Yet Another Stupid Problem with the Content - FIXED!
spearcarrier
Posts: 686
Hi guys. (Sighs) I hope you all know and understand how sick and tired I am of this particular issue with DAZ. How super super sick I am of it. Really really sick I am of it. And Windows, too.
Because of Windows' idiot-synchronicity with new hardware I was forced to do a fresh install of Windows 7. Fortunately for me - you would think - I install my Daz content in an external drive, namely K:\DAZ. So after a full week of Windows "I refuse to let you do anything because I know better than you" drama I finally am to the point I can install DAZ once again. Which I did an hour ago.
And naively I thought, well I've got the library database right there all will be okay. It always worked in the past.
Yeah. Whatever.
So no matter what I do DAZ isn't finding my old library.
It's really essential that DAZ find my $@$#2# library. There are characters in there for my comic that I'd rather not spent 5 months remaking. And to be honest, after months and months of organizing my content (as was discussed in the past) and only being 1/3 of the way done I don't care to do it again.
So maybe it's something simple. And I hope someone can help.
I install content to K:\DAZ
For some reason, DAZ has always put the contentdb files and other associated fun things under K: as a result.
The date stamps on those files are from the very last day I was able to do anything with DAZ. So I know they haven't been changed.
Now near the end the computer was doing funny things like when I'd unpack a zip file things would unzip where I told it to as well as in other places.
And that's all I got. I hope someone has a real answer?
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Comments
If you mean the \Runtime\Support folder, those are the metadata files used to build (or rebuild) the database rather than the database itself. If you accepted the defaults I'm afraid that was on your C: drive. Did you at any point export your User settings for the Content Management Service?
I have no idea where this runtime/support folder is, or rather I'm not sure what you're talking about. Under daz/runtime/support or... just K:/daz... ?? because I tend to move anything daz4 up to the top layer because I hate the mess that happens otherwise (and things don't get found unless I do)... There is no K:/DAZ/content for Daz4 stuff. That stuff gets moved to the surface. And the rest of the stuff is installed to K:/DAZ, so if it's got a runtime that's where things are going to unpack to I suppose. I install everything to K:DAZ unless it's a main program issue.
When I reinstalled the programs, the programs were installed to their default location and content was set to the usual place: K:/DAZ
It would be nice if the program would find content, period, other than a few smattering of things that happen to have metadata.
Oh, and now I didn't export - none of the tutorials I have read in the past whenI have had to deal with content "breaks easily" management talked about that. They all talked about backing up and moving around the contentdb library files. Which, as I mentioned before, has always worked in the past...
So.. if you're talking about the support folder on my external drive, K, wouldn't that mean that the content DAZ was told to point to hasn't changed - new Windows or not? -_-
When you installed DS, and it asked for the location of the database, did you enter your custom database location path, or just accept the defaults? (And actually I can't remember if this logic got moved from DS to DIM recently or not, last time I tried it was still DS.) Maybe it's just not looking in the right place for it.
Or is there any way your database could be fine, but you just don't have any of your runtimes/content mapped? That also needs to be exported, backed up, and re-applied after you reinstall your OS.
While reinstalling I told it:
default path for program install ( C:/blahblahblahb)
custom path for content (K:/DAZ)
Then I opened DAZ and deleted the auto C:/ content path is always puts in anyway. It did at least take the custom path I gave it.
It's finding some content: the content with metadata. But my folders, my categories, my custom characters: those are all gone. I've been bawling my eyes out for three hours now. This has killed six works of comic preparation.I've been ignoring paying commissions to do this. Months of constant library organization DAILY - and I wasn't even halfway done.
The tutorials I have come across only said to copy and paste the contentdb files (and those associated with). That has always worked through various installs where my content management got corrupted, etc, so through this big ordeal I thought I *was* backed up. I know nothing about exporting and backing up anything. If something like that was mentioned in a tutorial that talked too much and/or was too complicated, I wouldn't have understood it either. I just need plan insert tab a into slot b instructions, you know?
Step one: export by clicking this. (no extra talk)
Step two: etc.
I mean, really. Shut up and explain later. ;-)
And as far as I can see there is no "export user settings" option available.
Export User settings can be found here:
Content Library pane, click on the menu in the upper corner, select "Content DB Maintenance" > "Export User settings".
The content mappings, even if you didn't back them up, can be recreated manually, it's just a list of all your runtime paths. (You can add them, or verify them this way: Content Library pane, click on the menu in the upper corner, select Content Directory manager, select "DAZ Studio Formats", Add button, browse to the appropriate folder, repeat for all, Select "Poser Formats", repeat again.) I have hundreds so it would be painful if not backed up, but still possible.
However, the fact that your custom categories are gone suggests the problem is indeed that your database, not the content mappings (otherwise your categories would be there and the content just wouldn't load). I hate to suggest one possibility, that you were looking at and backed up one database, but that DS was somehow looking at and using different files in a different location. However you did say that the time stamp was as expected, so if the time stamp was created by DS and not by something else touching the file, hopefully that's not the case.
argh. I'm stumped at the moment.
If you search for one of the database files, like ContentDB.dat , it is currently only on your PC in one location, right? (just to rule out the possibility that DS is right now somehow ignoring the path you gave it at install and creating a second empty default database).
Okay, I need to see if I understand things and am on the same page as you. I am not rebuilding this library another time only for it to crash and for me to have to start over yet again. This will be the fifth time this year alone. If I'm facing that again, I will have to seek an alternative to DAZ. I like DAZ. I have a lot of content for DAZ and was really making some headway, but I've been saying enough is enough for all the past times I've had to ask for help... and meant it every time. I can't bear the thought of starting over, considering all the money I passed up over this past time, with a chance of it happening again.
To back up the library I make copies of the contentdb, manifest and other little files.
And apparently now I am learning I have to export user settings.
So how would I put the user settings back in then?
And are there other steps I need to know here?? Serious about not sticking with this mess any longer without a firm guarantee. Apologies to anyone who may have put it in their tutorial, but sadly it's not in my head and thus never learned.
Also: the contentdb etc files... usually are stored in the database folder in the Content Management program folder? But for some reason they were getting put directly in the path of K:/ (not K:/DAZ) - I'm not sure why. They just appeared there one day. I don't know if they were in the database folder. I checked windows.old and it was an empty folder - but I also already had begun proceedings of deleting that as I am a room hog.
The original contentdb files are on K:\. I have since copied them into K:\DAZ - and manifest.db got overwrote so something was in there but no luck. I also have them backed up in a folder, as I would back them up about once a week to avoid these tears.
Contentdb.ind is the one with the latest time stamp from the 16th of this month, which is the last day I touched DAZ before Windows took my puter away. -_-
The content is there. It shows. What's missing are my all important library categories. If I was only 1/2 way done of getting things installed and categorized after a couple of months... and I have a very large folder of stuff still to go... I really need those categories back. And my characters.
I'm currently telling DAZ to scan folders and hoping I can overwrite that way. It's kind of my last resort and I doubt it's gonna work.
Did you mean "export user data"? because there is no "export user settings"....
Okay I'm not finding where the contentdb etc are being stored this time. I've searched everywhere. There is no databases folder in my content management folder. They're not being put in K anywhere. They're not in the my documents folder - which is good because I refuse to use that unstable thing. Where else could the things BE???
This reminds me. I once tried to move my database folder location and specified the new location on DS install but DS no longer saw it, so I put it back where it was before and have left it in that location where it has worked fine ever since. I never tracked down why that didn't work. So you say that your files used to be in K:\, but this time you tried putting them in K:\DAZ? Any chance if you try putting them back in K:\ where they originally were, that they are seen correctly there?
One more note, just to make sure you have all the database files and not just some of them, here is what I see when I look in my database folder:
Wow... t hank you for that very informative reply! And for the time you're taking.
Got it: export user data. Now the process I had been counting on was just putting back missing folders is based on something like this thread: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/25356/ (only the exporting part wasn't in the one I found at the time). So what I thought was going to work was to simply replace the content files with my backups.
Yes, i did put them back in just K:... and it turns out they're being stored in a hidden folder in windows.old1. (I had to reinstall windows 5 times.) When installing I was careful to tell the programs to use K:/DAZ. This is just ludicrous. I'm copying over them now to see if that works. But if it does... how am I going to get the stupid content manager to look elsewhere?? Of course I'm going to try an uninstall, but seriously. This is crazy.
Hi
When restoring a Content Database there are two things to be aware of if you want it to eventually work
1°/ When installing DAZ Studio you must have customized your Content Management service so that it points to the directory you want to restore your DB. Otherwise the Database will be in standard path.
2°/ Your Content folder Structure must be the same as before. If your content was K:\DAZ then after installing you must map your drive so that all the content still remain in K:\DAZ. You must also customize DAZ content directories accordingly
However you don't really need to rebuild your Content Database to get your custom characters back. The content DB is mainly used for smart content but your characters must be where you saved them
Somehow I doubt the standard path is C:\windows001.old\program files\etc though. I'm sitting here trying to delete the errant thing now, and I've uninstalled everything.
Yeah I can get the characters back, but I can't get back the organization. I just don't have another 6 months to put that back together, and don't want to bother if this is going to keep happening. This is beyond tiresome, and it goes way beyond "making an effort" as I was told to do when this problem first manifested.
Of course I kept everything the same. the original plan was simply, new windows install, point new DAZ to content and paths which had been left exactly the same.
The Windows.old directory is a backup made by Windows Installer. Microsoft made a smart thing not deleting the old drive before installation so that you can recover some files. So if you pointed your DS Content Manager Service to K:\DAZ , after the first start, it must have created the DB file directory accordingly and all you have to do is put the DB files backup in the appropriate subfolder replacing the ones created by your fresh installation. Before that just stop the CMS Service
yeah I tried doing as you describe and it just didn't work. I have now deleted the old windows files (all five of them) and am currently reinstalling with things back the way they were: files in their original spot, etc. I don't know if this is going to work and have very low hopes.
I hope you still have a backup of your Content DB?
In fact you made a mistake because your old Content Database was in standard path. So you should have done an installation without customizing your Database management service and simply overwrite the files in the standard path
If not, then the only option is if you did "export User Data" before reinstalling. If that is the case then by the first start of DS it should have prompted to reimport metadatas which will also remiport whatever you customized. You could eventually try "reimport metadatas". I don't remember if the metadatas are saved in content directory but it's worth trying once, you don't have a lot to lose at this point
There was a backup and when things were installed the main files under K:/ were overwrote with the backup.,
However, DAZ won't reinstall and the installer keeps crashing. So if nothing else I"m seriously having an old hatred of DAZ revived tonight.
Well I just had to start a new thread for this new very serious problem. OMG how I'm sick of this.
What's your crash when you install? When installing, do it by Right Click=>Run as administrator so that you aren't prevented to do things because of Windows security
Eventually also customize Windows firewall so that it is only active in Public Network and disabled in Private or Domain network (or completely disable it and get a better firewall).
Also, before installing anything it's good to update windows so that you get latest corrections
I think that most problems with DS Software installation are Windows Security related
[EDIT] Before installing DAZ make sure you deinstalled everything: Stop CMS Service first, then Deinstall DS and Deinstall CMS. Then you could begin installing
It's crashing at about 90% of being done. And then refuses to let me shut it down.
Thanks for your attempts to help, btw. Jaderail has given some advice on the new thread I am not going ot attempt to follow.
For the record in case anybody comes across this thread, per Jaderail's advice I went into the C:app folder and deleted the daz folder. and I did a general search and anything daz i deleted so as to start with a fresh install. DAZ is working again. I took this opportunity to make sure the content management pointed int he right direction: to my external drive.
Unfortunately now I'm back where I began, actually worse. No content is being found at all now.
And it's working! Thank y'all every one here. And yes, the library came back!!! And now... it's like... almost 6 am. I go sleep now.