6.0 install and upgrades....sigh...

[farside1]

I have posted this on the lw3dgroup@yahoo and have tried numerous times to load updates
with newtek customer support giving me guidance, so I have been putting in the effort.

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I am running NT 4 with service pack 6 installed. I am fully registered with Newtek.
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Can anyone tell me what directory structure to setup for a standard lightwave installation?
example - C:\Programs\Lightwave --- this is where I pointed the 6.0 install disk.

Then I ran the 6.5 update and pointed it to the dir above...install finished okay,
then I rebooted for files to update, opened layout and version is 6.5 - okay.
I ran this for months with no issues whatsoever.

I then downloaded and ran the 6.5b upgrade and pointed it to the C:\Programs\Lightwave dir
and it finished installing, I rebooted and opened layout and it's the same 6.5 version.
Now it only wants to run in demo mode.

1st I verified the parallel port was enabled after a reboot, of course checking dongle
was on securely before post. After bootup I looked at what files were in the lightwave dir.
It created a new dir under C:\Programs\Lightwave\PROGRAMS - this is/was not right!
I then ran the uninstall and now the ver 6 install is hosed, it doesn't see the dongle at this point.
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I read posts that the 6.5b upgrade under a winXP system would not load into the lightwave
directory where the exe files reside, because the system defaults to read only setting.

This might be the problem, but Newtek didn't make me aware of this??? Any comments anyone???
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My next move is to install an additional hard drive, reformat C:\ drive and install win2K pro.

Any suggestions to setup 1st drive of 60 GB for programs/applications, and 2nd drive of 40 GB
for \Temp folder and swap file useage?
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If anyone is curious on hardware I can post that information in a followup.

Thank you,
Phil Johnson
Sr Eng Tech
http://www.volterra.com/

[ChrisS]

I don't know about installing under XP, though I've never heard of files defaulting to read only (except when copying files from a CD), but I don't think that an XP problem would matter as you're running NT. I've run the same upgrades here on a 2000 computer and haven't had any problems like those you describe.

In layout, under Layout/About LightWave 3D I believe 6.5B should show Build 508 with a date of May 2001.

LightWave wants to install to the root directory by default and that's where I've always put it. One thing is that there IS a Lightwave\Programs directory. Within that should be the LightWave_Support directory, which is where the actual program executeables etc... are stored, as well as a couple of Plugin directories and a NTCodec directory. Maybe installing Lightwave within a directory named "Programs" somehow confused the installer or something, as there is a Programs directory within LightWave.

The uninstall might have messed up the dongle installation. You could try re-installing the Sentinel drivers. If after your upgrades it goes back into demo mode, check for the License.key file in the Lightwave\Programs\Lightwave_Support directory. This should contain the permanent key number you received when you registered LightWave. If it's not in there, see if it's in another directory for some reason (see above). It should be in the LightWave_Support directory. If it's there, or was in the wrong directory, the upgrade may have overwritten or made a new version of this file somehow and you might need to re-add the permanent key number to the file.

[farside1]

My first try was to go back and do a re-install of 6.0, the sentinel
driver installed, then it gave an error message "dongle not present".
So I worked thru disabling and re-enabling port, etc...
no go. I am going to add new hard drive now.
My first need is to upgrade to win2000 pro, then all software applications.
Last will be lightwave and Aura.

Question #1 -
When I run lightwave 6.0 installation, just let it create default dir?
Example - C:\Lightwave

Question #2 -
When installing 6.5b, user is asked to SELECT directory folder
where lightwave is installed in - C:\Lightwave
I then click on the folder above and hit next right?


"I thank you for your time, and these long posts take plenty.
I apologize for too many IT related questions. I am hoping
Newtek support will key me in on the default dir :confused:
structure and where the 6.5b update wants to be pointed at exactly.
That is if they are not tired of me and my screwed up install...."

:D

[ChrisS]

Hmmm... Not sure why it's not working. Did you uninstall the driver and lightwave before reinstalling? Also, In NT you can access the Sentinel settings under Multimedia in the control panel to tell it to use a certian port, though that might not be an issue. BTW, you do have service pack 6A installed, right? Since you're upgrading the OS I guess it doesn't matter now.

Anyway, to be honest, I don't know if it's of any consequence if you put LightWave in the root directory or not, it's simply where I've always put it. I just thought that since you believe that you didn't have a Programs directory within LightWave that maybe something got screwed up somehow. Go ahead and give it a shot.

As far as the updates go, they pretty much know which directory to go to. If you've got Lightwave installed within a directory, say C:\Program Files, and the update wants to put the update in C:\Lightwave, then aim it at C:\Program Files\Lightwave, but certainly don't drill down any farther than that. If you just install to a root directory, then just aim it there, as in X:\Lightwave (X being the root).

So if you do the install/upgrade as you suggested, then yes, it should work.