Need help with reinstalling files
lou_harper
Posts: 1,163
I’ve been doing DAZ on Mac for years. About three months ago I finally bought a PC. I had to re-download thousands of content. It took over a week and my internet provider freaked out. But then everything was great, renders were fast, etc.
Then about three weeks ago the PC died, I had to send it back for repairs. Finally got it back today. They either wiped or replaced the hard drive because it came back as a blank slate. Fortunately, I had installed all my DAZ Content on an external drive.
I reinstalled DIM and DAZ. Remapped the installation path in DIM to the external drive and in the DAZ Content Directory. But now in Smart Content all my files show up greyed out, want to be downloaded again. I don’t want to go through that again.
I suspect the problem might be somewhere with the manifest file, since that was probably on the C drive.
What can I do to avoid having to download everything all over again?
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Comments
The Smart Content gets its info from the metadata in the Runtime/Support folder, which should be intact with your content. You can Re-Import the metadata from the Content DB Maintenance panel to re-create your database, which was also most likely on your C: drive.
How do you install? If with DIM/Daz Central, and if you still have the original zips, you can re-install to re-build the Manifest Archive. DIM uses that to determine what has been installed, and usefull info like Show Installed files.
The greyed-out icons in Smart Content are from Connect, which cannot find any metadata (or is it the manifests?), but DO NOT try to download through Connect if you install with DIM. Crossing the beams, and all that. In fact, there is no reason to log in from Studio if you do not use Connect, so disable that in Preferences.
Where do I find the Content DB Maintenance panel? Found it. Doing it now.
I install with DIM, although this time both DAZ site and the PC fighting me every step of the way to install it. (I don't have Connect installed.) However, I'm afraid I had the original zip files on the C drive. I have most of them on the Mac, but transfering them over via Dropbox would take as long as redownloading them.
"...there is no reason to log in from Studio if you do not use Connect..." You mean, work offline? I used to do that.
Thank you Northof45! That worked. A couple of dozen are still grayed out but I can just reinstall those. My new problem is that DIM doesn't realize those files have been installed and wants to download 7325 files. What should I do? Hide files I don't need to download? What if ther is an update?
You don't need to "install" Connect, it is part of DAZ Studio. Just don't use it if you are using DIM, and don't let the greyed-out icons tempt you into downloading from Studio.
Unfortunately, for DIM to know about your download and install history, you will need to have them on your new machine. There must be other ways of transferring files from MAC to PC other than using the Internet. There is a manifest that comes with the download (same filename as the package, with a .dsx extension), so make sure you copy those, too.
When you install, another manifest is created in the manifest archive (configurable in DIM) that, unfortunately, has the same filename and extension as the one that came with the download, so make sure they aren't being saved in the same place. Between the two, DIM can figure out what you have downloaded and what you have installed. That way it can let you know about, say, updates.
So if these are my settings, should I put the zip+dsx files from the Mac in the D:/DAZ CONTENT/DAZ Downloads folder? (Package Archive)
Sounds like a plan. As long as DIM can access them. Re-install to the original location, and you should be good. I personally use an external drive to archive the zips + manifests (plus another as a backup), and an additional internal drive for the library as well as the manifest archive (backed up religiously).
is there a video anywhere that shows you how to install Daz Studio on the C drive and all content on another drive, I would pay for that.
I updated a new version of Daz3d on a popup and now everything is screwed up.
How do you install? To customise paths, rather than just select a base path, you need to use Install Manager
I use DIM and had things working on a seperate drive for a while. But after I did an update, Daz Studio lost contact with the content drive I created. Been trying to do it again but no luck...so its very fustrating. It would be great if someone created a step-by-step guide on how to connect a seperate drive on a PC to Daz3d.
I attached couple fites from my lastest DIM path setup. I put the DIM in the seperate S drive instead of my C drive. Was that a bad idea?
Im not that computer savvy so pretend you're talking to an 8 year old....lol
So where are your existting manifest files? if theya re not in the folder you have selected as a manifest directory then they will not show as installed. Similarly any zips, and their assocatied .dsx files, need to be in the curent Downloads folder for DIM to show them in Ready To Install.
Would it be possible for someone to write a small, very simple manual for the DIM? We need to have a clear guide to the folder structure. And the reasons why we should not mix download methods. In the earlier days of DAZ a content history could be purchased in a disk. That was a "lifesaver" for me. DAZ Central is nice to look at but way to slow and unmanageable. And Daz Connect? No thanks.
You can transfer files from Mac to PC with File Sharing when the two conputers are connected through your Ethernet.