Transfer Library and DIM
marble
Posts: 7,500
Hi
My beloved iMac crashed on me a couple of days ago so is in for repair. I had a backup of my library which I have copied to my spare Windows PC. I already had DS 4.5 on this PC but I've now (using DIM) updated that to 4.7.
However, even though I have made sure the Content is recognised in DAZ Studio and I can load even modified scenes I created on my iMac, DIM refuses to recognise I have any content installed. I have configured "Install to Selected Path" and pointed that at my transferred content but still DIM thinks I need to reinstall all of my content.
Is there anything I can do?
By the way, I shall be doing the same process in reverse when I get my iMac back.
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Comments
DIM gets the list of installed items not by scanning the actual content, which would be slow, but by using the Manifests, which were in a folder alongside the Downloads folder if you kept the defaults on your iMac.
I probably didn't keep a backup of that folder. Is there any way I can get it to work? I don't fancy starting from scratch especially as everything is loading nicely within DAZ Studio. DIM is the only problem I'm seeing at the moment.
I don't think there's any way of working back from installed to manifests. Sorry not to have any helpful suggestions.
My main concern is when I copy back my Library to the Mac (when I get it back). I don't want DIM telling me I have thousands of products to install when I already have them. Perhaps I need to open a support ticket at that time.
Unfortunately I don't know of any way of recreating the manifests except by reinstalling. Do you have the downloaded zips saved? If not, check if launching DIM places the .dsx files for the products in your downloads folder -- I don't think it does until you download, but it's worth checking.
I'm confused the problem you're having is? I never use Manifests and my content work fine. I just choose my runtimes in the Content Manager. I install all my stuff from the manual download by dragging and dropping them into my content foler and always trash the manifest.
For reasons of disk space, I backed up my system folders using Time Machine and my DAZ Library to another external disk using a mirroring application. It might be that I have the DIM folders somewhere in my system backup but I will not know until I get my repaired Mac home. They called today to tell me the fusion drive had died so I'll get a factory default system back in a few days.
My problem is that when I installed DIM on my spare PC and pointed it to my content folders (which I had restored from a backup disk), DIM does not recognise that I have installed content. I can use the content without a problem in DAZ Studio on the spare PC but DIM wants to install hundreds of purchases from scratch.
That's not a problem on the spare PC because,as soon as I get my Mac back, I'll be restoring my content to that, But I will have the same problem with DIM.
Oh I see, you just want to get your installer to be all tidied up.
Edit: I'm all over the place.
He wants to be able to get the benefits DIM provides over manual installation, like notification of product updates and automated uninstall/update.
Don't know abut Macs, but on Windows the Manifest files are also in the folder with the zips, so maybe you can copy them from there, in case.
Those don't have the install information, but I think in a pinch they would work to at least mark the products as installed and check for updates. Never tried it, though.
I've browsed through my backup and found the Manifest files. Hopefully, when they and the content are restored, everything will work.
Thanks for the information, all.
Those don't have the install information, but I think in a pinch they would work to at least mark the products as installed and check for updates. Never tried it, though.
No, I can see that. Not a good idea to give them the exact same filename then, IMO.
Aren't those manifests in two different places actually two different manifests? One downloaded as part of the .zip file to track the installation location info, one created at download time to track whether a new update might be available. Not the way I would have designed the system, this split strikes me as an unnecessary complication.
Aren't those manifests in two different places actually two different manifests? One downloaded as part of the .zip file to track the installation location info, one created at download time to track whether a new update might be available. Not the way I would have designed the system, this split strikes me as an unnecessary complication.
Actually, there are three manifests. The one in the zip, a product manifest; the one that comes with the zip, a customer manifest; and the one DIM creates, the installation manifest.
The product manifest has the file list. The customer manifest has the product name, the order date, the file (product) create date, the order number, order date, the product type (content, plugin, etc), the product ID (store sku), the product tags (Poser, Studio, version numbers and such) and a file hash. The installation manifest is created by combining both the customer and product manifests and adding the installation directory and time.
When you start DIM it walks your DAZ product library, your installed products, and your downloaded products to build a list of new items (not on your system at all) and updated items (same product ID with a different file hash) and builds the entries shown in the three tabs accordingly.
As a former software geek, I think the whole packages is incredibly well thought out. I also think that there should be a bit better documentation on what ends up where, even though DIM is following Microsoft (and presumably Apple) guidelines on where these files are stored.
Aren't those manifests in two different places actually two different manifests? One downloaded as part of the .zip file to track the installation location info, one created at download time to track whether a new update might be available. Not the way I would have designed the system, this split strikes me as an unnecessary complication.
The .dsx files in the download folder hold information that comes from the DAZ server: the date of the.zip package, the order number, etc. When DIM installs a package it combines that information with information on what files were installed and where. That way you can clear the download folder after install, and download a new .dsx for the product when it is updated, without losing the local information.
ETA: and namffuak is both faster and more accurate.
In other words, don't complain to Daz if you think those locations are totally illogical and are worse than a 1970s Gremlin...
In other words, don't complain to Daz if you think those locations are totally illogical and are worse than a 1970s Gremlin...
Exactly. And again, as a former geek who had to work disaster recovery -- locations that are very hard to back up and recover on a different system. Storing critical data one level down in a hidden directory . . .
I bow to your superior geek-fu. ;-)
It makes more sense now, it just still strikes me as awfully awkward. Maybe it's just that I'm a bit old-fashioned; I never really learned modern database theory that can be implemented on modern fast hardware, the nearest I got to being taught this sort of thing involved punched cards and COBOL. :ahhh:
There are worse languages than COBOL - I've had to program in them.:P
When you look at the complaints DIM was designed to answer - different installers for Windows and Mac systems; different levels of installers for each; and the on-going complaints about upgrades and updates that you only found out about by resetting your downloads and retrying - not to mention the need to reset your downloads at times - and not having restartable downloads- I think DAZ came close to hitting it out of the park with DIM. And then coming up with a way to have the beta of Studio or Carrara installed alongside the release version -- that had to make life a lot easier for the PAs.
There are worse languages than COBOL - I've had to program in them.:P
When you look at the complaints DIM was designed to answer - different installers for Windows and Mac systems; different levels of installers for each; and the on-going complaints about upgrades and updates that you only found out about by resetting your downloads and retrying - not to mention the need to reset your downloads at times - and not having restartable downloads- I think DAZ came close to hitting it out of the park with DIM. And then coming up with a way to have the beta of Studio or Carrara installed alongside the release version -- that had to make life a lot easier for the PAs.
Yep...and even though I can't get the DIM to run on my main machine (complicated story there...), I actually like it now. It seems to be maturing nicely. Now it's just a matter of fine tuning things...like having the ability to save/backup it's internal database (maifest files) and restore them without having to go through the whole download everything again...
FWIW, I use SyncBackSE - it is pretty much just a really smart copy utility. Once you figure out what you need to back up, and where it lives, the actual backup with syncback is easy and - most important- trivial to verify that it's working the way you want it and the correct files are being saved. Important rule - if you cannot verify the backup, you might as well not be running it.
I too use Syncback and make regularly backups(also from the AppData), at least once a week, but I can't find where DIM puts the list with installed items. I'll have to re-install my test computer one of these days and the last time I had to do that I had to put all the downloaded zips back in the down loads folder to let DIM know what I had already. :(
Mind you, everything already was installed by DIM to the Content and other places where I wanted it to install to. I don't prefer doing it that way again actually so could you and would you please be so kind to tell me what exactly I have to back up so DIM will know what's installed already?
Thanks in advance,
Love, Jeanne :)
It is looking to me as though this should be something DAZ ought to document. Many people might be backing up their content library without a thought of all the DIM folders and files. It will come as a shock to find out that your reinstalled content is not, nor never will be, recognised by DIM. Having spent many years in the IT industry, I know that lots of people do selective rather than total backups in order to save on the cost of high capacity backup media.
I too use Syncback and make regularly backups(also from the AppData), at least once a week, but I can't find where DIM puts the list with installed items. I'll have to re-install my test computer one of these days and the last time I had to do that I had to put all the downloaded zips back in the down loads folder to let DIM know what I had already. :(
Mind you, everything already was installed by DIM to the Content and other places where I wanted it to install to. I don't prefer doing it that way again actually so could you and would you please be so kind to tell me what exactly I have to back up so DIM will know what's installed already?
Thanks in advance,
Love, Jeanne :)
The path (in Windows 7) is C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\DAZ 3D\InstallManager; depending on what else you're using, you may want to grab everything under Public Documents. Note that this is also the default location for 'My DAZ 3D Library' which I have never used. In the InstallManager directory the key directories are 'ManifestFiles' and 'Thumbnails' but it's easier to just grab everything under DAZ 3D.
An alternative is Second Copy, it's very intiutive to use:
http://secondcopy.com
The path (in Windows 7) is C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\DAZ 3D\InstallManager; depending on what else you're using, you may want to grab everything under Public Documents. Note that this is also the default location for 'My DAZ 3D Library' which I have never used. In the InstallManager directory the key directories are 'ManifestFiles' and 'Thumbnails' but it's easier to just grab everything under DAZ 3D.
Thank you so much! I too never use that so I completely forgot to look there. So if I backup this DAZ3D folder and put it again in public documents once I finished reinstalling, DIM will know what's installed and I don't have to put all the zips back again in the download folder?
At least in the ManifestFiles folder are manifest files from all the things I have untill now... as far as I could see.
Thanks again,
Love, Jeanne :)
It was indeed a bit of a shock when I found that out after my last reinstall Marble :)
Well, thanks to Namffuak now I know I have to be sure to backup this DAZ 3D folder in public documents.
Love, Jeanne :)
Ok. So I have restored my backup to the new HDD in my iMac. DAZ Studio is once again operating :) By the way, the DIM files are here on a Mac:
/Users/Shared/DAZ 3D/InstallManager/
I opened DIM and, as expected, it thinks that several packages are not installed when, in fact, they are. The problem was that I only backup once a week and the crash happened at the end of a week of "Madness" purchases.
So my question is: would it be ok to let DIM install these again even though they are already there?