Posted by John Reed on December 23, 2015 at 9:45 AM
Finally bit the bullet and got a new PC from Puget. Two problems (not with Puget):
One: I had a new 3TB hard drive I'd not installed in my old PC so I had Puget just leave me the connections. I installed it, got drive letter established, etc etc but I cannot get Windows 10 to recognize the full 3tb. There remains 746.52 gb unallocated next to the primary partition of 2048.00 gb. There are no other partitions and the unallocated is to the right of the primary but the extend command for the primary is grayed out and I cannot get the machine to recognize any more space. I realize I won't get the full 3tb but I certainly know I should not have that much unallocated that I cannot access. Anybody familiar with Windows 10 have any suggestions?
Two: I cannot get the new Puget machine to recognize one of my old machines on my home network (hard wired). Let's call one machine with Win 10 "photo" and the other with Win 7 "general". Puget sees general fine and I can access files but it will not access photo. General & photo both see each other fine as well and allow access to files. Neither general or photo can access Puget. It's a mystery why Puget can access general but not the other way around. I suspect the issue with photo is because of Windows 10 because ever since I "upgraded" that machine, I've had nothing but numerous problems. I'd like to have Puget communicate with photo so I can transfer needed files from photo to Puget prior to taking it out of service. I am asked for "network credentials" and I don't know what that is because I never set up any credentials or passwords for the network previously and it has worked fine between general and photo once I set sharing permissions. Setting permissions on Puget did not help.
Pretty desperate here since I need to have the new Puget machine up and running quickly for business needs. If nobody can help, perhaps you can direct me to some site to help? A google search of several hours now before posting here has not revealied a solution. Ditto if this is not the proper place to ask a question such as this. Thanks, J.Reed
Happy to hear you bought a Puget machine! I would give Puget a call to their tech support. They are very responsive. They can even connect to your Puget machine to help sort this out, if that is needed.
--P
Posted by Jim Erhardt on December 23, 2015 at 12:21 PM
What Preston said. I had to call them a few weeks ago when Windows 7 on my 4 year old Puget Systems Serenity work station got corrupted. All the usual steps didn't solve the issue so a few of the PS techs conferenced and we got it figured out. I was sweating having to reinstall the OS and losing some files that I hand't yet backed up.
I bet they can help!
Posted by David Bostedo on December 23, 2015 at 12:26 PM
Hopefully Puget can help; They certainly have a reputation for excellent customer service.
But one thing I may be able to help with - drives greater than 2 TB have to be setup and partitioned correctly to be recognized. The usual way drives are setup won't work beyond 2 TB. Have you set up a drive as large as 3 TB before?
David, thank you for the MS KB article link! With the rise of drives with capacities greater than 2 TB, the information in the article will be invaluable.
John, I would be extremely intersted in the solution to the network issues you are having.
I have set up document sharing between my two Win 10 machines (a Puget Obsidian and Puget Laptop. Both upgraded from Win 7). I had to make sure that the permissions were set to Read andWrite to various folders on both machines. Note that I am using the Windows Home Group on my Ethernet LAN. If there's an easier way, I'd sure like to know about it!
Please let us know what happens with your HD and network issues.
ps: Like Jim, I have also received excellent tech support from Puget Systems.
--P
Posted by John Reed on December 26, 2015 at 1:31 PM
David, thanks for the link. The problem it seems indeedwas how the disk was formatted. I changed to the method prescribed by Puget and now have all the space but it's in two partitions, both with the same drive letter and both healthy??? Asked Puget about this on 12/23 but no answer yet, probably due to holidays. I will follow-up.
Regarding network, also left that with them 12/23 and no answer yet but frankly, making a network work is really beyond machine help so if no answer here, I'm not going to go nuts. That's an "above and beyond the call of duty" kind of issue.
A new problem cropped up 12/24 with the machine spontaneously restarting after shutdown. Puget says due to way I hooked up new monitor because I used a HDMI cable with an adapter to go to the "display port" type connection provided on the computer. To their credit, they are sending me a new cable with HDMI on one end and display port on the other so no adapter is needed. Only problem here is, they advise that if this does not solve the problem, they have no other ideas!! Hmmm.
Regarding the monitor hook-up, I confess to being a mildly miffed that the unit did not come with necessary adapters to connect to what seems to be a fairly universal connection, HDMI. So I had to run out shopping to find a way to hook up and the only way was HDMI cable and an adapter. On reflection, while natural to be miffed, it's unfair to expect them to provide every possible permutation of connection adapter. However, I would think it a sound practice to do the following that will cost nothing. While the computer is being built, advise customers via email the type of connections that will come with the video card so they may be prepared in advance, and, offer any warnings about risks using adapters. I am going to pass this suggestion along to Puget now that Christmas is over and I'm back to work.
Hopefully the new cable will put this to bed. I did some "googling" and found several other ideas regarding settings on the computer but I'm not sure all were applicable to Windows 10 and I'm loathe anyway to start messing with settings from the way Puget has them set. All in all, I'm sure it's going to be fine. I've never but once gotten a new computer and had is just start up and run with no issues so this is nothing new. I always look on the bright side and recognize how much I learn when working through stuff like this!
Since you've asked, I will certainly pass along any and all final resolutions. Happy New Year to all
Glad you got the HD formatted. Since the HD has two partitions with the same drive letter, it could be a Dynamic Disk. Right click on the Start button and then select 'Disk Management'. Once it populates, look at the left side of the bottom portion of the window (the graphical representation of the drives on your machine). There you will see "Disk 0", "Disk 1", etc.. Just below each one, it should say something like "Basic" or "Dynamic". If it's a "Dynamic disk", it will say so. I have one HD that's a 'dynamic disk' and it works just fine for my archive, so if yours is a dynamic disk, you shouldn't have any issues.
Regarding your network issue... Hop over to the How-To Geek Discussion Forum, create an account and then post your issue in either the Windows or General forum. There's some folks there who are very good at IT stuff, and can probably help.
I find it interesting that your video card does not have an HDMI port. Mine is nVidia (Zotac) that is almost five years old, and it has HDMI, Dual-Link DVI, and Display Port. You can easily find out which ports your video card has by looking in your Puget Systems Account. Click on your "Completed Order entry. The next page will show all the components as purchased. Look at the System Core Section. Locate your video card's entry and click on it. It should take you to a page that shows the specs of the card. Scroll down and you should see the ports listed. Let me know what you find. BTW: Which Video card did Puget install for you?
--P
Posted by John Reed on December 29, 2015 at 4:03 AM
You're a really smart guy Preston!! It is indeed a dynamic disk. What puzzles me is that this is a drive from my old PC that holds my 2015 digital captures and nothing more. I don't know if it was dynamic there or not but I do know it did not show up as two partitions as it does now. So it's a mystery why simply moving from one machine to the other would cause this. At any rate, since it's only 1 TB I'm moving all the files to the new 3 TB and once done will probably convert the dynamic to basic, just for simplicity, and be ready to use it for another purpose.
The spontaneous restart issue as of now appears to be resolved by the new cable sent by Puget. We'll watch for a few days to be sure but it seems like they've come through as you all have predicted.
Regarding the network issue, never did hear back from the tech who was going to bump it up to a more experienced associate but it's OK because, yet another mystery, now all the computers can see each other. I confess if I live to be a thousand I'll never understand how computers can do this. It's almost as if it "healed". Now I'm sure all the geeks will say I must've done something to cause this to suddenly work, but if I did, it sure was not conscious. It literally acted as if something was correcting itself. At first, I would get the message that one machine could not communicate with the other. Later (next day) I'd get the same thing BUT if I just left it alone AND DID NOTHING while working on something else, then go back click on the warning to clear it and voila, I could access another machine. From there it then evolved to the point where I no longer get the warning and everything is hunky dory. Perhaps somehow I unleashed a troubleshooter or fixit program? Don't know and guess I don't care as long as it's working. Sorry to ramble but I'm only offering the infor since you asked to know how the network issue got resolved.
Happy New Year!
JR
Posted by John Reed on December 29, 2015 at 8:28 PM
Well - bad news. The spontaneous restart after shutdown has returned after one day of working right (yesterday - didn't use until tonight today and bam, there it is). Very frustrating - new machine now for 8 days and still not right.
Which video card do you have? As I said above, I find it odd that your card does not have an HDMI port.
--P
Posted by John Reed on December 30, 2015 at 5:25 AM
It is the standard card provided with the package I ordered so the one recommended by Puget.
It is a PNY Quadro K2200 PCI-E 4GB. I was confused by this before purchase because the quote said PNY but when I clicked on the component for more info it said Nvidia. I wrote Puget and asked "is it PNY or Nvidia?" Jeff Stubbers replied:
<div style="margin-left: 40px;"> "The graphics card is an Nvidia graphics card. Nvidia is the company that designs the cards, and has the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) made. Then they send both of these out to their different configuration partners whom build the cards. PNY is one of those companies. So the answer is "Yes, both!" :) Thank you for asking!"</div>
I find it odd too but was told by Puget tech that HDMI is actually a bit old fashioned when it comes to monitors these days. Don't recall the exact words but something like "most people buying monitors these days get display port since it's the most advanced". I confess I felt a bit put down for buying something antiquated. I assured him that here in Jacksonville Florida, the only real brick and mortar option I have for monitors is Best Buy and ALL of their monitors in two stores had HDMI!. Moreover, I find it odder still that a monitor can cause a computer to act in a peculiar way. It's a brand new monitor!! My old Win10 machine did not do this, granted with a different monitor but I can't go back to that because it only had VGA connection that would also require adapter and is even more "old fashioned".
In addition, another something new. Oh boy! Now I continue to get pop up messages to reload my Wacom driver. I'm still waiting for Wacom to respond on correct Win10 driver but again, the old Win10 machine with Wacom performed without this problem. Wonder what else will start not working today. Sorry, I'm venting a bit. Bad form. Apologize. Just needing to get to work with this machine and while it's working so I can work, these things are nagging swords of damocles that keep hanging over me.
I just looked up the specs on your video card and it indeed does not have a HDMI port. The Puget tech is correct that HDMI is rather old tech. However, it appears that thr monitor and your computer are not talking to one another properly. Since the video card is good, and the cable you're using is working, I have a couple of thoughts.
I find it odder still that a monitor can cause a computer to act in a peculiar way.
Monitors send data back to the video card. If the monitor is not working properly, or there is a monitor driver issue, the computer will throw an error. In your case, Windows is invoking a restart. Here's a couple of things to try...
Go to the website for your monitor and see if there is a driver for it. Sometimes, the device drivers from MS are older versions, or Windows is using a generic driver. If you can find a driver for your monitor, download and install it. Reboot and see if that helps.
Second thought: As a test, hook up your old monitor and see if that fixes the restart problem. If it does, then I'd suspect the new monitor is what is causing the problem. Unfortunately, sometimes even brand new devices are defective. If you believe that's the case with your new monitor, I'd return it while you can.
On the flip side of this test...If the old monitor invokes the restart issue, I'd contact Puget and let them know.
I wish I could be of more help, but I can't see your gear, drivers, or OS to check.
--P
PS: I found a series of tutorials on Windows Networking that you might find helpful. The first lesson is Here at How-To Geek.
--P
Posted by John Reed on December 31, 2015 at 8:40 AM
Preston,
Appreciate the continued efforts on your part. You've been more helpful than the vendor! The latest from Puget is rather the same...replace the monitor. They also offered a link for resetting power settings which I will try first. That's the extent of their help. I will try your suggestions this morning.
I had already decided on my own to do something similar to what you said. If monitor driver or power settings don't resolve it, I'm going to put the new monitor on my old Win10 machine and see if it does the same thing. If it does, then I have a good reason to take the monitor back to the store. Otherwise, how can I expect them to take it back simply because the computer vendor says it's bad? If however the monitor does not cause my old PC to spontaneously restart, then it seems to me there is still a bug with the Puget machine and it would seem incumbent on them to try to make it work. I inquired yesterday as to why they have not suspected video card so we'll see what they say about that. Perhaps swap it with one with HDMI connection?
PC arrived Dec 21 - 10 days later still not working right.
I am only too happy to help out. Honestly, I think Puget has gone above the call to duty. They sent you a new cable, and have have offered suggestions that are reasonable, given that the monitor was not purchased from them, and issues with peripheral hardware can be difficult to diagnose and fix. From my own experiences with them, I know they rigorously test every machine before it goes out the door, including all the output ports to be sure they are working. Given that, I have a suspicion that one, or both, of the following may be occurring.
*Your monitor is not right
*Attempting use a Display Port to communicate with your HDMI monitor is not working.
Don't get me wrong, here. It is possible that the video card is not up to snuff. It is also possible that the card may need to be re-seated in the PCIe slot on the motherboard. Puget does pack their machines so that components don't move during shipping, but it is possible the card is slightly loose in the slot. I would check this.
If monitor driver or power settings don't resolve it, I'm going to put the new monitor on my old Win10 machine and see if it does the same thing. If it does, then I have a good reason to take the monitor back to the store.
That would be a good test. Also, do you have the old monitor? If you do, and it has Display Port, hook it up to the Puget machine. If the the restart issue occurs, I would strongly suspect the video card, and would let Puget know immediately.
Perhaps swap it with one with HDMI connection?
Doing that would certainly eliminate the compatibility issue, and, if all else fails, I would discuss this with Puget.
I can sympathize with you--issues like this are very frustrating, and the inclination is to get angry at the vendor--that's natural. However, it's good to bear in mind that Puget has thousands of customers, with all manner of computer configurations and many different peripheral devices, so taking a deep breath and exercising patience with them, and yourself, will create a win-win.
Discussion
13 repliesOne: I had a new 3TB hard drive I'd not installed in my old PC so I had Puget just leave me the connections. I installed it, got drive letter established, etc etc but I cannot get Windows 10 to recognize the full 3tb. There remains 746.52 gb unallocated next to the primary partition of 2048.00 gb. There are no other partitions and the unallocated is to the right of the primary but the extend command for the primary is grayed out and I cannot get the machine to recognize any more space. I realize I won't get the full 3tb but I certainly know I should not have that much unallocated that I cannot access. Anybody familiar with Windows 10 have any suggestions?
Two: I cannot get the new Puget machine to recognize one of my old machines on my home network (hard wired). Let's call one machine with Win 10 "photo" and the other with Win 7 "general". Puget sees general fine and I can access files but it will not access photo. General & photo both see each other fine as well and allow access to files. Neither general or photo can access Puget. It's a mystery why Puget can access general but not the other way around. I suspect the issue with photo is because of Windows 10 because ever since I "upgraded" that machine, I've had nothing but numerous problems. I'd like to have Puget communicate with photo so I can transfer needed files from photo to Puget prior to taking it out of service. I am asked for "network credentials" and I don't know what that is because I never set up any credentials or passwords for the network previously and it has worked fine between general and photo once I set sharing permissions. Setting permissions on Puget did not help.
Pretty desperate here since I need to have the new Puget machine up and running quickly for business needs. If nobody can help, perhaps you can direct me to some site to help? A google search of several hours now before posting here has not revealied a solution. Ditto if this is not the proper place to ask a question such as this. Thanks, J.Reed
Happy to hear you bought a Puget machine! I would give Puget a call to their tech support. They are very responsive. They can even connect to your Puget machine to help sort this out, if that is needed.
--P
I bet they can help!
But one thing I may be able to help with - drives greater than 2 TB have to be setup and partitioned correctly to be recognized. The usual way drives are setup won't work beyond 2 TB. Have you set up a drive as large as 3 TB before?
If not, perhaps this page can help : https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2581408
John, I would be extremely intersted in the solution to the network issues you are having.
I have set up document sharing between my two Win 10 machines (a Puget Obsidian and Puget Laptop. Both upgraded from Win 7). I had to make sure that the permissions were set to Read and Write to various folders on both machines. Note that I am using the Windows Home Group on my Ethernet LAN. If there's an easier way, I'd sure like to know about it!
Please let us know what happens with your HD and network issues.
ps: Like Jim, I have also received excellent tech support from Puget Systems.
--P
Regarding network, also left that with them 12/23 and no answer yet but frankly, making a network work is really beyond machine help so if no answer here, I'm not going to go nuts. That's an "above and beyond the call of duty" kind of issue.
A new problem cropped up 12/24 with the machine spontaneously restarting after shutdown. Puget says due to way I hooked up new monitor because I used a HDMI cable with an adapter to go to the "display port" type connection provided on the computer. To their credit, they are sending me a new cable with HDMI on one end and display port on the other so no adapter is needed. Only problem here is, they advise that if this does not solve the problem, they have no other ideas!! Hmmm.
Regarding the monitor hook-up, I confess to being a mildly miffed that the unit did not come with necessary adapters to connect to what seems to be a fairly universal connection, HDMI. So I had to run out shopping to find a way to hook up and the only way was HDMI cable and an adapter. On reflection, while natural to be miffed, it's unfair to expect them to provide every possible permutation of connection adapter. However, I would think it a sound practice to do the following that will cost nothing. While the computer is being built, advise customers via email the type of connections that will come with the video card so they may be prepared in advance, and, offer any warnings about risks using adapters. I am going to pass this suggestion along to Puget now that Christmas is over and I'm back to work.
Hopefully the new cable will put this to bed. I did some "googling" and found several other ideas regarding settings on the computer but I'm not sure all were applicable to Windows 10 and I'm loathe anyway to start messing with settings from the way Puget has them set. All in all, I'm sure it's going to be fine. I've never but once gotten a new computer and had is just start up and run with no issues so this is nothing new. I always look on the bright side and recognize how much I learn when working through stuff like this!
Since you've asked, I will certainly pass along any and all final resolutions. Happy New Year to all
Regarding your network issue... Hop over to the How-To Geek Discussion Forum, create an account and then post your issue in either the Windows or General forum. There's some folks there who are very good at IT stuff, and can probably help.
I find it interesting that your video card does not have an HDMI port. Mine is nVidia (Zotac) that is almost five years old, and it has HDMI, Dual-Link DVI, and Display Port. You can easily find out which ports your video card has by looking in your Puget Systems Account. Click on your "Completed Order entry. The next page will show all the components as purchased. Look at the System Core Section. Locate your video card's entry and click on it. It should take you to a page that shows the specs of the card. Scroll down and you should see the ports listed. Let me know what you find. BTW: Which Video card did Puget install for you?
--P
The spontaneous restart issue as of now appears to be resolved by the new cable sent by Puget. We'll watch for a few days to be sure but it seems like they've come through as you all have predicted.
Regarding the network issue, never did hear back from the tech who was going to bump it up to a more experienced associate but it's OK because, yet another mystery, now all the computers can see each other. I confess if I live to be a thousand I'll never understand how computers can do this. It's almost as if it "healed". Now I'm sure all the geeks will say I must've done something to cause this to suddenly work, but if I did, it sure was not conscious. It literally acted as if something was correcting itself. At first, I would get the message that one machine could not communicate with the other. Later (next day) I'd get the same thing BUT if I just left it alone AND DID NOTHING while working on something else, then go back click on the warning to clear it and voila, I could access another machine. From there it then evolved to the point where I no longer get the warning and everything is hunky dory. Perhaps somehow I unleashed a troubleshooter or fixit program? Don't know and guess I don't care as long as it's working. Sorry to ramble but I'm only offering the infor since you asked to know how the network issue got resolved.
Happy New Year!
JR
Which video card do you have? As I said above, I find it odd that your card does not have an HDMI port.
--P
It is a PNY Quadro K2200 PCI-E 4GB. I was confused by this before purchase because the quote said PNY but when I clicked on the component for more info it said Nvidia. I wrote Puget and asked "is it PNY or Nvidia?" Jeff Stubbers replied: <div style="margin-left: 40px;">
"The graphics card is an Nvidia graphics card. Nvidia is the company that designs the cards, and has the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) made. Then they send both of these out to their different configuration partners whom build the cards. PNY is one of those companies. So the answer is "Yes, both!" :) Thank you for asking!"</div>
I find it odd too but was told by Puget tech that HDMI is actually a bit old fashioned when it comes to monitors these days. Don't recall the exact words but something like "most people buying monitors these days get display port since it's the most advanced". I confess I felt a bit put down for buying something antiquated. I assured him that here in Jacksonville Florida, the only real brick and mortar option I have for monitors is Best Buy and ALL of their monitors in two stores had HDMI!. Moreover, I find it odder still that a monitor can cause a computer to act in a peculiar way. It's a brand new monitor!! My old Win10 machine did not do this, granted with a different monitor but I can't go back to that because it only had VGA connection that would also require adapter and is even more "old fashioned".
In addition, another something new. Oh boy! Now I continue to get pop up messages to reload my Wacom driver. I'm still waiting for Wacom to respond on correct Win10 driver but again, the old Win10 machine with Wacom performed without this problem. Wonder what else will start not working today. Sorry, I'm venting a bit. Bad form. Apologize. Just needing to get to work with this machine and while it's working so I can work, these things are nagging swords of damocles that keep hanging over me.
I just looked up the specs on your video card and it indeed does not have a HDMI port. The Puget tech is correct that HDMI is rather old tech. However, it appears that thr monitor and your computer are not talking to one another properly. Since the video card is good, and the cable you're using is working, I have a couple of thoughts. Monitors send data back to the video card. If the monitor is not working properly, or there is a monitor driver issue, the computer will throw an error. In your case, Windows is invoking a restart. Here's a couple of things to try...
Go to the website for your monitor and see if there is a driver for it. Sometimes, the device drivers from MS are older versions, or Windows is using a generic driver. If you can find a driver for your monitor, download and install it. Reboot and see if that helps.
Second thought: As a test, hook up your old monitor and see if that fixes the restart problem. If it does, then I'd suspect the new monitor is what is causing the problem. Unfortunately, sometimes even brand new devices are defective. If you believe that's the case with your new monitor, I'd return it while you can.
On the flip side of this test...If the old monitor invokes the restart issue, I'd contact Puget and let them know.
I wish I could be of more help, but I can't see your gear, drivers, or OS to check.
--P
PS: I found a series of tutorials on Windows Networking that you might find helpful. The first lesson is Here at How-To Geek.
--P
Appreciate the continued efforts on your part. You've been more helpful than the vendor! The latest from Puget is rather the same...replace the monitor. They also offered a link for resetting power settings which I will try first. That's the extent of their help. I will try your suggestions this morning.
I had already decided on my own to do something similar to what you said. If monitor driver or power settings don't resolve it, I'm going to put the new monitor on my old Win10 machine and see if it does the same thing. If it does, then I have a good reason to take the monitor back to the store. Otherwise, how can I expect them to take it back simply because the computer vendor says it's bad? If however the monitor does not cause my old PC to spontaneously restart, then it seems to me there is still a bug with the Puget machine and it would seem incumbent on them to try to make it work. I inquired yesterday as to why they have not suspected video card so we'll see what they say about that. Perhaps swap it with one with HDMI connection?
PC arrived Dec 21 - 10 days later still not working right.
Again, many thanks for your continued support.
I am only too happy to help out. Honestly, I think Puget has gone above the call to duty. They sent you a new cable, and have have offered suggestions that are reasonable, given that the monitor was not purchased from them, and issues with peripheral hardware can be difficult to diagnose and fix. From my own experiences with them, I know they rigorously test every machine before it goes out the door, including all the output ports to be sure they are working. Given that, I have a suspicion that one, or both, of the following may be occurring.
*Your monitor is not right
*Attempting use a Display Port to communicate with your HDMI monitor is not working.
Don't get me wrong, here. It is possible that the video card is not up to snuff. It is also possible that the card may need to be re-seated in the PCIe slot on the motherboard. Puget does pack their machines so that components don't move during shipping, but it is possible the card is slightly loose in the slot. I would check this. That would be a good test. Also, do you have the old monitor? If you do, and it has Display Port, hook it up to the Puget machine. If the the restart issue occurs, I would strongly suspect the video card, and would let Puget know immediately. Doing that would certainly eliminate the compatibility issue, and, if all else fails, I would discuss this with Puget.
I can sympathize with you--issues like this are very frustrating, and the inclination is to get angry at the vendor--that's natural. However, it's good to bear in mind that Puget has thousands of customers, with all manner of computer configurations and many different peripheral devices, so taking a deep breath and exercising patience with them, and yourself, will create a win-win.
--P