Does anyone here use Thursby's Dave connectivity software? I administrate multiple Macs and we seem to be having new problems with file transfers since installing 9.1 - system crashes when transferring files to WinNT servers.

[ginoledesma]

I use DAVE 2.5.1 on Mac OS 9.1. I don't seem to experience any problems... yet. I'll try to experiment with large file transfers. Do these crashes occur with or/and without mounting a folder on the desktop?

It is happening with large file transfers, over 10 megs or so, when the server is mounted to the desktop. I haven't tried to do it through the Dave application, I'll give that a shot now.

[typoon]

No problems with DAVE but I just got the new Double Talk from Connectix. I think it is a better product. It actually mounts a PC Drive image on your desktop so you can access your files like you do mornally form the Mac. haven't tried it with large files yet only one about 50 Megs and it seemed to work fine. DAVE also didn't encounter Problems in 9.1 though I did notice Crashes and Flakeiness in it when I tried to copy files more that 600 megs. Could be Could be I need to up memory usage in it. I think I will stick with DoubleTalk from the folks at Connectix until I encounter Problems. So far I am likeing that much better. It got me on the Netowrk Quicker than DAVE as well.

Well it doesn't seem to crash if I use the Dave application instead of mounting the disc, but I don't really want that to be the long term solution.
I will probably give Doubletalk a shot but I'm not really excited about having to buy 15 licenses to support my network.
Maybe Thursby will find the problem (if there really is one) and release a patch.

[MickS]

The version of DAVE I have (2.5.1) mounts Windows disks as drives on my Mac so I can use them normally. The main advantage I can see for the Connectix product is price $50 cheaper!

[RoofusPennymore]

I just transfer a 10.4 meg files this way. I am running OS9.1 and did not have any problems. I do find that DAVE is flaky like that sometimes.

Originally posted by clock:
It is happening with large file transfers, over 10 megs or so, when the server is mounted to the desktop. I haven't tried to do it through the Dave application, I'll give that a shot now.

[The DJ]

Originally posted by RoofusPennymore:
I just transfer a 10.4 meg files this way. I am running OS9.1 and did not have any problems. I do find that DAVE is flaky like that sometimes.

DAVE plain sucks.
No problems here though. But then again i only use the client part of the software. No serving myself and the message popup's are off. I found these to be very flaky at many times, in many configs.

DJ

I have a G4 500MP. I updated to 9.1 last night. Wrong thing to do. Reinstalled 9.0.4 back on to it this morning. Bummer.

Dave is really bad when progs like IE ,Napster or QuickTime use the same resources. At least that's what I think is happening.

However, and this is odd -I also have a BW G3 450 with DVD RAM same as the G4, I upgraded it to 9.1 -it works fine. Go figure?

[ginoledesma]

I've done some testing, so here goes:
Setup: Power Mac G4/400, Mac OS 9.1, 10-mbps hub

Copy through Finder copy
1 MB File Transfer: Ok
5 MB File transfer: Ok
10 MB File Transfer: Ok
15 MB File Transfer: Ok
20 MB File Transfer: Ok
25 MB File Transfer: Ok + delays
30 MB File Transfer: Stops at 25MB, freezes

Copy through application
1 MB File Transfer: Ok
5 MB File transfer: Ok
10 MB File Transfer: Ok
15 MB File Transfer: Ok
20 MB File Transfer: Ok
25 MB File Transfer: Ok
30 MB File Transfer: Ok

Apparently, there seems to be something wrong with mounted volumes. I'll have to try to replicate these again tomorrow. If the problem occurs, I think we should let Thursby know.

Excellent work, how many times did you run the tests? I crash everytime I try to transfer a file oover 10 megs, so do three of the other macs here.
I posted a message to the Dave web helpdesk yesterday. Their auto response said that they would contact me within 24 hours, I will post the results after I hear from them.

[ginoledesma]

Originally posted by typoon:
No problems with DAVE but I just got the new Double Talk from Connectix. I think it is a better product.

I've only gone through DoubleTalk's DataSheet and FAQ, and I just learned that AppleTalk needs to be enabled for DoubleTalk to function. Not that I mind AppleTalk, but I leave it off as I don't really need it, and because I also get occassional rants from my co-members of the SysAd team about how much noise AppleTalk generates on the network. Whatever.

It actually mounts a PC Drive image on your desktop so you can access your files like you do mornally form the Mac. haven't tried it with large files yet only one about 50 Megs and it seemed to work fine. DAVE also didn't encounter Problems in 9.1 though I did notice Crashes and Flakeiness in it when I tried to copy files more that 600 megs.

DAVE 2.5.x can also do this. Click on a folder from the DAVE application and press Command-M to mount it on the desktop. However, it does generate resource.frk, TheVolumeSettings, and other invisible folders on these volumes, so be careful, as others may not want the idea of these folders on their systems.

I've also noticed annoying problems with copying large (> 500MB) files over the network. Dave tends to freeze up on me, or simply time out. I also noticed that sometimes, when the network is congested or there simply is too much noise, the transfers become less reliable. I haven't experienced corrupted file transfers, but I have experienced time outs a lot.

When attempting to transfer large files, I isolate my computer to a 4-port hub and connect only the computers which I will be transferring files to. Another solution is for me to connect directly to the switch.

Could be Could be I need to up memory usage in it. I think I will stick with DoubleTalk from the folks at Connectix until I encounter Problems. So far I am likeing that much better. It got me on the Netowrk Quicker than DAVE as well.

I am, however, curious as to how DoubleTalk atually performs. I may get a chance to try it out...

[This message has been edited by ginoledesma (edited 01-12-2001).]

[typoon]

So far no issues with Double Talk. seems to copy faster than Dave, Maybe the nice folks at MacNN could do a comparison of both and give use there review. Also doesn;t seem to stall during network copies.

[Paris]

Having read the DoubleTalk FAQ at Connectix' site, I've discovered one MAJOR difference (dare I say it - shortcoming!) of DoubleTalk.

It's one-way only!! PC users on the network CAN'T SEE THE MAC that you've just hooked up to it. So you can pull files/push files from/to their machines, but they can't come and find files on yours!!

What the f**k use is that????
This is serious networking?? The (useless) Mac in the corner that nobody can access??

What ARE connectix thinking about??

DAVE is a product which is 80% good, with a few annoying limitations, but I've got access to all the PCs on the LAN, and also to the networked Brother laserprinter. File transfer speed is good - around 500K/sec over 10BaseT, and the only annoyances are:

1. DAVE copies useless mac-only "resource.frk" folders to the Windows machines when files are transferred. I know WHY it does this - I just think it's stupid.

2. Also, curiously, any files ending in .html have .html appended to them, thus becoming .html.html files. This isn't the case with .htm files though. Weird..

3.If you use the DAVE browser, you can access networked PCs, but they don't show up in Open/Save dialogues, which means you have to go the Chooser, choose DAVE, and then mount the volume. At which point it will appear in the Open/Saves. You then manipulate it like any other volume (Finder windows, Finderpop navigation etc etc). It's a bit clumsy.

4. If one of the PCs crashes or is turned off while DAVE is connected to it - the Mac hangs completely.

Is DoubleTalk any better?
any info would be great!
cheers,
paris

[ginoledesma]

I forgot to mention that also, Paris...

The only way to "share" your files, according to Connectix, is to have a mounted PC folder and copy your files to that folder. That is rather inconvenient for me as I have quite an amount of stuff to share, and others aren't so keen as to giving me write-access to their folders.

Since this is version 1 of DoubleTalk, I guess that was a shortcoming to their product. I do believe they would address this in their future release, however.

1. DAVE copies useless mac-only "resource.frk" folders to the Windows machines when files are transferred. I know WHY it does this - I just think it's stupid.

I mentioned this earlier and, yes, it is annoying. However, I am curious as to how DAVE manages to write these folders shared with read-access only. Hmmm... Or am I mistaken in that it only creates these folders with write-access...

2. Also, curiously, any files ending in .html have .html appended to them, thus becoming .html.html files. This isn't the case with .htm files though. Weird..

That's strange. I've been collaborating with our webdesigners and transferring HTML files to and fro without problems. I do work in BBEdit and append the .html extension, and DAVE doesn't seem to append yet another extension. Perhaps you would want to check out the Name Cleaning preferences under the Edit menu. I'm sure one of those will work.

3.If you use the DAVE browser, you can access networked PCs, but they don't show up in Open/Save dialogues, which means you have to go the Chooser, choose DAVE, and then mount the volume. At which point it will appear in the Open/Saves. You then manipulate it like any other volume (Finder windows, Finderpop navigation etc etc). It's a bit clumsy.

Chooser? My gosh, I've not visited the Chooser in ages! An alternate way to do that is to run the DAVE Network browser, click on a folder you want mounted, and press Command-M. This will mount folders directly on your desktop which are accessible via the Open/Save Dialog boxes.

4. If one of the PCs crashes or is turned off while DAVE is connected to it - the Mac hangs completely.

I've had mixed results with this. At times, DAVE would tell me of a connection error, and that the file transfer was interrupted. Other times, it would simply freeze, and without the help of MacsBug, requires a reboot. However, when copying files from the DAVE Network browser, it, at times, crashes with a Type 2 or 3 error.

Here's a link to thursby's FAQ that talks about OS 9.1
Basically, it's not compatible.
http://www.thursby.com/support/faq-search.lasso#33110

What really gets me is that I posted a question to their web based support system and they replied in their automated response:

"Your request is very important to us and you should expect an answer or a request for additional information within 1 business day of receipt. "

That was last week and I haven't heard anything from them. Then they posted this article on their site.


[This message has been edited by clock (edited 01-16-2001).]

I have Dave 2.5.1 running on my 9.1 G3 b/W 450mhz. I connect to a 600Gig Unix server, our files range anywhere from 2mb to 300 + mb, and I have not had any problems yet.

This is the official response that I received from Thursby. I got it just a few minutes ago. I guess it took them a week to be positive about the problem.

"Thursby Software Systems is aware of a problem with DAVE Client and OS 9.1. We hope to have a patch available from our website www.thursby.com very soon. Until then the current workaround for making large file copies is to use the Apple menu item DAVE.

If you have further questions or comments please let us know.

Thank you,
Michael Gatton"