How to restore Categories in DAZ3D Pro 4.6 after hard drive format....
kenmo
Posts: 923
On the weekend I had to re-install Windows 7 (64 bit) due to the operating system getting sluggish.
So I reformated my hard drive and re-installed the operating system and most of my apps (Artrage, Vue, Photoshop Elements, Hexagon, Painter, etc).
Now I'm re-installing DAZ3D ver 4 Pro. I did backup the daz content database, stopped the DAZ database service and copied the database over to the proper location. I also imported the metadata.
My DAZ Content is saved on a separate hard drives which is for data only.
Previously I had all my Daz content organized under Categories. I would have thought this would have been stored in the content database but all of my Categories are missing.
Other than manually recreating them is there a database option or trick that will make them re-appear?
Thanks kindly...
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Comments
Before you re-imported metadata, were the database files working? Did you ever Export User Data?
Yes the Categories where working fine. No, I've never exported user data. But I did at least once a month via My Computer->Manage stop the DAZ service and copy the 5 database files to an external hard drive...
So when you plugged in the saved database files your categories were there but when you reimported metadata they went away?
When I copied the database files over the Categories where missing. So I tried importing the meta data and still nothing....
the last time I reformated my hard drive a few years ago, when I re-installed DAZ and copied the database files over the Categories appeared...
Are the Categories saved in the database files? Looking at the database extensions I would guess they are in MS Access format. It's been a LONG while since I did any database programing in Visual Basic or the old DOS Clipper...
Not sure why the DAZ/Poser content and directory structure has to be so complicated. Re-installing Vue and re-pointing to all the assets is a two minute job....
Yes, the categories are stored in the database. Do you have an earlier backup of the database files? If you didn't Export User Data then a working database is the only place the categories info is stored.
Yes. As I said in my post I stopped the DAZ service and then copied the Database files to an external hard drive. I then re-installed Windows 7 64 bit, Vue, Painter, ArtRage, Photoshop Elements, Hexagon, 3DCoat, Wings3D, etc.
I installed DAZ StudioPro 4.6 last. I then stopped the DAZ db service and copied the 5 database files over to the database folder...
C:\ProgramData\DAZ 3D\Content Management Service\databases
But no luck. As I said before the last time I did this, it worked like a charm....
Do you have a backup from an earlier date?
The only backup I have is the one I used. And as I said it was working fine prior to the re-install....
Why can't Daz/Poser abandon this insane directory structure and have asset management like e-Onsoftware's Vue...
One should NOT have to go though all this hardship just to re-install a single app...
So I take it IF you use Categories you're taking your chances as it appears the DAZ database is somewhat flaky...
Perhaps this is a version problem as I did not have this issue with previous versions of DAZ when I re-installed my os last year....
It's much safer to use Export User Data to back up your Categories -- that way it's a plain text file and you don't have to worry about database corruption. I used to back up the database files before that feature was added in 4.5, and I always kept several backups in case the most recent one was bad.
Ok. That's fine and I appreciate that bit of info.
But how do I get my Categories back? It sounds like I'll have to recreate all of these categories once more...
It would be nice if DAZ3D actually had a tutorial or how-to on what to back up in case of system desk failure. And then a video/how-to on restoring.
Typically most users save their data to a hard drive separate from the C: drive which houses the operating system.
IMHO it is a really bad idea to write an application that stores user data to any place on the C: drive.
I also think it's time to move forward and DAZ should abandon the the Poser data structure and move towards something a lot easier and more common sense like Vue's way of managing assets...
Cheers
Ken
PS: I also noticed the TAG option doesn't seem to be working in DAZ3D Pro 4.6 and YES I'm using the latest version as I just downloaded it yesterday or Sunday....
Oh well. I am back to re-categorizing everything. I find it frustrating that the biggest task each time I re-install my operating system is getting DAZ back into order.
Surely it is time for DAZ and Poser to come up with a better directory structure. I simply do not have to go through any of this hardship for Vue. I can simply create the directory structure for it's asset however I please.
That's the problem...what exactly is user data?
The database is more or less considered program data. Also by default MS wants user data in the Documents folder...which, by default is on C. And, MS wants 'system wide'/usable by any user data in the Public user account. These are all the default locations.
It's less headaches, from a development viewpoint, to just accept the default locations...even if they don't really make sense. Then it is up to the users who are proficient enough/comfortable enough to change them...
Face it, the vast majority of computer users have only 1 drive...C, writing a program that by default would give many options during installation that don't really apply to most, would at the least make many say it was difficult to install, if not just not use it. Yes, there is a trade off in just accepting the defaults...one that drives the more advanced users absolutely nuts...but going that route, of just accepting the recommended default locations, gives the widest possible compatibility and least likely to cause someone to throw up their hands in frustration when confronted with too many (and in my experience, for some more than one choice is enough) choices during install. It's bad enough when a serial number needs to be entered, think how bad it would be if every step of the install was a list of choices?
But, there could be better documentation on what DS installs...and WHERE it installs it to. That would make it a lot easier to know exactly WHAT needs to be moved/included in a backup (hint, hint...Mike... :-) ...poke someone with a stick...or whatever...heck, even a sticky post with a list somewhere in the forums...Nuts and Bolts).
Sorry but I don't buy into your belief that most users will save their data to their C drive. For my living I do network support for over 20 years. I started with Novell Netware 3.1 and later Novell SUSE. We are no in the Microsoft World of AD and Microsoft Server. I do not know of a user at my workplace that will save a MS Word Document or Excel Spreadsheet to the C drive. They all save it to a network drive.
YES...more and better documentation is required on what are the important folders to backup in case of hard drive failure...
Cheers
That's 'work'...the vast majority of computer users are home users...and yes, they do...all the time...and yes, I've dealt with enough data recovery for family that I think I finally, after 20+ yrs I have them trained not to (and back up, too)...I hope...and yes, even if they do it at work, I know so many people that still save to C at home, because that is where everything defaults to...and they don't bother changing anything.
What a joke. I'm trying to re-organize all of my content already installed on my hard drive and I have NO idea what character some of the props and clothing is for....
For example under figures I have Arah3D Easter Sunday and I have no way in remembering what character this is for. And to make matters worse, it's clothing, why is it under figures? This is STUPID!
I really feel like removing DAZ Studio and Poser Pro 201 from my hard drive and leave these apps rot on the shelves....
Seriously maintaining content for these apps SHOULD NOT be this DIFFICULT. Especially when compared to other 3D apps. This is a very unpleasant TASK....
And IT must be simplified...
There is one additional problem with what you are describing Kenmo. To revamp the directory/folder structure for content for DAZ Studio is highly problematic for DAZ. Not because it couldn't be done, but because of the implications. From the beginning, compatibility with Poser was a high priority, since DAZ has always been a content company first. And Poser used and relied upon a very specific directory structure for storing different files. So, for the most part, with the exception of DAZ Studio-specific files, everything follows the Poser directory structure. Changing that would mean problems for Poser users who wanted to use DAZ content. So any solution in the form of substantial changes to the way files are stored would prectically require both DAZ and Smith Micro to collaborate and agree on the changes. And, of course, there would be the problem with the exabytes of content already out there that would not fit the new schema, and neither older versions of DAZ Studio nor older versions of Poser would cope well with the new schema I would suspect.
Please don't misunderstand. I'm not disagreeing with you when you say that a lot of the current organization of files is counterintuitive. And that is without taking into account the fact that some vendors seem to play fast and loose with the rules when it comes to packaging their content. Sometimes it seems that the content you need might be in Figures, or Props, or wherever and wading through the directories looking for it can be a pain. I can understand your frustration, but all I'm trying to say is that fixing it may not be as easy as it sounds.
If it is rigged with bones...it's a 'figure'. No bones...it's a prop.
If it's clothing and it conforms...it's a figure.
Hair is a figure, a prop or hair...yeah, try and make sense of that one.
If it changes colors, textures or the arrangement of the limbs etc, it's a pose...color/texture, pose? Right...
ALL of that goes back to the very early days of Poser...and still continues. And it is VERY rigid. So, no, there is NEVER going to be a 'file structure' fix.
A database that doesn't care where the files actually are AND spending the time to properly categorize everything (and yes, the vast quantity of free and other store's products will need to be done manually) AND then keeping backups (it was mentioned in another thread that a different database 'backend' is being tested, one that is more robust/more 'mainstream'/has a top notch reputation...PostgreSQL) is the only real 'fix'.
Thanks for the replies... Appreciate it...