#NT Help
10 messages in this thread
Gus- Since you seem to work with the nuts and bolts of this stuff daily,
perhaps you can enlighten me. I figure that it's getting time to bite the
bullet and install NT as to be ready for the next generation of graphics s/w
coming down the pipe. My question is do I want to install NT Server or
Workstation? I've got a Lantastic network that I'm pleased with, and I'm the
only person working on my 3 node net, so I doesn't get a ton of traffic.
However, I'm curious as to whether some of the new apps. (read 3DS) will be
tailored to specifically take advantage of NT's networking capabilities.
My second question is this. I've found an old copy (3.1) of NT Server for sale
and a good price. However, the only upgrades to 3.5 I've seen are for
workstation. Egghead said they weren't aware of a server upgrade. Does one
exist? or can I upgrade with the 3.5 workstation upgrade and be OK? Thanks for
your insight, I've failed to keep up with the inner workings of these new OS's.
It's all I can do to keep Dos/Windows going!<g>
-Mark
No you do not need the Advanced Server. The Workstation will work just fine for
just about all the folks in this forum. When you switch to 20 machines
rendering, you might begin thinking about it but even at that is optional.
I'm running version 3.51. I don't know what is available at the distribution
level (read Egg Head) as I haven't been in a software store in months. To tell
the truth I don't even know how much you have to spend to get NT (long story,
suffice to say I get this stuff from Microsoft directly).
One quick advice, have a partition ready for NT. Don't share NT with your
DOS-FAT partition (assuming you will start with a dual boot configuration).
Backup everything, repartition your disk giving NT a good 500M to start.
Install DOS again in the first partition and once everything is back to normal,
begin installing NT (custom installation) on the second (empty by now)
partition. Make sure you select NTFS as the file system. You can also install a
second SCSI hard disk and have it exclusive for NT (that way you don't need to
mess around with your existing DOS partition). Note that NT will be able to
see both DOS and its own partition. The other way around isn't true.
Hello Gus:
PMJI, but:
>> To tell the truth I don't even know how much you have to spend to get NT<<
I paid $300 for NT 3.5 Workstation.
>> Make sure you select NTFS as the file system. You can also install a second
SCSI hard disk and have it exclusive for NT (that way you don't need to mess
around with your existing DOS partition). <<
Can you explain why the NTFS is preferred? I bought a 2 gig drive exclusively
for NT, and formatted the FAT option. This way I can touch up stills I created
in 3DS on Photoshop NT. If I read the install manual correctly, it stated that
you must use FAT to exchange files from a DOS drive/partition. BTW, I have been
trying for several weeks (with the kind help on the WINNT Forum) to become
stable and crash proof. Hasn't happened yet. I use the drivers shipped with NT
on my Adaptec 2940 and Diamond 64 PCI cards.
Thanks for your advice.
Mike
$300 ain't bad when compared to similar Unix solutions. It's a lot when you
think it came from Microsoft though…
NTFS is the way to go. It's faster, more stable, and by far more secure. It's
BS you can't exchange files with other file systems. A file system only
determines how a file is stored. It couldn't possibly change the file contents.
As long as you keep the naming convention to 8.3 you should be fine. You won't,
of course, be able to see the 2G drive while in DOS. That's what you probably
are referring to.
I did have some problems while installing the new 3.51. I had to get both the
Sound Card and the Targa out in order to get it installed (easier than figuring
out "Plug & Play" conflicts). Once installed I got them both back and
everything works just fine.
Thanks for the reply, I will try reformatting to the NTFS option. At this point
I have nothing (but time) to loose. My problems seem to be pointing to the
Adaptec 2940 PCI card/driver. The WINNT folks say that most problems with NT
are hardware related. I will be upgrading to 3.51 as soon as it is available.
Thanks again,
Mike
>>NTFS is the way to go. It's faster, more stable, and by far more secure.<<
Gus, you saved the day! I owe you a beer! After a week of blue screens and
cussing NT, I am now rock-solid after formatting with NTFS. My hardware did not
like the FAT system at all.
Hopefully others configuring NT will see this and avoid the pains I went
through.
Thanks again, Mike
Gus,
Last I heard, Truevision was not going to supply a NT driver for the Targa+.
Gary said that they were working on it with Truevision. Have you got a NT
driver for the Targa+ that is going to be available?
Regards……….Rick – Technical Animations
Nope. I simply had a Targa installed on that computer. I can only use it while
in DOS. Yes, I'm also waiting for a NT version of it.
Gus,
I certainly hope that someone comes up with a NT driver for the Targa+, but I
could always have a Dos partition I guess.
If I need 32MB to render a file in Dos, how much ram will I need with Windows
NT?
Regards…………….Rick – Technical Animations
Thanks for the insight into NT. That helps me alot.
-Mark