None of my content is found by DAZ studio and DAZ Central

I wiped my computer to re-install Windows; my content is on a secondary drive (Drive E).

After installing DC and DS, I set in DC my E:/DAZ folder for the content, and in DS I set all the libraries links from C location to my E:/DAZ location.

Although when I run DS and DC, no content is found. I installed as test something from DC, and it was downlioaded and installed, but if I click on open, even with DS open, I get an error (resource error: could not find the "81506" product).

Why is happening? Do I need to download about 80-100 GB of assets every time I re-install the app? That would be quite inconvenient.

Comments

  • Beat578Beat578 Posts: 191

    As far as I remember, there is a manifest file installed every time you install a product. It sais DIM what product and the version you installed, so it can keep track. The file is usually in the DAZ Folder under the User\appdata\Roaming part of the installation, that would have been wiped with the reset of windows i guess. I am not sure, mabe one of the pro's can help. mabe there is a way to get those manifest files back, so you don't have to download everything again, just to get the manifest files again. 

     

  • PerttiAPerttiA Posts: 10,024
    edited July 2021

    For DS to see your content, you need to specify your content libraries in the "Content Directory Manager", that is the only thing needed for DS to see them.

    Post edited by PerttiA on
  • Beat578 said:

    As far as I remember, there is a manifest file installed every time you install a product. It sais DIM what product and the version you installed, so it can keep track. The file is usually in the DAZ Folder under the User\appdata\Roaming part of the installation, that would have been wiped with the reset of windows i guess. I am not sure, mabe one of the pro's can help. mabe there is a way to get those manifest files back, so you don't have to download everything again, just to get the manifest files again. 

    Thanks, so this means that DS is not saving those files where I installed DS (on the other drive), but on C drive? This is quite an issue; considering the hassle needed to make a backup and restore of the DAZ content :(

  • PerttiA said:

    For DS to see your content, you need to specify your content libraries in the "Content Library Manager", that is the only thing needed for DS to see them.

    That was my understanding, but it does not seem to be the case. My other drive has a DAZ folder, where I installed DC and DS in it; then I downloaded all my assets there. Everything was recognized.

    But after installing windows 10 from scratch, even if the data is still on that drive, and I modified the content library location in the manager window in DS settings, all my assets show grey, with the button to download them.

    It seems that if the manifest files are gone, DS have no clue about what is installed. This is very inconvenient and I hope there is a way to ask the DS devs to fix this issue, because the people that does not reinstall windows every now and then are the minority

  • PerttiAPerttiA Posts: 10,024

    So, where are your products installed, what is the base folder for your Content Library (base folder is the one with subfolders Data, People, Environments, Runtime, etc.), starting from the drive letter?

    What do you have specified in "Content Directory Manager" as "Daz Studio Formats" content sets (expand all the trees and take a picture for us to see)

  • I think I found the problem.

    When I Installed DS, it was through DC; and DC install software by default on the main drive. I was opening the DS I have on drive E, but in reality it was opening the one that was on drive C. Even after changing the file location in the content library settings, it was still looking at the C drive default settings.

    To solve the problem, I uninstalled DS, removed all references to DS on my C drive, included public documents, documents and the appdata folders. Then I installed manually DS on my E drive, where the old version was, and after that I ran DS and changed the location of the library files. Once I restart the computer, all the assets came up and were visible.

    Thanks for pointing me to the solution; if I would not check the installation of DS I would not figure this out

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,032

    Daz Central does allow you to set a base path, and it should have been enough to reisntall through DIM with the application path set as desired.

  • karlkarl Posts: 71
    edited July 2021

    Sorry you had to go through that! I am trying to set things up to avoid that, and it surprises me how little documented it is (much documentation refers to older versions with different options). Daz haven't got a web page guide anywhere talking a new user through how to set it up so that you can reinstall Windows, or move your D: data to a new PC, and have the fresh install of DS find and use the asset data exactly as before (to save you downloading and installing it again).

    And for a new user it's quite bewildering: there are manifests, cms, downloaded zips, thumbnails, and the installed content; possibly settings; saved presets; and, if you want a kind of browsable guide that has preview images and text descriptions of bought products, that will be more folders (and you have to do that manually). Plus you can't just install and use Daz Studio, you have to also install Daz Central or DIM (even if you don't want to use those). And there are apparently four ways of installing things, all different, all leading to different procedures for saving, backing up and restoring everything (DC, manual, DIM, Daz Connect within DS).

    I'm trying to make a list of foolproof instructions for making sure my assets can survive a Windows reinstall but it is tricky, involving pulling pieces of information from other places (and, unfortunately, using other support options, but sometimes that can take a month before a reply). Glad you got yours sorted!

    Post edited by karl on
  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,032
    edited July 2021

    It's in order to avoid confusing new uers that Install Manager's Basic Settings and Daz Central takes only a single base location setting and palces everything relative to that.

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • cdotdkcdotdk Posts: 23

    karl said:

    I'm trying to make a list of foolproof instructions for making sure my assets can survive a Windows reinstall but it is tricky, involving pulling pieces of information from other places (and, unfortunately, using other support options, but sometimes that can take a month before a reply). Glad you got yours sorted!

    Did this ever come to be? :D 

    I've been messing around with files and folders, trying to gain a somewhat complete understanding of how Daz is wiring it all up. And let me just say this; I am _stumped_.  My "Daz Connect" section inside Daz is only showing my most recent purchases (all done post my "havoc session") and I would have thought there would be some way to easily update the meta for it. But no. Daz Connect, oddly enough, shows my full lsit of available products - I'm not at all sure why Daz Connect and what's happening inside Daz Studio would be looking at different locations.

     

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