New intstall issues and questions

_AH_Olds · November 13, 2008, 04:47:46 PM

Ok, got the new OS installed last night. Working ok so far, but still checking to make sure everything is working properly. One question I have is about something that I noticed last night while doing the install. The drive originally was partitioned into C, D, & E. Before I did the install, I removed the partitions from D & E, leaving only C, with an unformatted space where D & E was. When I went to install, it still showed up 3 partitions (C was almost 100 gig, D was about 135 gig, and E was about 8 gig. I had wanted to just have C, and no other partitions on the drive. I installed the OS on C, and left D blank for now. What I am trying to figure out is if there a way to extend C onto the remaining part of the drive (get rid of D alltogether). According to the screen, it said that the amount allocated was the maximum allowable. If not, I'll just use that part for storage.

As far as the connection lockups go, I'm still having problems with that. I called Blueriver this morning, and they said that the issue was on their end. They are going to come out either tomorrow or the first of next week (depending upon whether the roof is dry), and either move the antennna to the other end of the house, to avoid trees, or, if they can catch the radio when it is acting up, they will replace it. They might wind up doing both. One way or another, they'll get it going right again. Thanks for your patience with my having to reboot until I get the problem fixed.

S!

Olds

_AH_BBQhead · November 13, 2008, 05:18:14 PM

S~. You would need some software to extend C.. something like Partition Magic.. that's the name of the one i use.

Windows can't resize the partition it's already installed on.

partitions aren't a bad thing. let windows format the D partition. since they are unallocated, you should be able to resize D and E before they're formatted if you want. make them more even..maybe 63gb on one and 80 on the other.. i think there is a work around for the 135gb size limit.. but unless you have a specific need for it it's probably more trouble than you want to go to.

_AH_Hornet · November 13, 2008, 05:57:11 PM

Partition magic will be able to extend your partition out. You can also use Acronis DiskDirector, which is a bit cheaper and I find to be just as good. It can do partition splits, merges, and extensions while keeping data intact. You can also look up something called "Hiren's Boot CD" which has that software on it if you don't want to pay for software you'll only use once. *cough*

The other free option is to just reinstall and set the partitions how you want them

_AH_tomtom · November 14, 2008, 03:18:01 AM

You can also look for a program called g-parted.....it is linux based and can be used to create partitions without having to reformat or mess with any files.

_AH_Hornet · November 14, 2008, 03:40:02 AM

Quote from: _AH_tomtom on November 14, 2008, 03:18:01 AM
You can also look for a program called g-parted.....it is linux based and can be used to create partitions without having to reformat or mess with any files.

Do you have to run it from the command line or does it come with a gui?

_AH_taldrg · November 14, 2008, 04:41:37 PM

~S~ I had a "gui" once but it ran on it's own. :hahaha-024:

_AH_tomtom · November 15, 2008, 05:36:24 AM

it's starts in command line then goes to a gui, has sliders and everything.....if you want I can upload it and link it for you in ISO format, just let me know

_AH_Hornet · November 15, 2008, 09:58:56 AM

Ahhh, GParted. Yes, I should have known that was a gnome program. No, that's okay, all I have is a terminal to my desktop (ssh from laptop).

_AH_Olds · November 19, 2008, 10:32:07 PM

Here's some more info about the connection problem. As some of you know, I bypassed the router, and had no problems. I was looking through some setting, and I came to a page that had all the ip addresses and so on. I hit "repair" and it said it couldn't renew the IP. At that point, I was unable to connect. When I rebooted, I tried it again, connected, and this time it renewed it. Wonder if this may be causing the problem? I have no idea how to fix it, or what would cause it :thinking-008:

Any thoughts?

_AH_Hornet · November 19, 2008, 11:02:20 PM

What model router do you have? Are you using DHCP or static IP assignment?

_AH_Olds · November 20, 2008, 12:40:33 AM

Sorry...Linksys WRT-54 G...using DHCP...not sure if static works for me.

_AH_Hornet · November 20, 2008, 06:50:28 AM

I'm guessing you hit repair from within the WRT54g panel, not Windows, right? Also, I didn't clarify, but you're using DHCP for both LAN and WAN, correct?

This problem sounds indicative of a cable modem/router setup, so I'm guessing that you have cable internet service. Based on what I think I know, I would say that your router is having difficulties acquiring an IP address from your ISP's DHCP server. It is a pretty common problem but has varying degrees of hardware stubbornness.

Either your modem isn't picking up the address from the server or your router isn't picking up the address from the modem. In any case, the best way to solve that problem is to follow the following steps exactly.
1. Unplug the network cables and then power from the router.
2. Unplug the coax internet cable and then power from the modem.
3. Plug the coax and then the power back into the modem. Wait.
4. Plug the power back into your router. All the good lights on your modem should now illuminate.
5. If the last light on the right (internet) is green, then you're good to go and plug the network cables back in, otherwise, try again.

I've spent plenty of time trying to reset the firewall or the modem with no luck, so sometimes it only works if done in that order.

_AH_Olds · November 20, 2008, 11:05:30 AM

Thanks, Hornet. I hit repair from Windows. Anyway, BBQ and I went through some settings last night. BBQ thought that it might be specific to my machine, instead of the router. He had me change a setting in the Device Manager, Advanced tab, speed and duplex settings. Instead of auto config, we set it to 100 Mb half duplex. That way, it didn't have to keep asking what the connection speed should be, according to BB. So far, so good. I was able to join multiple games without rebooting...woohoo! :cool: Hopefully, this will fix the problem. Will know after a few days. That BBQ, he's so computery! Thanks, BB!

_AH_BBQhead · November 20, 2008, 03:29:48 PM

S~.. It's a wireless WAN with a wired LAN.. DHCP for both.

Since Olds told me the other computers on the LAN weren't having the same problem, we tried changing his speed and duplex setting rather than troubleshoot the router and modem.

_AH_Hornet · November 20, 2008, 09:56:52 PM

Well, I wouldn't set you network interface to half-duplex. Half duplex means your NIC can only send packets one direction at a time. Generally speaking, this means you are restricting the speed of your network interface by half. Personally, I wouldn't want to do that. Also, the 100 Mbps setting is just for backwards compatibility in case you plug your computer into a 10 Mbps hub or switch. There shouldn't be anything wrong with using auto detect for either as they have no impact on whether or not your NIC can acquire an address.

Instead, I would say to avoid the problem, set up a static IP address assignment for that one computer. Let me know if you need help doing so. If you want to fix the problem, I would look into making sure you have the proper/updated driver. Is it an integrated NIC or an expansion? What motherboard do you have if it's integrated, and what driver version are you running (found in the Device manager window you were in with BBQ)?

_AH_BBQhead · November 21, 2008, 12:13:08 AM

S~.. he's not losing his IP address.. he stays connected, just can't browse the web..IE and firefox time out.. and also has a problem staying in game when the same host runs a second game without going back to hyperlobby in between..all the while remaining connected to ventrilo. :drinking-29:

the half duplex setting was a quick fix and a temporary work around... it's surprising how often it can stabilize a connection.

_AH_tomtom · November 21, 2008, 01:54:58 AM

Ah yes the router.....I am not sure the version of the G you are using, but I had a customer have the same issue and thought it was his NIC card, we ended up updating the firmware of the router and it fixed the problem of his machine. If he used at half duplex (which we tried) it worked. I am not sure if this is the same problem, but it is worth a shot. I also would not be to far off to ask how old your wiring is? Sometimes Cat5 will wear down and this is when collisions can start occuring at full-duplex, or a pin or something has started to come loose. Seen that a hundred times. If you have a new cable, maybe give that a swap and a try also.

_AH_Hornet · November 21, 2008, 02:05:51 AM

I agree with tomtom. I would definitely start by switching the cables for one that is known to not have any problems. Updating the driver and then the router firmware would be next in order. Also, this is running XP, right?

Tomtom, could it be firmware if only one host connected to the router has the problem? :-\

_AH_tomtom · November 21, 2008, 02:07:38 AM

ah yes your right, i did not read that there is multiple on the router, sorry about that, could be a bad port? lol i should really ready it to the entiriety sometimes, I an :idiot-0011: :lol-034:

_AH_Hornet · November 21, 2008, 02:19:44 AM

Meh, we're not infallible. WRT54g's are notorious for being troublesome, so he should probably update it anyway. I bricked mine this past summer because I thought I'd be smart and put the DD-WRT firmware on it. That didn't work well.

:lol-034:

_AH_tomtom · November 21, 2008, 02:21:18 AM

Yep I did the same with DD, luckily it did not brick it, but it did make it now able to put any original firmwares back in place lol

_AH_Hornet · November 21, 2008, 02:23:42 AM

It's not totally bricked, but it won't pick up an IP from the WAN port. Grrrrrrrrrr.

_AH_Olds · December 04, 2008, 09:49:30 PM

Here's an update: As you know, BBQ had me change the speed to half-duplex, and not do auto-negotiate. Worked ok for awhile, but having problems again. Same thing, not renewing IP. Sometimes, if you let it sit, it will start working again after 15 min or so. Sometimes you just have to reboot. Could it be the router, or a cable? I did ask my ISP about a static IP...I would have to request it, for $5 more a month. Not sure if that would help. Any ideas? This is annoying, and I apologize for making people have to wait for me to reboot. Hopefully, this will be solved soon.

_AH_Hornet · December 05, 2008, 02:33:36 AM

Well, it can't be the router since the other computers work fine. It could be the cable, your NIC hardware, the driver, or a software misconfiguration. I PM'd you my number- give me a call and we can probably work it out.

_AH_Olds · December 05, 2008, 03:58:36 AM

Thanks, Hornet. I'll try to call you probably tomorrow evening. Thanks for the help. S!

Olds

_AH_Olds · December 07, 2008, 02:50:22 AM

Talked to Hornet this evening, and he helped me change some settings. We changed the desktop settings to a static IP, and left the router on DHCP. Will know soon how good it works. Thanks for the help, Hornet, and S!

_AH_Hornet · December 07, 2008, 02:53:18 AM

I suspect that this will clear up your problems, Olds.

_AH_Olds · December 07, 2008, 01:27:00 PM

Looks like it is fixed. Was able to connect successfully all night with no problems. Thanks a bunch, Hornet! S!

_AH_Hornet · December 07, 2008, 07:55:32 PM

No problemo. I'm glad everything stayed a-okay.