk me with a rope?

Junne, darn me? or darn Adrian? If me, what did I do? And if Adrian…what did he do? And just to set the record straight … I would like it to be known that I mean no bodily harm to Adrian what so ever. That said, all other types of harm, non bodily, are fair game. Sorry Adrian, I’m sure you understand.

Adrian and rope… *blink*… *blink*…

*ahem*

A rope is much more intimate.

Yes. It is also much more difficult to stick into someone’s gut.

Yes. It is also much more difficult to stick into someone’s gut.
All you have to do is stuff it down someone’s throat, then it will be stuck in the respective gut.

Umm… belated Merry Christmas?

Junee, you came to say Merry Christmas or to stalk me with a rope?
I actually came to say Merry Christmas. Then I was distracted by the current discussion.
Herohtar, you can stick most things into people’s guts if you push hard enough. (Ooh, a scalpel, now that’s something!)

My lord this is a dark Christmas blog! This is the time of year we should be stalking others with candy canes and sugar plums, snow flakes and kitten whiskers. Nothing says I love you like being poked with kitten whiskers! Where is your holiday spirit?!

how did we get into the subject of hurting Adrian? I thought this was a post on patrick’s laptop??? I… I can’t really be sure… but i don’t think it would be good for the movie if some random rope got into Adrian’s throat, or if a knife went into his gut…. Anyway, merry christmas………… this is a very wierd entry…..

I second that point! It wouldn’t help us much if the writer was dead, I mean come on right? We’ll just have to hold it off untill he’s finished with the film.

okay, so all kidding aside, I was wondering how far away from filming are you?

I’m gonna be honest, I’m a little sad to be leaving behind all of the discussion of my violent death, but a legitimate question must be given an answer.
_
Jessica, it is difficult to say how far away from filming we are. I can tell you it’s a long way. There are many steps that must be completed first. The most important of these steps being an actual sale of the script. Of course, for that to happen, it needs to be done. Once it’s completed, we’ll be going after our actors. Once that’s completed, we’ll be going after a studio to sell the project. There is no way of knowing how long that all will take. It could be months. It could be years.
_
With that bit of frustrating news, are any of you sure you don’t want to reconsider my death?

“This is the time of year we should be stalking others with candy canes and sugar plums, snow flakes and kitten whiskers.”
I bet if you pushed hard enough you could kill someone with a candy cane…

“With that bit of frustrating news, are any of you sure you don’t want to reconsider my death?”
Nope. Actually, I think you’ll be quite safe for the next few months. Maybe years.

Thank the maker that your computer is back in working condition. The title gave me almost as much of a shock as your earlier post on recasting!

“Get a Rope!”

“Get a rope!”
Awesome, a reference to the pace salsa commercials! Classic

“With that bit of frustrating news, are any of you sure you don’t want to reconsider my death?”
Are you asking us to kill you Adrian!? But we love you! Or at least I know I do! Your a cutie and your the writer. See, your kinda stuck, because we couldn’t fathom killing you until the script is done. But once you finish it, you won’t want to die anymore, so… Either way, you loose. May I poke you with kitten whiskers?

You could always get ‘Soap on a Rope’ then you could make a clean get away. (another bad joke - I’m so ashamed )

how did we get into the subject of hurting Adrian? I thought this was a post on patrick’s laptop???
hmm… @_O shifty look…

this is so much funnier, now that i know what you guys were talking about.

oops… I…uh… made a rather large…uh… typo. Sorry guys! Adrian’s laptop, not patricks. sorry Adrian!

thanks for pointing that out gloa….. @_O shifty look….

What’s funny is that your typo was rather accurate, actually. The laptop doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to Patrick. It’s on loan to me so I can make us famous…er…rich…er…failures..er…something.

With that bit of frustrating news, are any of you sure you don’t want to reconsider my death?
I wish I had a switchblade. Then whenever you’re stuck I could go “swing!” and you’d run along and write some more. Everyone happy. (It would also allow me some creative input on what you write. YAY! (Threats? No, that’s “feedback” hehe…))