Can Daz Studio 4.6 pro be installed to and run directly from an external drive?
michaeltoo
Posts: 219
Hi guys,
I've been away from 3d for just over a year now and I'm just itching to get back into it. Anyway I finally got a new Laptop and look forward to giving it a good work out with some Daz fueled renders. :cheese:
I'm running Win 8.1 pro 64 bit version, I just moved from Win XP 32bit. So it's a bit of a learning curve. I'm currently in the process of loading programs on.
Please I'm wanting to know if I can install Daz Studio 4.6 pro and successfully run it directly from an external drive?
If its possible, how would I go about doing it using Win 8.1, Is there anything I need to be aware of with the way it sets up files? And what about the CMS?
Thanks,
michael
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Comments
The supported way to install DAZ Studio is either using the DAZ Install Manager, or by using the Bitrock installer for DAZ Studio. Either method allows you to customize the location of the installation of the program, however, the default location is the preferred location.
Should you choose to install DAZ Studio on an external drive that is your choice. However, it could possibly lead to issues.
Jared is giving you the party line, because support is much easier if you use the defaults.
Having said that - you can install and run the software on any drive in your system A fair number of people here have gone to an SSD for the C drive and don't want it cluttered with Studio and the assorted 3D content.
If you use the executable (bitrock) installer you will be asked where you want the program and CMS to install, with the default paths indicated.
If you use the DAZ Install Manager (DIM) you should do some customization first. Click on the gear icon on the DIM main panel after signing in to the store (or after clicking the 'work offline' box) and look through the tabs.
One thing to note, in the 'Installation' tab - you MUST use different paths for 32 bit and 64 bit software, and these are the top-level directories. Anything DIM installs in these directories will be under the sub-directory structure of DAZ 3D/. As an example, my directories are D:\bits-32 and D:\bits-64. Under both I have DAZ 3D\Studio4 - one is 32-bit, the other is 64-bit, and the only difference in any names is the high-level directory.
Hi guys,
sorry for the delay, I have had some really irregular hours of late. Had a very busy day and was unable to get to my computer until very late. Doesn't help living on the other side of the world in New Zealand.
Hi DAZ_jared,
I understand that doing this could "lead to issues" and really want to avoid that and just want the best advice from the Daz community. Thank you for the warning.
Hi namffuak,
thank you for your reply. I'd like to know a little more about your set up, please excuse me if I ask some dumb questions. I'm a bit lost with getting to terms with both the new Win 8.1 and DAZ 4.6. I was last using the Daz 3 advanced version .
Is it important to have a 32 bit folder as well as a 64 bit folder, if I'm just going to install the 64 bit version of DazStudio?
Did you create these folders (D:\bits-32 and D:\bits-64) yourself and then get DIM to install to them and is it important to name the folders exactly so or could I make up any name?
I'm thinking of using the DIM for the installation, which folder do I put the CMS into?
Please could I ask you to post a screen shot of your folder setup?
Thank you both so much for your time
External drives. have a unique issue when it comes to running software, and that is when the drive is disconnected and you try to run software, or the drive is connected in a different order so the drive letter changes.
So while it can be said it is the party line, there are indeed issues that a person needs to be aware of when installing like that.
Internal drives, unless you are in the habit of "ejecting" internal drives usually avoid the same issues.
If you are just going to install 64 bit please make sure Install Manager knows that. :) (Set the filter to turn off 32 bit software.) Note that not all software is 64 bit, so it is a good idea to specify a 32 bit location that is different than the 64 bit location, just in case, even if you don't use it. (Hex, Bryce and Carrara 8/8.5 Standard don't have a 64 bit version so should show up anyway.)
Like DAZ_Spooky says - there CAN be issues with external drives. I have 3 permanently installed on my two systems - it was four, but one of them just died. Backups are your friend, do them!
I created the bits-32 and bits-64 folders myself- with DIM. If you click on the button with the three dots on it at the end of the path window DIM will fire up explorer so you can browse to the directory you want. Browse to your drive and then click on whatever icon or text allows the creation of a new folder and key in the name you want. (I'm on Win 7 and XP - no idea of what Win 8 looks like).
You can use any names that make sense to you; it is just a name.
I put in the 32 bit path because I've got Bryce and have used 32-bit studio to test a few things out at times. I did my CMS install prior to DIM; I'm not real sure where DIM will put it, but I'm fairly certain that it is 32-bit software, so that's what I would expect.
Here is my DIM installation tab and my directory definitions in Studio. This is a bit of overkill, but again it is from pre-DIM layouts.
OK, now this is a thread I am interested in. And I'm so glad I have a Mac and don't have to worry about "A,B,C,D etc. Drive Location" when I plug in an external drive. I can name my drive whatever I want and plugging it into different a USB port won't change that. Now, I just got a new 2 TB external drive I want to transfer my content and scene files (not the program itself) over to in order to clear up space on my internal drive (I've only got about 10 GB left out of 120, and over 48 GB of that used space is from content, and my 500 GB external drive only has 48 GB of space left, so I'm seriously running out of hard drive space as I get more content). Now, I do not use the DIM. What is the best way to transfer everything over to the new drive and how do I still get my Smart Content to work once that's done? More to the point, How do I get DAZ 4 to find the content and smart content once I've transferred everything over? And, for the record, I only have 32 bit capability.
Hi Dazspooky,
I'm fimilliar with drive letter issue, I have my content on a extenal and have had some fun with drive letters changing on me.
"If you are just going to install 64 bit please make sure Install Manager knows that. (Set the filter to turn off 32 bit software.) Note that not all software is 64 bit, so it is a good idea to specify a 32 bit location that is different than the 64 bit location, just in case, even if you don’t use it. (Hex, Bryce and Carrara 8/8.5 Standard don’t have a 64 bit version so should show up anyway.)"
WOW! I hadn't even concidered any 32 bit progams at all! I'll certainly set up a 32 bit folder as I have Bryce and Carrara to install as well. I'll have to look more carefully at some of the other software I have to install as well. Thank you for that!
Hi namffuak
Thank you so much for the break down of what you did, it sure is going to be invaluable. And thankyou so much for posting the screen shots I'll be hopefully working on it thru the next few days, Its going to be a great help to sort out my own folders.
For those software packages that are 32 bit only, they should show up even if you turn off show 32 bit in the filters. For example while Carrara 8.5 Pro has both 32 and 64 bit versions, (The filter will only show you the 64 bit version.) Carrara 8.5 standard only has a 32 bit version. You should see the 32 bit version in Install manager, since there is no 64 bit version.
Thanks for that dazspooky, I'll keep that in mind. (: