Why Can't Daz make a friggin product that actually works for ch***sakes?
BlackSky
Posts: 0
Ok, I'm back and I'm almost weeping with frustration. My jaw hurts 'cause of all the teeth-grinding I've been doing. About 2 weeks ago I stated a thread because of other problems I was having and after a couple of days and your help I thought it was solved. You guys actually did help with the problem, and everything was ok for about a minute when MORE problems, that were ALL NEW turned up.
Essentially, at the time I needed to know how to nuke daz off my system. I was not aware that settings were kept in ~/library/application support/daz 3d, until you kindly told me. I deleted those and the next time after I did a fresh reinstall-viola!-a spankin' fresh copy of daz waiting to have me set up the interface!
OK, so that was taken care of and I went about categorizing all my content after I got it installed. Right away I start having problems again, namely with content I KNOW IS THERE apparently not being there. After more frustration I start over again. This time I get it all where I want it by trying I different approach. However now there are orphaned file references everywhere.
So today I decide to start over AGAIN......This time I carefully install, using DIM (which I always use-I just state it for clarity) I totally nuke Daz. I begin the reinstall by reinstalling DIM, and I notice that there's something not right right off because It sting has my password saved. Sure enough-Daz starts up with the saved interface configuration I saved prior to uninstall. Just to be clear-I zapped everything out off the
~/library/application support/daz 3d folder, including the folder itself, so none of my pass words and saved configurations should've been there, right?
On top of that, I tried installing ONLY the Genesis starter essential and evolution morphs. Guess what? Now EVERY SINGLE MORPH EXCEPT FOR BASE FEMALE IS MISSING WHEN I LOAD GENESIS. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling 4 freakin times with the same result. Now I'm not sure any more 'cause I'm tired, I have a headache, and I'm so frustrated I wanna throw my computer out the window, so I'm not in a very rational place at the moment.
But, in addition to possible help with pointing out a missed step or something, will someone please tell me why the h*ll Daz can't make software that is a little more user-friendly? I want to make art, not screw around with endless technical problems.
I've been messing with DAZ since August and I haven't been able to get on single thing accomplished except raise my blood pressure.
My only defense is that I am tenacious, and I can see a lot of useful potential. But so far that's all I CAN see-potential, and these-days I think I see a potential heart-attack if this keeps up.:-(
Any help would be appreciated/ Thanks Again.
P.S. If anyone out there is from the Madison, WI area, would you be interested in starting a DAZ meet-up group. I won't lie. I'm motivated by self interest here. If there are folks in my area with more technical expertise I'd love to meet you.
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Comments
First off DAZ Studio has ZERO to do with the DIM or CONTENT at all. So removing it is NOT doing a thing except taking time. The CMS and DIM both create there on Files that will be left behind if not 100% NUKED and those will be read on re-install of either. And not ALL extra files are in that folder. If you did ANY custom install at all the Location of some of the files will be known ONLY to you as the Default folders will not exist but the ones created for a custom install will be on your system named whatever you did at install.
A Full setup of DIM as in checking each option before USE and setting it to what you want it to do is a MUST just like any program that adds content to a PC it will do exactly what the settings tell it to do. The CMS will hold the OLD Database UNTIL it is removed so if you have added the SAME content to the Same folder, even if that folder was deleted before, the CMS will just ADD that to the old database, not start a new one, thus causing duplicates. If the Content is in a NEW folder all the OLD database will show as Orphaned because the Path is not found but is still in the DataBase file. And Most importantly the Content Folder PATH must be set up in DAZ Studio properly before content installed properly will work properly in DAZ Studio.
That is why a user should do a 100% default install the very first time for ALL parts of DAZ 3D. Then the only thing needed is to point the DAZ Studio content Prefs to the Default DIM content path which is NOT the default content Path created by DAZ Studio on install. At this point it sounds like you Need to DELETE the CMS Database and BUILD a 100% clean version. And to make SURE that DAZ Studio is pointing to the Content Folder USED my DIM when the new DataBase is made.
Installing ANY content with DAZ Studio OPEN and Running Can and Will cause DataBase errors and will even BLOW the DB fully so that the CMS will just shut down. I truly think you ONLY have a content PATHS issue and a BAD DataBase file. Which can be fixed.
I am figuring that you are on a mac. Question 1) is where are you installing Dim and your content. There is a default location which would be the shared user folder. I'm not sure why you keep deleting everything; it sounds more like an issue of Daz Studio mapping where you have stuff. Once you install, Dim (which should create stuff in your shared folder), Install Daz Studio in your applications folder and have Dim place stuff in in the Daz 3D library in your shared user folder. There are a bunch of parts for it (Daz Studio and the various Genesis Essentials for G, G1 male and female and G2 male and female). Get caught up in reinstalling your content either through Dim or manually. Open up Daz Studio and go to the preferences. Point Daz Studio to the Daz 3d library for both DS and Poser items. It should work then "But, I have Poser and want to use that content too..." In the preferences of Daz Studio, point to those runtimes too for DS and Poser items. Last but not least, run the maintenence tool to make sure Daz Studio sees all your content.
Generally when people see symptoms like yours, either they didn't install all of the genesis essentials, they didn't have Daz Studio map their content both Poser and S, or they have a defect in the database that keeps track of that stuff. Don't nuke your stuff again, please The issue is probably not due anything that that will solve rather than configuration.
Thanks fo your replies guys. I went to bed and now I feel a lot better 8 hours later. Anyhoo...Whenever I install daz over I do so thusley:
1)Install DIM-I let it install in my appliactions folder which is default. when it installs, I let it install the CMS to its default location as well.
(I always delete the database during the last uninstall previous to the fresh reinstall, which is part of why I was so freaked out yesterday)
The database is in ! / library / daz 3d / content management service / database on my mac. I stop CMS with the utility to do so in it's folder. Daz is not running when I do this.
Once DIM has done it's default install, this is where the new copy of CMS is, along with it's database.
DIM is in ~ / applications / Daz 3d / DAZ3DIM1 (no idea why it's called daz3dim1 by the way)
my content is always in the same place : ~ / shared / My Daz 3D Library
The above paths are the defaults. I never mess about with any of that stuff. I figure I have enough trouble without asking for more.
The only time I have had to bother with setting paths in DIM for install was to allow the Photoshop 3D plugin to install proberly. I DO get errors here, but only because some of my DIM content is for Carrera, and since I don't have Carrera I bother with it. Generally everything seemed to istall fine til yesterday.
So is there a way to edit the database by hand? If so what program do I use to edit it on my mac. And where is the database and settings file if it is not where I stated above. I my first post I said that at first I was missing a few morph sliders, but by the time I wrote the post Every one was gone but one, so if this is only a database issue, what did I miss and how do I fix it?
Where are ALL the folders and can I edit the database file using an editor to repair all the wrecked paths?
The reason I was doing the uninstalls and reinstalls was that I didn't know what else to do. I've looked for a text file like an "ini" on a pc, but there doesn't appear to be one that has any paths in it.
Anyway, thanks for your replies so far.
OK, so here's what I Did--Database wipe: (This Wiped Daz's interface settings even though I hadn't uninstalled Daz itself. Had to re-input email at DIM startup after re-install - a sign that some settings were wiped.
Although on "re-import metadata" under "user-data" there is an entry that wasn't there before - "UserData1". So I don't think ALL the settings were wiped)
These are the steps I took in order:
1) Stop CMS
2) Delete CMS Database
3) Uninstall CMS
4) Uninstall Daz DIM
5) Re-Install Daz DIM and CMS using default install.
Leaving user data checked caused the re-import to stay at 0% but just tick away counting the seconds. (I don't know if this had to do with earlier running "scan known directories for files or not" which I thought might help fix the orphan problem. I still don't understand the purpose of half of the options in the database maintenance box) After 5 or 6 mnutes with it at 0% I forced-quit Daz.
I did a "re-import metadata" with "User Data" un-checked to see what would happen.
The "Basic child" reference in gensis smart content has been repaired and is visible again. Unfortunately I now don't know how to wipe out the user data.
The last time I did a wipe and deleted the database out of CMS I did not restart CMS before uninstaling it and DIM. I also DID NOT use an old database after reinstall. I let CMS build a new database in the database folder. So where this "User Data / User Data 1 is coming from is a total mystery to me.
I have found place where I know Daz keeps it's data:
1) ~ / Library / DAZ 3D / Content Management Service
2) ~ / Username / Application Support / DAZ 3D
3) ~ / Shared /DAZ 3D / InstallManager
4) ~ / Applications / DAZ 3D
Where else on Mac does Daz keep it's files? Or are there any? It seems like there must be otherwise why would various settings in the database be so stubborn to remove?
Anyway, I am having a couple of problems and I don't know what they are caused by. One is that a bunch of morph sliders I used to have in the shaping editor are now missing. No idea why. Also, whenever I use the Database Manager to add my 3rd party content folder to Daz, I end up with Orphaned references for stuff that is part of the DIM install, such as Genesis "Basic Child". I can't figure why that would be-none of my 3rd party stuff has anything to do with that. And I now have a "user data1" entry in my reimport metadata box, which, if I don't uncheck it makes everything take so long it appears to hang.
That reeks of nested content folders and mapping the folders too deep.
The directory mapping should stop at the directory that contains content and go no deeper. There should not be a folder named Content inside a folder named My Library, nor should there be a My Library within one named Content...nor two Content folders, one inside the other...nor two My Library folders...or any combination of the above.
There should be two 'default' mapped folders...the user folder (My Library) and the shared folder used by the DIM (My DAZ3D Library or some such). Both of those should be mapped to both DS and Poser formats, in Studio's Content Directory Manager.
I'm flagging this thread up for our in house MAC pro. I'm a bit lost as it looks to me as you have done all the proper steps but as I'm a Win user I do not know if more is needed on a MAC. They are off line at this time but will see this flagged for them as soon as they go live again.
Now Flagged.
Hello,
trying to organize your questions in my head so they can be answered.
When you say your content is in '~ / shared / My Daz 3D Library', is that really in your user_dir/shared/My Daz 3D Library or do you mean /Users/SharedMy Daz 3D Library?
Things are not "loaded" from the database unless you are trying to locate the using the smart content. The best way to find out if it is a database problem or content is misplaced is to use the Content Library pane to locate the content (not morphs though which you find selecting the figure in question and select the shaping pane). If things are in the Content Library abut not in the smart content pane, the database is wacky. If they are not in the Content Library pane or the shaping pane (morphs), they installation is not correct.
The reason I say this is that you need to fins the cause of the problem, not the symptoms before it can be cured. Curing symptoms but not the cause will usually just make things worse.
Thanks for all the replies guys. I thought I had solved all the problems-at least the major ones. Now I'm having new ones. They aren't serious as yet, but they are disconcerting. Namely, after getting all the content loaded and In it's proper place I did some categorizing. I am starting out with Daz to use as a drawing aid for figure drawing, so I wanted to get all my pose files, lights, cameras, and figures in one place (categories) and separated so they would be easy to find. So I worked on that yesterday and today and got everything where I wanted.
However now whenever I load M4, V4, Freak 4, She-Freak (and I presume any of the later generation characters prior to Genesis) I get this "Attempted to create circular link to "name of body part"" error. There aren't as many as I've seen in the past,and it doesn't happen with Gen 1 or Gen 2, but they are there, and I worry that what ever caused them will get worse over time. I really don't want to reinstall my content one more time.
So is this caused by database corruption? On a few occasions when I was dragging folders "up" in levels in the categories DAZ would crash. Not always, but about 5 or 6 times. I wonder if moving things up the hierarchy in categories is messing up the paths in the database.
Is there a way to manually fix the problem? If so, what would the steps entail?
I've included two screens to illustrate the issue.
Thanks