Accidentally created daz folders all over computer

freni-kyn

I've created a situation, which I found some solutions to in the forums, however none of the solutions specifically address my situation in entirity.  Maybe I just made a bigger mess than most people.  :)

Several years ago I downloaded daz and installed it, along with some content I purchased from outside sources, onto my c drive.  I then decided I did not have time to learn Daz, and it just sat there unused.  Since then I added three 2 terrabyte sized hard drives to my computer and replaced the c drive with a ssd drive.  The ssd drive is much smaller than what I had before, so while I have nice consistent speed, and it seems more stable, it can not hold everything.  Before doing the switch out of the c drive I moved the daz material to two different places on my computer (two different hard drives).  At that time I was in a rush and not sure if I would ever pick daz back up, so I was not particularily careful in how I moved them.  And to be quite frank, I probably did not even have the material from outside sources installed correctly anyway, so that is adding to the complexity of the problem.

Now I'm addicted to daz, but in short, I've created a real mess and am not sure what is the best route for fixing all of this.

This year I reinstalled Daz  for the fourth time (yes, I have four installs on four different drives... ugh!) and put in the time necessary to actually start learning how to use it.  But I could not figure out where to put my old material, so it ended up in several places on my multiple hard drives.  I eventually stuck some of it in c drive, but in doing a search of my computer I've decided that I still do not have all the material installed correctly.  I also purchased a ton of stuff from daz, and it has eaten up all my free space on the c drive, so I need to move it. 

I've read that I can move the folder from the user folder to another drive, reset the database, and reimport metadata.  I assume that I do it in that order and start with Daz closed.  But how do I find, and move, all the other pieces I have all over the computer?  I've watched tutorials about how to get them into the right folder, so I feel pretty confident that once I move them I can get them into the right place now.  I'm just concerened about the metadata.  What do I do about that?  When I reimport the metadata does it take care of all of it, including the old stuff?  Or is simply moving the file enough for the outside content? 

As to the daz content files I purchased this last year, would it be better if I simply deleted it all and redownloaded it while pointing the installer at a different drive?  I tried that initially and could not see my content, but I did not do a reset, so I'm guessing that was part of the problem. 

I sure hope someone can help me unsnarl this tangled web I've made.  And thank you ahead of time for taking time to help.

Richard Haseltine

While deleting and reinstalling can be the best way to deal with the Gordian knot, it can be a bit drastic. The things you need to look for are the folders named Data and Runtime - any location that contaisn both of those is probably a content directory and you either want to merge it with another content directory already linked to Daz Studio (everything in there, not just the two folders I named) or keep it and link the folder that holds the Runtime and Data folders to DS - right-click the DAZ Studio Formats and Poser Formats headings in the Content Library pane and choose the Add New ... Directory option. If you find a folder that contains Runtime and Data folders inside another folder that also contains Runtime and Data fodlers then that is a potential issue - you would usually want to merge the contents of the contained folder with the outer folder.

freni-kyn

Thank you Richard Haseltine.  I probably have the data and runtime inside data and runtime folders because I really did not know what I was doing when I first tried putting new material in.  Do I need to redo the metadata after I move these things?

Richard Haseltine

If you move a lot of things around that had had their metadata imported (because they were installed with an .exe installer or the DAZ Install Manager or because you had previously imported metadata) then resetting the database and reimporting metadata will fix any bad references.

freni-kyn

Thank you.  Just learning all of this stuff.  Such a noob with daz.  I didn't even know it had metadata when I first started so I was moving it everywhere trying to get it to work.  I also didn't know there was a content folder so it was probably in the right place to begin with but I didn't know it.  I just have this horrific fear that I will break something or lose the work on the dufs I've already created.

Richard Haseltine

The biggest risk to created files is nested content diectories (having one content directory inside another) as Daz Studio can make the wrong choice when creating the relative path (usually if files such as textures or the geometry are inside a content directory DS stores only their location within that, not their full location starting with the drive, as that is more portable to another system or after a reorganisation).

freni-kyn

Thanks for your help.  I moved them and it went very well except I lost the use of animate with this.  Kind of wondering if I need to reinstall daz since even the animate tab is gone.

Richard Haseltine

Is it listed in Help>About Installed Plug-ins? AniMate should work in Lite mode after 30 days, if it isn't you may need to open a support ticket.

freni-kyn

Yes it was listed.  I submitted a ticket to Daz.