Getting that Old Music Setup Working Again – Project 20784
Alright, so I wanted to talk about this little project I did, called it “music entertainment 20784” in my notes. It wasn’t anything fancy, really. Just me trying to get my old digital music library playing nicely on a setup I cobbled together. You know how it is, you got tons of old tunes, mostly MP3s from way back, and modern stuff sometimes just doesn’t feel right for playing them.
First thing, I dug out an old laptop. Seriously old, probably shouldn’t even boot up, but it did. The goal was simple: make this laptop a dedicated music player for my workshop, using only free software and the massive folder of music files I’ve kept for years. Labeled the main project folder “20784” just to keep track of it, no big reason, just a number that popped into my head.
So, I got the laptop running. It was slow. Like, really slow. Wiped it clean first, put a lightweight Linux version on it. That took most of an afternoon, fighting with drivers and just getting it to connect to my network. Already felt like I earned a beer.
Next step was the music itself. I copied my giant music folder over the network. Took forever. Hours. Left it running overnight. Woke up, checked it, and thankfully, it was all there. Folder “20784” was sitting there, full of disorganized music glory.
Sorting the Mess
Now, the hard part. The files were a mess. No proper tags, weird filenames. Just chaos accumulated over maybe 15 years. I needed software to sort this out. Tried a few options:
- First one I installed kept crashing. Useless.
- Second one had an interface only a programmer could love. Too complicated for just playing tunes.
- Finally found a simple player, kinda like the old Winamp, basic but it worked.
Spent a whole day just getting the software to scan the library. It choked a few times on weird files. Had to manually find and delete some corrupted stuff. Real tedious work, clicking through folders, listening to snippets, hitting delete. My back started hurting from sitting on that old stool.
Then came the tagging. Oh boy. Decided I couldn’t live with “Track 01” and “Unknown Artist”. Found a tagging tool. Also free, also kinda clunky. Started working through the artists, album by album. Didn’t do everything, just the main ones I listen to often. It’s mind-numbing work, honestly. Put on a podcast just to get through it.
The Payoff
After maybe three solid days of tinkering, installing, copying, deleting, and tagging, I finally had something usable. Hooked up some old speakers I found in the garage. They crackled a bit at first, but settled down.
And then, I hit play. First song that came up randomly was something I hadn’t heard in years. It actually sounded pretty good on that old setup. Not perfect, sure, but it had character. The whole setup, this “music entertainment 20784” project, felt really satisfying. It wasn’t about getting the best sound quality or the slickest interface. It was about rescuing those old digital memories and making them accessible again, using junk I already had.
Now, when I’m working out in the workshop, I just fire up the old laptop. It takes a minute to boot, sure, but then it just plays music. Simple. Does the job. And cost me nothing but time and a bit of frustration. Totally worth it.
