Content Library not in ABC order after a clean install on new system
atryeu
Posts: 612
My old computer died and I got this new one that is running Windows 8.1. I have Studio 4.7 64 bit installed and when I started adding my Runtimes to the Content Library again, my folders won't show up in ABC order (not the runtime base folders, but the content within the runtimes). I attached a screenshot of a portion of the list as example. In that you can see that at the bottom of the list the folders are a bit mixed up, and then further up it goes into reverse ABC order. It is the same with all the other folders. They are either mixed up oddly or in reverse ABC order. How do I get the folders to show up correctly again? I never had this problem on my old computer (Win XP, running Studio 4.7 32 bit).
I have my Content Library set to Tree view (where I prefer it). I did try and change the views and also refresh the list several times and it won't straighten out. How do I get it back in ABC order so I can actually find my content? :(
Edit: I want to add I've used Studio since version 2 and have never had this problem in all these years using Studio :(
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Comments
What order do the folders show up in Windows Explorer?
I forgot to include that in the first post, sorry. It's strictly Studio that this is happening in. All the folders and files show up correctly in alphabetical order in Win. Explorer. It's not just the product folders showing up like this though, it's the base folders in Studio (Figures, Poses, Lights, etc) as well for the Poser Runtime databases.
I think I also forgot to mention that I deleted the Runtime lists for both Studio and Poser sections completely and added them back but the folder orders are still all mixed up or are in reverse ABC order :( It happens to both the Poser and Studio Runtime databases, not just one or the other, if that makes any difference in a solution.
Also bouncing between the different views (Tree, List and I forget the other) makes no difference. No matter which view, the lists are all mixed up and not in ABC order.
I have the same problem...except I just chalked it up to the fact that Studio is a Windows program and running it on a Linux system in WINE is bound to have something 'odd' happening.
And no, I haven't figured out any way of rearranging the order the directories appear...I spent about a week trying to figure it out, right after I first installed, then just gave up on it. Everything is there, but not in any kind of order I'd consider 'sane'.
At least I'm not alone I guess, but weird.... You are running Linux with the problem and I'm on Windows 8.1 with the problem... The only thing I could narrow my problems down to is either something with 64 bit or something with Windows 8.1 because I didn't have these problems on Windows XP 32 bit and those are the only 2 things not in common between then and now when the problem started :(
Either nobody wants to answer or nobody knows.....
Does anybody know where I might find help on this issue? I want this solved so I can go back to playing in Studio. I can't find anything and it makes me not want to mess with it :(
I'm sure we aren't the only two...
I haven't come up with anything new.
Yeah, we can't be. I know now it isn't Windows 8 that is the issue because you said you are using Linux with the same problem. Can I ask which version of Studio you are using? I'm using 4.7 64 bit. Before, on the old computer, I was using 4.7 32 bit and didn't have this problem. :(
I'm trying to send a help request but after all the changes they did several years back I never seemed to get the kind of responses to problems that I used to. I guess we'll see though. I'll let you know if I hear anything back about it. Please let me know if you figure things out also.
mjc1016: I don't know if you'll see this, but I have a question for you about the problem on your end.... do you have your runtimes on a drive other than your main hard drive? If they are, or you have a spare hard drive (if they are on your main), try to either copy a runtime or create a new one and add some items to it on your main drive or in another hard drive. A friend suggested I try this by creating a new runtime on my main drive, and guess what? That runtime organizes the folders correctly in Studio.
I have no idea why my external drive runtimes wouldn't be organized suddenly though. It's in good working order and I didn't have this problem on my old computer. It only started after switching to this new computer :( Please let me know if any of that works for you or not. Perhaps this is where the problem is and there's a way to fix it.
Nothing helpful from Tech Support yet (before I found this other info out). They keep focusing on the Search function for some reason and I don't think they fully read what and where the problem was in my original post *sigh*
Editing to add that if you then copy that same runtime folder to your other drive again, it was staying in the correct order, but the second I added another item to it, that item wasn't organized with the others and just ended up at the very bottom of the list, out of ABC order :(
Yes, all of my content is on a separate drive.
I wonder why folks who have SSDs aren't seeing this, then?
Perhaps our drives are having some issues for us? If I copy one of my runtimes to my C drive, rename it and then point to the runtime in Studio, the folders are in order just fine (but the same folder on the external drive is not in order). Copying that folder to my external drive keeps the files in order, until I add new content in there, then the one files stay in order but the new content just is added to the bottom of the list and does not organize itself in the ABC order with the rest. Adding new content to the copied folder on my C drive automatically organizes it as it should though. The problem seems to definatly be something with the external drive for me all the sudden. I don't know what though, it's in perfect working order as far as I can tell. Mine is one of the WD My Books (1TB) that is maybe 5yrs old tops.
Mine is actually just a separate partition, waiting to move to another internal drive...so it has to be a 'software' problem.
Hmm, thanks for that info. Earlier I installed my older version of Poser I have and pointed it to one of my runtimes and those are showing up correctly, so it has to be something with Studio. It's only happening when I use Studio :(
A bit of an update...I created a new, dedicated partition for the 4.8 install. Originally, I had My Library on a different drive...still out of order, but since this partition has enough room I moved it to the same partition as the exe. Guess what...it's in alphabetical order now.
Yeah, that's what I was saying before too... If you copied a runtime to your main drive (or where Studio is installed if that's the case instead), the order shows up correctly for some reason. I still don't get what it could be though. I never had this problem before on my old computer :(
If you take that runtime that is now in ABC order and copy it to another drive (or partition in your case), it should stay in ABC order, but the second you add a new product to that same runtime on the other drive/partition, the order is messed up all over again :( I keep my runtimes on an external drive and don't want them on my main drive taking up space though :(
I have yet to upgrade to 4.8 and it will be a bit still perhaps. The download will take a good 15 hours or so on my dialup connection -_- My brother is coming to visit from out of state starting next week and it'll be too hard to use the phone line while he's here I'm sure, so I'll have to wait until mid June probably *sigh*
Hey, guys. I just noticed this thread and I may know why you have not had posts by other members: the problem you have been having is not universal.
This machine is not my primary workstation, but I do have DAZ Studio installed - both 4.6 and the 4.8 beta. It has W7 64-bit installed along with the 64-bit versions of DAZ Studio. I always restrict my boot drive to the operating system and applications, and use one or more separate drives for data. That is the case here, with my content folder on my D: drive. That data drive is not external, but is definitely a separate physical drive. Here's the thing, I double-checked and all my content shows up in alphabetical order for both installations of Studio. So, whatever is causing the problem, it is not because your content is on a drive separate from your boot drive. It may have something to do with using an external drive and how the CMS sees files there, but I do not know. The use of external drives seems to be the common denominator, though.
Hi SixDs, Yeah, I know it's not a universal problem. A lot of other people I know don't have this problem.
If you read above you'd see I also know it is not that the content is on the external drive. I've been using this setup since Studio version 2 and not ever once had an issue until recently. The only differences for when this problem started for me was that I had switched to the 64 bit version of Studio instead (but it was the same version I had on the old computer, just the 64 bit was different), and then this new computer.
My hard drive is perfectly fine. I mentioned above also that I installed an old version of Poser and that program doesn't have this issue where Studio does. I'm not having any other issues with my external drive either. It sounds as it should and it's still running in tip top shape and is not completely loaded down with content. I can eliminate the problem being my hard drive 100% actually. I got a power supply pulled off my ancient computer that works with my old one and while it still has a lot of issues with the motherboard, I got things booted up. Switching the external drive back to that computer and opening Studio there and trying to add content to the runtimes works just as it should work. I put the drive back on this computer and there are the problems. Also just to point out, the other person I believe said they are using 1 hard drive split into partitions, theirs isn't an external drive if I read what they wrote correctly.
And your right, it could be the CMS, who knows. All I know is it's not the hard drive and the only 2 possible options on my end are something to do with Studio or this new computer. Those are the only 2 differences between the old computer with everything working and this new computer where it doesn't work. 64 bit opposed to the 32bit I was using, or this new computer running Win 8.1
I appreciate you posting and I figured if other people had this problem they would have posted too (or they don't see the topic or just dont' even care either way). All I know is I'm not the only one and our setups are both different, and tech support didn't seem interested in helping other than to give a few suggestions that didn't tie in with the problem at all :( I'm decent with computers and have been working with them for near 25 years. I admit I'm out of place with this new computer and new OS but I've done enough testing on my end to know my hard drive is good and it isn't the problem.
I've had this problem and I jusr right click on the main folder in the content tab and tell it to refresh. Doesn't always work, but most of the time it does.
Refreshing was the first thing I tried also. I did it several times on several different runtimes and it didn't fix the problem for me :( I also had tried to close and reopen Studio several times, delete and readd all the runtimes to the list and even reinstall Studio, among other various attempts to fix the problem. No luck with anything I tried though. I have yet to update to 4.8 and haven't installed that PostSQL (was that the name?) setup yet to see if either makes a difference.
Studio lists the entries in their physical directory order i.e. the order in which they had been created. Not even changing the date of the items fixes the situation. I think that it is a way to "encourage" people to use the CMS; I have therefore learned to live with messed up order.
I thought the CMS was a newer feature from 3 or 4. I don't remember that being part of early versions and I've never had problems up until installing things within the last couple months. I've been a Studio user since the early versions of Studio 2 and have always had my items in ABC order.
latego, you say yours are in a messed up order too? I wonder how many others have this problem and just haven't said anything or asked about it then. I'm certainly not going to live with mine being in a messed up order, I cant' find any of my content and I will NOT used that Smart Content junk. I have spent hundreds of hours organizing my content the way I want it and it will not have been a waste of my time -_-
I found that mine was messed up after the CMS had stopped running for some reason or another. Otherwise it was fine.
Hmm, never thought of checking that. I opened Studio and looked and the CMS was started in the processes as well though for me :(
I wasn't suggesting that there was anything physically wrong with the drive, but rather a potential problem with how Windows was seeing and reading it, when I referred to "a problem with the drive".
The big change from your old system, where everything was working as expected, to the new system where things are not working as expected, is Windows. Not 32-bit to 64-bit, but Windows XP to Windows 8. Windows 8 uses a greatly modified file manager (Windows Explorer) compared to that found in Windows XP. There have been many changes in the behaviour of this utility starting with Windows Vista through Windows 7 to Windows 8 (and not all of them good in my personal opinion). That may provide a clue to the issue, but we shall have to see.
Can you answer a few questions regarding your new system? The answers may be important or not, there is no way of knowing in advance. We are faced with a mystery here and the more clues that we have, the better.
1. I assume that the MyBook is attached via USB? Is the drive "permanently" attached to your computer? (in other words, is it always attached and powered up when your system is booted or in use? Or sometimes yes, and sometimes no?
2. Do you routinely use other external storage devices with the PC such as USB thumb drives? If so, is the MyBook always attached and powered up first when these devices are attached?
3. Is the MyBook indexed by Windows?
4. Do you have Libraries enabled? (that would be the default for a new Windows installation)
Since you have not installed Postgre SQL, you are therefore running the Valentina version of the Content Management Service with DAZ Studio. One of the reasons why Postgre SQL was introduced, and why many users have switched to it, was because many had experienced problems with database corruption with Valentina. It may be possible that this is the issue.
5. So, have you attempted to reset the CMS database? (this is not the same as refreshing the Content Library by searching drives for new content- it means rebuilding the database) Warning: do not rebuild the database if you have any custom settings such as categories as these will be lost unless you back up the settings first, then re-import them afterwards!
If you can answer these questions perhaps we can track down and correct the issue. Hopefully.
For me, it's even harder to try to track down...
1 I'm not using Windows or Mac...I'm running Linux. Until I created the new partition, everything was on ext4 partitions. Then I dropped in an NTFS drive and put content on it, but no change in display order.
2. The only content that is in alphabetical order, now, is what is on the latest addition...the new WINE prefix on its own partition. The rest that's on a different drive is still in a somewhat random order.
3. WINE's 'native' file manager is pretty much the same as Explorer was, in XP and behaves as such in everything else.
4. Valentina is not an option for me...it is way too slow to use...like 3 to 5 minutes to start Studio. That is coupled with up to another 1 to 3 minute wait when I switch content directories...and that's after manually tweaking it (yes, there are some tweaks that can be done in its config files).
5. Postgre is being a royal pain...it won't start because it thinks it's being started by an admin.
So, this install never had a working CMS to break. So, for me at least, CMS being 'broken' isn't the problem.
Now, the indexing...that may be something. WINE does rely on the OS's native functions for a lot of things, so I haven't indexed the drives/partitions in question, so that could be a factor.
Sorry if my post sounded a bit rude or anything the other day. I've been having a lot going on at home that has me on edge, and if you've ever used dialup for your internet you will also know that is a reason for stress all on it's own there *cries* :(
Regarding that first bit of info, about the 32bit vs 64. I was just trying to point out that between that and a newer OS, those where the only 2 changes from my working setup on the old computer to this one here where it wasn't working.
I also want to point out for the record, I HATE Windows 8.1 and it was sort of forced on us because the hardware of this computer won't run XP :( I had the same problem on the old computer running ME, getting a new motherboard and being forced to upgrade to XP. I went literally over night from using XP for a very long time to using Win 8 and I still am struggling to figure things out because half of the features I used are all gone or in dumb places compared to XP :(
Here's the answers for the questions:
1. Yes it's USB and yes it's always hooked in (except for the when I moved it to the other computer to see if Studio was loading the content in the correct order there, and then hooking it back up on this computer again right after).
2. It's rare for me to use USB sticks but I have a handful of times on this computer (quite a bit on the old computer) and the MyBook drive is always hooked up at the same time. On the old computer they were hooked into a USB hub since I only had 3 slots on that computer. On here the USB sticks are plugged into the computer directly. This one has 2 slots right in the front I use for the USB sticks, Kindle, etc when needed.
3. MyBook was indexed by Windows XP but I cant' say if Windows 8.1 has indexed it or not. I have yet to find that setting on this OS. If you can point it out to me I can double check on that one. I'm leaning towards Yes though, because I do recall after setting things up that drive light was flashing and showing it was doing something for awhile after hooking it up to this computer the first time.
4. I'd have to say Yes then, by default? Like I said above, I am having the worst time with this OS and really haven't done much customizing of anything still. (I do know of the problems with the Valentina one. I couldn't remember what it was called the other day. I never had issues with the content order, but I could always see errors for Valentina when I'd open the log. I didn't save any of them in the past though. There were not causing problems using Studio at the time and somebody told me to just ignore them).
5. Tech support had me do something with the database but I don't know if it was a full reset. They really didn't give any information about anything. How would I preform a full reset? By the way, I don't use any of that Smart Content stuff they put in. All of my work with my content has been directly on the hard drive, creating and moving content around in the Libraries folder in each Runtime. They are all customized directly from there and I never use Studio to do any of that.
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it. As for the PostSQL, I'm hoping to finish download a couple other files from DIM today first but they will probably take 8-10 hours. I forget the exact sizes (haha, dialup remember). I'll see if I can start PostSQL next though. I think it was almost 80mb, so that will be another 8 hours or so, if DIM hangs in there. I've had problems all week with it.
Firstly, as you may have found, Windows Explorer is called File Explorer under Windows 8.1, because ..., well just because. You can access it by typing File Explorer in Search. What used to be called Computer in the left pane is now called This PC, because ..., well, again, just because. You should be able to find your drives listed there if you drill down. You then should be able to select the drive, right click and select properties as before and see if the drive has been indexed.
Finally, you mentioned the log file. That could yield a clue to the problem. I'd certainly be interested in any CMS related entries there. However, since it can grow quite long over time, I'd suggest closing Studio if its running, then restarting to create a new set of log entries. Open the log in Studio, then save it as a text file somewhere where you can easily retrieve it. Open the resulting text file in Notepad, and scroll to the bottom. Now, slowly scroll up, looking for the point where that latest Studio session began. You can then select all the text below that point and copy it to a new text file, or select everything above that point and delete it. That will leave you with a log of only that most recent Studio startup. Assuming its not too long, you can post it here for us to have a look at, or, alternatively, just tell us of any errors or warnings that are there related to CMS.
I just noticed this. Do you mean that you literally have more than one folder named "runtime"?
I just noticed this. Do you mean that you literally have more than one folder named "runtime"?
A Runtime can be both the specific folder named Runtime and the Poser equivalent of the Content (My Library...whatever it's named) folder. DS can see and use as many of them as you want, as long as they aren't 'nested' and are individually named.
Here's a perfectly valid scenario...5 'top level' folders with Poser format content in them. Each one has a Runtime folder within.
Folder1 > Runtime > Geometries, Libraries, Textures
Folder2 > Runtime > Geometries, Libraries, Textures
Folder3 > Runtime > Geometries, Libraries, Textures
Folder4 > data, other DS specific folders, Runtime > Geometries, Libraries, Textures
Folder5 > Runtime > Geometries, Libraries, Textures
Now as long as each is mapped to "FolderX" and not lower, there should be no problems. The one with both DS and Poser content should be mapped to both DS and Poser formats in the Content Directory Manager.
Yes, I have multiple Runtimes (each one has their own folder called "Runtime" inside it). I've used the setup for 3 or 4 years without issues. It makes it easier to find what I'm looking for (for example just props, or just Generation 3 figure items, etc).
The Reset Database was the same one tech support had me do, so I've done that and it didn't make a difference :( I also closed and reopened Studio afterwards just to be sure and no luck. I haven't tried it again since then. It was sometime this month I put in the support ticket I think (after I had created this topic) so it would have been recently.
I knew about the explorer window (didn't notice the name change though). I didn't notice that about the Indexing though, thanks for that tip. I kind of recall that being in XP as well now that you mentioned it. Earlier I had done a search in that annoying side bar thing on Win 8 for "Index" and found the options. Apparently the external drive was NOT indexed automatically so I will start working on that this week as well. I remember last time I did it on XP I split it into portions and only did so much each day. It took awhile. I'll do each of my Runtime folder sets first to get that done with.
The error from the log is showing up here. I actually had been talking about in the past, on XP though, but what do you know, there it is here as well. Note that I had this exact same error in the log every time Studio started on XP and my content was still always showing in the correct order so I have trouble thinking it's tied in with the problem. I had asked about the errors in the past when I first noticed them and was told it was nothing important and not to worry about it. I never had problems with anything in Studio that could have been tied to the error. Win 8 could be having some sort of problem, but again, this is the same error and it didn't mess with the order of my content before.
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CMS Log Error at Studio startup:
WARNING: dzvalentinaobjectdatabase.cpp(38): DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
WARNING: dzvalentinaobjectdatabase.cpp(38): DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
Error connecting to CMS
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Also, as a side note here, if it helps any.... My old runtime I am working on removing with my new more organized ones split into different categories (Props, Generation 3, etc) seems to show up in complete reverse ABC order. I haven't checked all the other folders but that's how it looks to me. The new runtimes I'm installing and organizing content to is showing up with the newest added content at the bottom of the list and the oldest at the top. (Just to clear this up as well ahead of time, my actual folders in Windows are organized by name, not dates so that can't be the issue there).
Hope something here helps. I got my other files downloaded just a bit ago but it's too late to start the PostSQL tonight. I'll work on it tomorrow but it'll have to be split into 2-3 days of downloading for me -_-
I got my Runtimes folders Indexed last night (but only that folder, not the entire drive). Starting Studio today and refreshing the the runtime listings does nothing though. The Index didn't seem to make a difference.
I just saw that PostgreSQL is only about 40mb... 4hr download for me. I thought it was 70something MB last I looked. I'll download tonight. Do I need to uninstall the Valentina one first, or will the install from the other take care of that for me?