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DIM issues with fresh OS installation

RodB2RodB2 Posts: 19
in Daz Studio Discussion

I have just installed WIN11 on my PC and have installed DS and DIM. I have pointed the content directory manager in DS to the old content directory on another disc.

This is the location I have been using for years without any problem.

As well I have I have set up the content path in DIM.

However DIM does not show content as installed. The content does show in DAZ studio in the content library but not in smart content.

Does this content need to be reinstalled? And would that bring back my smart content? 

Or am I missing something else. 

DIM_1.jpg
884 x 710 - 114K
DIM_2.jpg
916 x 932 - 135K

Comments

  • crosswindcrosswind Posts: 6,926

    Is it on the same PC you've been using or on a new PC ?

  • felisfelis Posts: 4,309

    If the actual content paths seen from DIM has changed you must update the manifest files to the same path.

  • RodB2RodB2 Posts: 19
    edited October 2023

    crosswind said:

    Is it on the same PC you've been using or on a new PC ?

    It is a partial rebuild. New mainboard, cpu, RAM and system drive. My content library is on a separate disc and has not changed

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • RodB2RodB2 Posts: 19

    felis said:

    If the actual content paths seen from DIM has changed you must update the manifest files to the same path.

    I'm not sure how to do that.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,482

    RodB2 said:

    crosswind said:

    Is it on the same PC you've been using or on a new PC ?

    It is a partial rebuild. New mainboard, cpu, RAM and system drive. My content library is on a separate disc and has not changed

    New system drive? The C: drive? You would have to copy the contents of the Manifest Archive and the CMS Database Base (the whole folder structure under the cms folder; zip it to an archive first, otherwise there is a seemingly endless number of files) to the same location on the new C: drive. That should restore everything in DIM and Smart Content. Assuming the external disc was E: also. If not, a little more work will be required to change the path in the manifest files. We can tackle later that if you need to.

    Check you thumbnail archive (presuming also on C: drive), none of them seem to have made it through, either. Copy that folder to the same location on the new disc if you want it in the same place. The location can be changed as long as you change it in DIM, also.

  • RodB2RodB2 Posts: 19

    NorthOf45 said:

    RodB2 said:

    crosswind said:

    Is it on the same PC you've been using or on a new PC ?

    It is a partial rebuild. New mainboard, cpu, RAM and system drive. My content library is on a separate disc and has not changed

    New system drive? The C: drive? You would have to copy the contents of the Manifest Archive and the CMS Database Base (the whole folder structure under the cms folder; zip it to an archive first, otherwise there is a seemingly endless number of files) to the same location on the new C: drive. That should restore everything in DIM and Smart Content. Assuming the external disc was E: also. If not, a little more work will be required to change the path in the manifest files. We can tackle later that if you need to.

    Check you thumbnail archive (presuming also on C: drive), none of them seem to have made it through, either. Copy that folder to the same location on the new disc if you want it in the same place. The location can be changed as long as you change it in DIM, also.

    My DIM directory is shown in attached image. All my downloads and manifest files are present. But I have no Idea where the CMS database is or was. If it was on my old C drive then it is gone. Also there is nothing in thumbnail folder.

    This is rather dissapointing as I have kept my content and downloads on this disc to avoid these kind of problems. 

    DIM3.jpg
    580 x 420 - 40K
  • felisfelis Posts: 4,309

    DIM uses the manifest files to know what is installed.

    If you open one of the manifest files in a text editor, does the path in the manifest file then match with the path where the content is installed?

  • RodB2RodB2 Posts: 19

    RodB2 said:

    NorthOf45 said:

    RodB2 said:

    crosswind said:

    Is it on the same PC you've been using or on a new PC ?

    It is a partial rebuild. New mainboard, cpu, RAM and system drive. My content library is on a separate disc and has not changed

    New system drive? The C: drive? You would have to copy the contents of the Manifest Archive and the CMS Database Base (the whole folder structure under the cms folder; zip it to an archive first, otherwise there is a seemingly endless number of files) to the same location on the new C: drive. That should restore everything in DIM and Smart Content. Assuming the external disc was E: also. If not, a little more work will be required to change the path in the manifest files. We can tackle later that if you need to.

    Check you thumbnail archive (presuming also on C: drive), none of them seem to have made it through, either. Copy that folder to the same location on the new disc if you want it in the same place. The location can be changed as long as you change it in DIM, also.

    My DIM directory is shown in attached image. All my downloads and manifest files are present. But I have no Idea where the CMS database is or was. If it was on my old C drive then it is gone. Also there is nothing in thumbnail folder.

    This is rather dissapointing as I have kept my content and downloads on this disc to avoid these kind of problems. 

    Checked my manifest directory and it has not had any files added to it since 2013. So I guess that the rest of them were my old C drive.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,482

    All is not lost. If you still have the original zips, you can re-install all of the content fairly easily (I understand that it should go quickly since the content is still intact, but I could be mistaken). The manifest file it comes with is a record of availability, not the installation. That is in the other manifest file (confusingly with the same name, but in a different folder). If they are lost, they are lost and there is no way to re-generate them other than re-installing. Doing that will also restore all your metadata into the Database, but not any customization you did (i.e., custom categories, additions or corrections to metadata). If you have saved UserData from the Content DB Maintenance utility (saved in the Runtime\Support folder with the rest of the metadata files), you can restore it by using the Re-import Metadata option, selecting only UserData (if any). Getting the Thumbnails back is fairly trivial, just retrieve them as you re-install.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,482

    To avoid future disasters, copy the Manifest Archive, export UserData, copy any user files, and, for a quick way to backup your CMS database (the path is shown in the DIM setup), just zip the whole folder structure and copy it.  All to another disc, of course, or the cloud. (You can restore metadata, but it can take a very long time, unzipping in place might take maybe a minute or two).

  • RodB2RodB2 Posts: 19

    Thanks all for your assistance. I have learnt something.

    Will reinstall from the downloaded zips, something I was trying to avoid.

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