An Unexpected Oddity
ArtsyDragon
Posts: 682
Hello,
I got a new expansion hard drive for my computer. So, I uninstalled DAZ from it's previous location on the E drive and went to install it fresh on the F drive thinking I would have a clean install. I did not. Somehow it remembered what products were installed even though I didn't install them.
Any ideas/suggestions?
I don't want these ghost things sitting in my smart content when they're not installed.
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Comments
The Daz Studio Application and your purchased content are not located in the same folders unless you did that intentionally. Which would be a mistake.
To be clear, uninstalling the DAZ Studio program will not remove your installed content. There is also no reason to remove content because you have uninstalled/reinstalled DAZ Studio.
Sounds like it just read your old directory paths and has looked in there, finding the old content.
Do a "search for files in known directories", and also try rebuilding your database. (That will remove things that no-longer exist and restore things which may have a new location.) The "smart-content" uses data from the database. Unless you purged those files too, they exist between installs. If you see the icon, chances are, the file actually exists. It loads the icons directly from the objects folders on your hard drive. However, that doesn't mean that the file will actually load correctly, because you may have moved soemthing it needs, or changed a path, with installing Daz on a new drive, and not setting-up the paths to your old settings. (That is why you want to use the "search known locations" and "scan for known files, on all drives".)
The external drive where daz and the content lived (in separate directories) had been disconnected. This did not stop D|S in the new location from telling me what used to be there in the Smart Content panel. The DAZ Studio program and DIM were both pointed at the new external drive (using a new drive letter, was E, now F). I had originally hoped to copy the content from E to F.
Last night, out of frustration, I made sure all folders on the new destination drive (letter F) were devoid of any files. I uninstalled DAZ Studio again. Then, I first installed DIM. Before I could finish telling it where to store things, it decided to be helpful and try to install a bunch of stuff. I finally managed to get DIM to understand where programs go and where content goes. DIM now looks at my new drive (F). The only thing in DIM that gets to look at C is where my Photoshop is installed.
As of this morning, DAZ Studio is where it belongs (F). It just got done updating metadata and there does not appear to be anything funky going on. Maybe in the newest reinstall, the database got rebuilt and now everything is in order.
Life seems to be good at this point. I don't understand why some items appear at the top of my list in the Install AND in the Smart Content panes when I sort by Order Date (newest first). I didn't recently purchase the Sci-Fi Warrior Bundle, the Inside the Asylum Bundle or the Day at the Beach Bundle. My actual recent purchases (like the stuff yesteray), show up after those named bundle items.
AppData/Roaming
When you install DAZ3D any user settings (Including the default) are stored in your 'OS drive/USER/<username>/AppData/Roaming/Daz 3D/' folder
ie, C:/User/myname/AppData/Roaming/Daz 3D
You can't change this without causing problems with Windows access rights management (I have no clue about Mac or Linux) but you can delete these files if you uninstall DAZ products, be careful not to delete any you wish to keep for Bryce, Hexagon etc.
Your DAZ registration numbers are stored encrypted in the system registry (I think, pretty sure really), if you install DAZ3D again it will remember your serial number but not your preferences if you have deleted that folder in 'Roaming'. I have all my downloaded content on a separate drive because I have many hundreds of gigabytes of the stuff.
Things get even more irksome when you find that there are 2 methods of downloading content from the Daz store, and both methods use a different place to store the downloaded compressed files.
1. DIM - Using Daz Install Manager
There are 2 settings you need to change to use a non-OS drive. Click the cog upper right corner.
Choose the 'Downloads' tab. In the 'Download to' box specify a folder on your non-OS drive.
Mine is 'H:\ DAZ 3D Downloads\' - If you choose to keep the compressed files in DIM options this folder can get very full of zip files, but saving them prevents you having to re-dwnload everytime DAZ 3D does a newversion and resets.
Choose the 'Installation' tab. You will see the paths to the main program executables, in the box at the bottom click the '...' at the upper right corner and choose your preferred 'My Library' folder on your non-OS drive.
Mine is 'H:\DAZ 3D\Studio\My Library\' - Where it says 'Current' choose the My Library label.
2. Content Management Service - CMS. (Daz Connect Library)
Since 4.6 (I think) you have been able to do away with DIM and download (plus update) products from within DAZ 3D Smart Content pane. The CMS folder is where it stores the product info for the downloaded zip files. By default this is in the program files folder on your OS drive if my memory serves me correctly, but I haven't used the default for years so search your OS drive for 'cms' if I'm wrong (ignore the cms folder in 'AppData\Roaming\DAZ 3D' that's not the one we want). When you sign into DAZ 3D for the first time you will see icons populate your Smart Content pane but they will be grey with a circle at the top right corner. If you double click the product picture it will install the product to your CMS folder (Even if you already installed it via DIM).
You have 3 choices (A B C):
A. Use the DIM and don't use the CMS service.
To do this uninstall the CMS service using DIM. Confusingly there 3 CMS services by default that show up in DIM.
PostgreSQL CMS (Win 32-Bit)
PostgreSQL CMS (Win 64-Bit)
PostgreSQL CMS From Valentina CMS Conversion (You shouldn't install this normally anyway)
You may find they have already installed, put 'postgreSQL' in the search box in DIM and click the Installed tab. You can then uninstall when it finds them. When you start DAZ 3D it will give a warning saying the CMS couldn't start. This is one of the reasons why it's best not to do it this way, even though Daz help suggested it to me in the past when I had problems with the CMS service.
B. Don't use DIM, use only the CMS service.
Now you will want to change the location of the stored downloaded CMS Product files since they default to the OS drive.
Before you open DAZ 3D create a folder in your non-OS drive - Daz 3D Folder, call it 'cms'.
Eg. Mine is H:\DAZ 3D\cms\
Now open DAZ 3D, choose 'Work Offline' - sign out if it signed in automatically. Copy the files in the cms folder in the DAZ 3D program files folder on your C:\ drive into your non-OS drive cms folder. (You can skip this if you wish, it's not absolutely necessary unless you had a few products already installed, you'll just be able to install any missing ones again).
Go to the 'Edit' tab choose preferences. (Or hit F2)
General tab:
Temporary files - Mine is H:\DAZ 3D\Temp\ - you can browse to a folder you create.
DSON Cache Files folder - Mine is H:\DAZ 3D\dson\cache - this folder will be created if you choose H:\DAZ 3D\ as your working 'My Library' folder but check it's not using your OS drive folder. If it's not there just make the folder being careful to spell it correctly.
CMS Settings tab:
Browse to your new 'cms' folder. Eg. H:\DAZ 3D\cms\
Content tab:
At the bottom you will see 'Content Directory Manager' - Click it.
You will see a window that has 'Content Sets' and paths to directories. These are the settings that tell DAZ 3D where all your content is. It's what gets wriiten to the files in the 'C:\User\myname\AppData\Roaming\DAZ 3D' folder. It's why DAZ knew where all your files were when you re-installed. Expand the tree and edit the paths so that only the ones you wish to use are listed.
Daz Connect Data - This is where the downloaded stored zips information files in the cms folder are unzipped to. Think of it as DAZ's offical 'My Library' folder. You shouldn't put any of your own stuff in there. Don't manually delete anything in there.
Click 'New' in the left pane. You will see a new tree created with the default folder links. Choose each and edit to match your folder structure.
I create these directories:
'H:\DAZ 3D\Studio\My Daz Connect Library' for the Daz Connect Content.
'H:\DAZ 3D\Studio\My Library' for the Daz Studio formats
'H:\DAZ 3D\Studio\My Library' for the Poser formats.
You can remove all the other default directories now that use any drive you don't wish. Click accept. Close and restart Daz.
C. Use both DIM and CMS (Daz Connect) service.
Just remember not to double install products to save space. This is the method I use.
This is how I always migrate to a non-OS drive for DAZ 3D storage and management. It works for me, if any Daz staff know better hopefully they'll enlighten. It's complex initally, but you get used to it. I'm not sure why DAZ don't either simplifiy it or write a better manual to explain the choices.
Good luck.
@stubie128 Just wow! Thank you for all that. I am going to have to reread it a few times to fully understand things. Maybe I don't have DAZ working the best way. I want to make sure it is all in 'one place' so to speak (on my new external drive).
I have another idle question: Why do things installed with DIM show up as 'uninstalled' in DAZ Studio? I've had to 'update' or 'install' everything DIM installed. I certainly don't want to misuse space.
CMS service is NOT Connect. CMS is 'merely' the Content Management Service that DS and some other DAZ software can use in ordrer to make its, and your, life easier.
Connect and DIM are almost mutually exclusive methods for downloading and installing products - they both do pretty much teh same thing but do so to very different locations in differing directory structures. Connest works from within Daz Studio and uses the data/cloud folder structure whereas DIM works externally to DS (in fact it is recommended you do not have both running at the same time if installing). I do not use Connect but I thnk it downloads and then unpacks the product content all within that data/cloud folder structure. DIM will downlaod to where you tell it and install to where you tel it. If you have downloaded the same product via DIm and Connect you will have two separate installations of the same product. If Daz Studio is telling you something is not installed that is via Connect, only. You may have done so via DIM.
I can see the benefits of usign Connect, but personally I do not like the overall concept, so I will only ever use DIM. In essence you shoudl pick one method of downlaod/install and stick to it, they mix better than they sued to, but there are still potentials for confusion!
I have noticed that not all the content I own shows up in the Smart Content window (All tab) or the Install window in DAZ Studio. I forget what I have if I don't use DIM or review my account purchases on DAZ.
I am investigating the 'Content Library' tab in DAZ Studio. It may not show pictures in the file structure but it does seem to show me everything I have. Are there any 'gotchas' I need to consider if I start primarily using the Conetnt Library tab?
Not using Connect I cannot answer with any degree of correctness so I will duck the question with a "sorry, don't know".
LOL .. no problem @SimonJM. I appreciate your help.