New Computer / Bulk Install?
lacyclagg_0b4983538f
Posts: 0
So we had to get a new computer which means fresh install of EVERYTHING ugh so since I have been a member and buying stuff since 2005 how do I go about installing everything over, well not everything but most things. I hate doing it one by one. Is there a program to help. I'm not super computer savy but I figured there might be something to help? I appreciate any advice.. Thanks!
Comments
I just asked something similar in nuts and bolts, but I figure I'll xfer the runtime of my old one onto the new one... I don't want to lose my scenes!
Any chance of putting the harddrive of the old computer in the new one or hooking it up (there are some mechanical thingies to use an internal as external) and just copying your Runtimes and DazContent folders over (including those precious data folders, whithout which Dazstudio will not open old scenes) ?
Quick thread hijack... Say I was planning on getting a new hard drive... Can I just move my content folders over or do I need to reinstall?
If you are using DS, you need to copy both the data and the content folders. I believe the metadata is stored in the data folder but I'd double check. If you keep separate scene file folders, copy those as well.
Unfortunately the 3D Content installer app is no longer available as the vendor was not able to keep up with changes to DAZ installers.
If your content is in zips (as it comes from most other vendors and some from DAZ), many decompression apps have batch modes that will allow you to unzip the files to a specific directory.
The last time I installed a new drive, I copied the content and data folders to earlier versions of DS and the contents of the MyLibrary folder as well as all my external Poser runtimes and contents of my main Poser runtimes.
There is a bulk installer planned, but it isn't even at the 'soon' stage, so you're stuck doing it yourself for now, I'm afraid. As other people have said the best approach would be to install your old drive in the new PC (if it's still functional), or to connect it as an external drive using a drive caddy, allowing you to either keep your runtime on the original drive, or copy it onto the new. Whichever you do, one thing to be aware of is that old scene files may not work properly unless the path to the content folder is identical to what it was previously.
Maybe I'm missing something, but why couldn't she just copy the folders and bring them over to the new system? Unless she's changing operating systems -- and even then I'm not sure it would matter.
For instance all of my Carrara/DAZ stuff is in a folder called "Daz Content Folder". So if I installed Carrara on a new computer, if I just copy that folder and stick it in the identical slot on the new operating system, I'd think it would operate fine. The program essentially just needs to find the product. It's going to look along the same path in the new computer. C: to My Documents to Daz Content Folder to File
Case in point, when Carrara goes looking for M4 on my computer, it can never find the Geometry or texture pack. I manually point it where I want it to go. Once you've saved that path (like in, say, a scene), it will relocate the items based on that path.
I tried to copy over the last time we got a new computer but I got tons of errors when I tried stuff so it was suggested to do a fresh install which I did. So I have never have reinstalled everything because it takes so much time. I wish everything was in zips instead of installs they just take forever exspecially when some things have multiple installers. Maybe I can get my kids to set at the computer and press 'next' a million times :(
Hm. Yeah, and I wonder if it's different between DAZ and Carrara. I literally load some stuff from an *external* drive in Carrara when I just drag and drop from the content folder. In Carrara you don't get *errors*, you get "We can't locate this" and then you simply tell it where it's located and from then on it knows (so long as it's a saved file -- like I said, everytime I load a new M4 into a blank scene, it says it can't find the geometry or the texture/shader pack, but then I simply click on it and it loads fine).
A full reinstall of everything you've bought from Daz since 2005 is akin to The Death of 1000 Cuts. :shut: Seriously, I would rather have a root canal. At least for a root canal, they offer gas! :lol: You need to at least attempt to get your old content into the new system, and tell Daz on the new system where that content is. Is the old hard drive DOA? I believe Richard has a procedure for this, if you Google the forums, old and new.
If your old drive works then you should be able to copy all the data over like people suggested and work just fine. Not sure why you got errors unless you have things installed in non-default locations.
Oh and don't put your new/copied content in the program files folder on your new machine! Make sure to put it somewhere in "My documents" if you're a PC user.
Probably been stated already
if you have your old harddrive you can just move everything over to the new one almost exactly as it was before
Redacted
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/5639/