Hopefully someone can give me a tip on this. I got my other box set up and running (athlon 700, 256megs PC-133, 20 gig HDD, a fossil of a 4 meg Trident AGP card, and a cheapy CompUSA 10/100 NIC under Win2k Pro SP-2). Rendercow boots with the box, and finds itself and my main machine in its workgroup settings. When I activate the HyperVue option on my main machine, the only computer on the network it finds is itself, and it throws a trojan error at itself (no other computers show up in the main unit network neighborhood) (the network consists of a Netgear RT314 gateway router with an integrated 4 way switch built in, and the old K7-700 is on a seperate switch so I can add other units without having to mess with the router). The main box is an XP-1700 with a gig of DDR, Linksys NIC, the same Win2k install, Vue-Mover (obviously), and Norton Internet Security 2003 (checked that, and set Vue for unrestricted access. No dice). Is there something very simple I might have missed, as it's rather late, or is it time for the baseball bat?

You got to add the server to the other box.. In explorer network try to find the other computer and if it shows up make a shortcut to it.. You give them both names right and turned on file sharing for at least the hard drives they'll be sharing. My experence I found is sometime is the server on the drones don't show up but a search for them in network neighborhood will show them up then.. Like scan the network for there names. If you make a shortcut then to the other machine there you go.. Sometimes you got to do it on all machines... Norton is probibly helping you lots to. That program is rude. Piece of trash anyone can hack it in a second and if you don't think so. Most computers on the web that get hacked run that software so it's that easy. I just run Zone Alarm here and it don't bug me every two second are you sure you want to connect and I just blocked 172.698.712 but hey somebody just hacked UDP 1043 and I never noticed... Like it stays out of you face and lets you use your computer.

Can the machines ping each other?

You don't really have to run Norton Internet Security internally if you are using a cable/DSL router like the RT314. I'm assuming it is similar to the LinkSys in that it has a hardware firewall of sorts that will not let anything into your network unless you explicitly allow it...

Have you tried disabling Norton completely? I have not used the application so I'm taking a stab here on the network side but like MightyPete said, Norton is pretty intrusive and is probably the culprit (assuming both machines can ping each other and it's not a routing issue)

Zone Alarm (free) or BlackICE ($$) are better alternatives to Norton but like I said, if you are using the router - your internal machines are somewhat invisible to the outside world...

Yah, the RT314 has both NAT and a hardware firewall (of sorts). And things have deteriorated. At first the rendercow specific system was seeing itself and my main machine; now it only finds itself. So I've gone from a one way ping to a no ping.... : On the other hand, Norton does have a few levels of 'disabled', so I might not have gotten it fully down.... I've got a bad feeling it is a routing issue, though. There are three comps on the LAN (mine, my wifes, and the rendercow box), and none of them can see each other. Cable access is fine. I wonder if maybe that built in switch isn't exactly a full duplex switch...? I =really= don't want to have to try and dig around in the router without a nice, thick manual to tell me when not to be stupid....

You got them all named right? Without a name they will not show up. I don't know how to do it on Y2K. This is the problem ay, norton is industral and it's complex so people have problems getting it set up properly and even companies for that matter and they goof it up. They think there protected and they're not. Works around Yank the cable out of the wall. Turn off Norton. Search till you find the other computers. You got to find them in network neighborhood. Oh rememeber from the hard way. There is a bug in Winders, ya right how many is that. But I discovered you cannot make changes to the network settings. It maybe a feature to keep people form hacking them. You got to unistall tcp/ip and reinstall it BEFORE YOU REBOOT !!!!!!!!!!!!! Like don't quit with no tcp/ip there or you will be in safe mode and big trouble... Just uninstall tcp/ip then right next reinstall it don't reboot, then reboot go there again and set permissions and name file sharing for your network. Do that on all machines. You end up rebooting seamingly endlessly. Then when you got that all down the names should finally show up in Network neighborhood with a search for computers... Then you got it going turn Norton back on get it working all over again. Like tweak norton till it works then go plug the net back in... Chances of you having a one way swich is 0%. They don't make chips like that. The only make one, why would they make two different kinds.. It would cost more and nobody would buy it anyway cause it would never work. That would make for a really expence supposed cheap chip. Lynksys does not make anywthing oneway it's all 10/100 two way giving max 200. I got the same system here only no lan, only a swicth. You don't need a lan really a switch works just fine. But you need a server then. I guess what ever works. I use a small Linux box for a server. You only need that though for sharing the net. The network only requires a switch

It was Norton, all right. It was detecting the port ping of the Rendercows as one of the known, timed trojans, and locking the port access for 30 minutes at a try. Nice feature... : Network rendering is -good-. Just did a test on a slapped together scene; animated sky and water, with the Poser eagle (morphed into a redtailed hawk) doing a little fly around. 16 seconds at 640x480, in final mode, standard AA, using the top of the stack codec for .avi. All of 7hrs, 13min. Now if only the fixed 4.12 will get rid of the transmap flickering....

Very nice - told ya Norton was crappy (although I'm a bit biased cause I work for a Symantec competitor!)

I'm waiting for my copy of Vue/Mover to arrive. I ordered it on Wednesday - hope to have it next week.

Now I know who to come to when I start messing around with distributed renders!

What is the transmap flicker problem?

When using networked rendering, it seems as if the tranparency maps that Poser uses on things like hair and feathers can get 'lost' in some frames, so you get an odd strobing effect. On the test, it was only the tailfeathers that were doing it; the wing primaries transmaps were stable. I just got the newest release of 4.12 ( I did get it the first day, so that may be fixed), so I get to try it again... Oh, as a heads up, I just stopped in at Phoul's site ( www.belino.net ), and he's got the tutorials section down for upgrading. Hopefully he's going to spill more of his secrets... :)

Dale B,
I have to say sorry, and make apologizes...
Yesterday I changed the text at my tutorials page. Today, you saw currently update... In fact it is not correct. Before that, since few days you could read : Section deleted. When I opened my section tutorials, I expected, naively perhaps, to receive some encouragements or thanks. However, with one or two exceptions, I received, in addition to some insults, that summations required at once my source files. As if the words 'please' or 'thank you' were definitively obsolete.
After that complaint, I had good surprise with some nice support messages from nice visitors or persons (like you ;-). So, I change the text. Less sad... Well, what should I do now?
Finally, I have to say more; because actually sad days for me. No new ideas. No ideas for screenplay to make a real short movie. Blablablabla. And no job here too.
So, I am sorry to be so tired.

Phoul; Thank you for the compliment, And the current situation you find yourself in sucks. I'm just starting to come out of a dry creative spell myself, so I know -exactly- what you mean. Nothing makes you want to beat your head against the nearest solid object than a blank page or empty screen staring at you whispering "Well?," and 'I'm waaaaaiting........", and there is nothing there to put on them. And for the record, it was seeing the magnificent work you did with Vue, Mover, and Poser that's gotten me interested in doing more than static images. =HOW= you accomplished some of those shots I have no clue (yet), but I have utterly destroyed a wannabe Pro with an Attitude with your latest demo reel. Didn't mention what you used, and he was =sure= it was all Lightwave...right up until the part with Vickie holding the Vue manual. They could hear his jaw hit the floor three buildings away. >:D As everyone who isn't in a slump says, this too shall pass. Not soon enough, but it will.

Thanks for your support.
Finally, my tutorials section is back; but nothing new.
Regards.

Phoul
I send you a very big THANK YOU! in advance for the excellent tutorials. I agree with DaleB that your work is very impressive.

I am sure you will find your voice again soon - inspiration can come from the strangest places.

Good luck and thanks for the great information!

:-) Thanks all.
Btw, about render cow, sorry, I can't help, because I do not use it.