Posted by: Joseph Witchard
Posted on: 2007-05-31 08:56:00
Hi, I'm new to Dreamhost. Yesterday, I decided to move my hosting from a place called Speakeasy to Dreamhost. Last night, I logged into my Network Solutions account (the place my domain name is registered) and changed the nameservers from Speakeasy to Dreamhost.
I know this takes anywhere from 24-48 hours to complete, but my question is do places like that send you an email when it is complete?
Posted by: Raz2133
Posted on: 2007-05-31 09:24:00
In reply to:Hi, I'm new to Dreamhost.
Hi Joseph, welcome to the forum. 
In reply to:I know this takes anywhere from 24-48 hours to complete
It can take up to 72 hours for the new DNS information to propagate across the Internet, during this time your domain may 'come and go', before settling down.
In reply to:do places like that send you an email when it is complete?
Generally not. They may (but probably won't) email you to let you know the changes have been made, but since they have no real way of knowing that the new DNS information has fully propagated, they can't really email you concerning that.
Basically, it is just a matter of being patient and waiting for things to start working. Although, it is probably a good idea to add the domain to the DreamHost hosting system in the panel at Domains -> Manage Domains -> Add New Domain / Sub-Domain, unless it already appears in the domains list.
Mark
Posted by: Joseph Witchard
Posted on: 2007-05-31 11:30:00
Okay, thanks.
So in theory, my website could already be switched over?
Posted by: Raz2133
Posted on: 2007-05-31 12:10:00
In reply to:Okay, thanks.
No problem.
In reply to:So in theory, my website could already be switched over?
Yes. Why not give it a try in a browser? If the new DNS in active for you and the domain has been added to the hosting system (ie: it appears in your domain list in the panel), you should see an empty directory listing when browsing to your domain.
Note: Just because the domain resolves correctly for *you*, does not mean that it will resolve correctly for everyone else across the Internet until propagation has fully completed.
Note2: Browsers, operating systems and routers have been known to cache old DNS information, sometimes it pays to clear your browser cache and restart your computer and/or router when testing these things.
Mark
Posted by: Joseph Witchard
Posted on: 2007-05-31 12:27:00
My domain does appear in my Dreamhost account. However, in one of the emails Dreamhost sent me last night, I won't be able to access my webmail until it has been transfered (which I still can't access. What exactly does it mean if you still can't access your domain email, yet your domain HAS appeared under the list in your Dreamhost account?
Posted by: Raz2133
Posted on: 2007-05-31 12:38:00
In reply to:What exactly does it mean if you still can't access your domain email, yet your domain HAS appeared under the list in your Dreamhost account?
I'm sorry, I realise now that I wasn't very clear with my explanation above. Having your domain in the domains list in the panel does not indicate that the new DNS information has propagated, it just means that the domain has been added to the DreamHost hosting system. You will still need to wait for DNS propagation to complete.
I suggested that you make sure that the domain is present in the domains list because under some circumstances a domain is not automatically added to the hosting system and needs to be manually added, and it needs to be in this list for the domain to be reachable once the DNS information has propagated.
I hope this explanation is clearer than my last attempt. 
Mark
Posted by: Joseph Witchard
Posted on: 2007-05-31 13:14:00
Could you maybe explain how I add it manually? So I'll know once and for all if it's been added or not?
Posted by: sdayman
Posted on: 2007-05-31 18:07:00
You need to follow instructions farther above about Manage Domains and then add a new Domain or Subdomain.
Out of curiosity, did you buy a hosting plan here? And did you already go through the above step to set up your domain here?
Until you set up a Hosted Domain here, nothing will show up in DNS.
-Scott
Posted by: Joseph Witchard
Posted on: 2007-05-31 19:20:00
Yes, I bought a hosting plan with Dreamhost. And I'm not sure if it's already added or not, that's my problem. My domain is in my domain summary. Is that it?
Posted by: sdayman
Posted on: 2007-05-31 19:48:00
Yep, sounds like you set it up right. What's the domain name so we can see how it's coming along?
-Scott
Posted by: Joseph Witchard
Posted on: 2007-05-31 20:15:00
www.uhrebirth.com
I have a new problem now (see my latest thread in this forum).