I lost it all

I got excited about DAZ again, and decided to restore my DAZ & Poser stuff from an external, portable drive. I went nuts and deleted a bunch of folders that can't be replaced. This includes 18 years of work creating various characters for "Marlin's World," and another short story I'd written. They're all gone.

I encountered many problems trying to get some things working again. I tried to rearrange some files, etc. Apple's "Finder" app crashed several times. Then I decided to copy a few folders over to a different hard drive so I could try one last time to re-format my DAZ3D 3TB hard drive. Everything works ok now. But in my stupidity I lost 18 years' worth of work.

I thank DAZ, sincerely, for setting up a system that allows us to download our previous purchases. I've mostly shopped at DAZ for almost 2 decades. But I had also purchased stuff from other sites which have died years ago. I can pretty much ignore the loss of stuff from sites other than DAZ. I hadn't used that stuff in years.

I dug around and found maybe 5 characters who were the Genesis versions of some Marlin characters. That's all. I'd reformatted my hard drives several times. I doubt that anything could be restored now. Besides, those data recovery apps cost around $100. I don't have that much money to spare!

I'm feeling old and tired these days. I probably won't try to make new characters. I'll just use the ones I buy and try to give them a bit of my own flair.

«1

Comments

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,518

    Sorry to hear that Ron, always remember to backup regularly. I don't delete anything, probably why I have to many external drives, LOL

  • WonderlandWonderland Posts: 6,695

    I got excited about DAZ again, and decided to restore my DAZ & Poser stuff from an external, portable drive. I went nuts and deleted a bunch of folders that can't be replaced. This includes 18 years of work creating various characters for "Marlin's World," and another short story I'd written. They're all gone.

    I encountered many problems trying to get some things working again. I tried to rearrange some files, etc. Apple's "Finder" app crashed several times. Then I decided to copy a few folders over to a different hard drive so I could try one last time to re-format my DAZ3D 3TB hard drive. Everything works ok now. But in my stupidity I lost 18 years' worth of work.

    I thank DAZ, sincerely, for setting up a system that allows us to download our previous purchases. I've mostly shopped at DAZ for almost 2 decades. But I had also purchased stuff from other sites which have died years ago. I can pretty much ignore the loss of stuff from sites other than DAZ. I hadn't used that stuff in years.

    I dug around and found maybe 5 characters who were the Genesis versions of some Marlin characters. That's all. I'd reformatted my hard drives several times. I doubt that anything could be restored now. Besides, those data recovery apps cost around $100. I don't have that much money to spare!

    I'm feeling old and tired these days. I probably won't try to make new characters. I'll just use the ones I buy and try to give them a bit of my own flair.

    Don't give up! It's easy to spin dials and you can get many morph kits when they are on sale! Creating characters is the whole fun (for me)! 

  • Charlie JudgeCharlie Judge Posts: 12,268
    edited June 2018

    Sorry to hear that. I don't supp-ose any any of the deleted stuff is still in the recycle bin and can be restored from there ?

    Post edited by Charlie Judge on
  • marblemarble Posts: 7,449
    edited June 2018

    I got excited about DAZ again, and decided to restore my DAZ & Poser stuff from an external, portable drive. I went nuts and deleted a bunch of folders that can't be replaced. This includes 18 years of work creating various characters for "Marlin's World," and another short story I'd written. They're all gone.

    I encountered many problems trying to get some things working again. I tried to rearrange some files, etc. Apple's "Finder" app crashed several times. Then I decided to copy a few folders over to a different hard drive so I could try one last time to re-format my DAZ3D 3TB hard drive. Everything works ok now. But in my stupidity I lost 18 years' worth of work.

    I thank DAZ, sincerely, for setting up a system that allows us to download our previous purchases. I've mostly shopped at DAZ for almost 2 decades. But I had also purchased stuff from other sites which have died years ago. I can pretty much ignore the loss of stuff from sites other than DAZ. I hadn't used that stuff in years.

    I dug around and found maybe 5 characters who were the Genesis versions of some Marlin characters. That's all. I'd reformatted my hard drives several times. I doubt that anything could be restored now. Besides, those data recovery apps cost around $100. I don't have that much money to spare!

    I'm feeling old and tired these days. I probably won't try to make new characters. I'll just use the ones I buy and try to give them a bit of my own flair.

    Little consolation, I know, but I have had similar disasters a few times in the 13 or more years I've been hacking away at this hobby. And bear in mind that my career, before I retired, was in computer support so "remember to back-up" was more like a mantra than a reminder. The consolation part comes from the fact that I get to find out how much I've progressed when I start to make new characters instead of relying on those I created in the past. And creating is the really satisfying part of this hobby after all. I just can't afford to keep buying pre-made characters so I use morphing utilities and skin tools and, hey presto, a new and unique character.

    As for getting old - yeah, I am too. I have a heart condition which is temperamental (to put it mildly) and was really getting me down so my cardiologist informed me that I need to improve my fitness and sent me on an excercise regime at a gym (monitored by cardiac professionals). I have to say that I'm feeling better than I have in 10 years or more - just after a few weeks. No comparisons intended - apart from the fact that I was feeling really low (as in "I'm probably not going to be around much longer") and now I'm much more positive. So I wish you well and hope you have a bright spot on the horizon.

    Post edited by marble on
  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,714

    Don't use the drives the items were on; there are software packages that can recovered deleted files.

    Photorec is one such.

    If you use one, make sure you recover any files to an alternative disk, so the files on the drives don't get overwritten.

  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140
    edited June 2018

    External hard drives are getting so cheap these days. Even a small one should be able to hold all your backups. I know it's an added expense, but when one collects as much digital assets as we do, it's almost a necessity.

    Laurie

    Post edited by AllenArt on
  • Ron KnightsRon Knights Posts: 1,723
    edited June 2018

    I had regularly backed up my hard drives over the years. About a month ago I decided to reformat my DAZ3D drive because I hadn't used DAZ Studio for months. I kept the portable drive that had a clone backup. Then, recently, I decided to get back into DAZ Studio when I saw Floyd 8. I had some trouble trying to restore data from the backup drive. That's when I deleted thousands of files. 

    Then I ran into several, weird problems including corrupted files. I struggled for a couple days and then it looked like things were finally working correctly. I've already reformatted the drives a few times. Earlier this afternoon I setup for a SuperDuper clone backup of my DAZ3D drive and took a nap. For some reason, the backup failed. I'm worried again.

    Just to clarify, I have extra external drives for every drive that has data. That includes a 3TB desktop drive for DAZ3D and a 3TB portable drive for a clone backup.

    Post edited by Ron Knights on
  • BeeMKayBeeMKay Posts: 6,982

    Look at it from the bright side... yes, you have lost the former works, but that allows you a fresh start, with all the new ideas you have had since the original conception, and that were held back because you already had invested all that effort. Now it's no longer there, and you have new options available to you. smileyheart

    That doesn't make this any less frustrating and sad, I know. *hugs*

     

  • KitsumoKitsumo Posts: 1,210

    My heart goes out to you on the loss of your data. I've been there a couple of times. All you can do is learn from it and move forward.

    My only advice is, instead of trying to recreate your characters exactly, why not remake them using G3 or G8? I've done it with a few of mine and the results were suprisingly close to the originals. Plus it's so much easier to use morphs/clothes/accessories with the new figures than trying to adapt everything for the old versions. Don't get me wrong, I spent many hours searching junkyards to get parts for my '84 Fiero and 95 Ford Ranger(may they both rust in peace), but when it comes to 3D stuff, I try to stay somewhat current. Good luck, and keep your head up.

     
  • Ron KnightsRon Knights Posts: 1,723

    BeeMKay & Kitsumo, thanks for your sympathy and support.

    I'd never be able to recreate those characters. I did make Geneses versions of a couple characters. I might even be able to save a couple more from some DAZ Studio scenes I'd saved.

    Yeah, I'll catch my breath, and move on. Take care, everyone.

  • kaotkblisskaotkbliss Posts: 2,914

    Formatting, even multiple times, won't destroy the data. Data is recoverable up until it's written over with another file.

  • AJ2112AJ2112 Posts: 1,416

    Ouch ! Sorry to read of unfortunate news Ron. Wow ! that's a lot of data.  Same happened to me, after hdd failure awhile back, lost everything, project, family pictures, everything.  Now, I have 3 ssd drives dedicated to 3D,  I also burn to DVD/blu ray blanks.  Time consuming but worth it.  Also, another thing you may do (alternative) is tranfer to cloud servers or other online storage systems.  

    @kaotkbliss, true data can be recovered but very expensive.  Data recovery cost more then most hdd's on the market these day's.  For me, more easier to purchase hdd's and back up myself.  We learn from our mistakes.   

  • kaotkblisskaotkbliss Posts: 2,914

    If he were on windows, I'd just point him to recuva.

  • frankrblowfrankrblow Posts: 2,052

    Take a deep breath, and remember you haven't lost your experiences and skills. Consider how much better you can make your characters now. There's a lot to be said for starting afresh!

  • SummerhorseSummerhorse Posts: 684

    I know how terrible it would be to lose 18 years worth of work! But when you do start creating again, take a look at Facegen- which goes on sale pretty often. It , plus some morph packs, is a great way to create new characters fairly quickly. I totally recomend Rarestones morph packs-totally worth the $$, and the thing with Facegen, is  that it gives you a lot of dials for asymetry.

  • That's very sad news, I'm sorry for you. Some stuff is irreplacable. However, as others said, Daz is about creating and you can make new stuff, maybe better. You are surely much more gifted than I and I presume your old creations were marvellous, but when I look on my old stuff I'm glad about the new possibilities with Genesis 3 and 8.

  • Ron KnightsRon Knights Posts: 1,723

    Thanks again for your sympathy and understanding. It appears that my original DAZ3D hard drive is dying. This has happened before with desktop hard drives. I usually fix the problem by removing the hard drive from the case, and installing it in another case. I'm about to try that again with this drive.

  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140

    Thanks again for your sympathy and understanding. It appears that my original DAZ3D hard drive is dying. This has happened before with desktop hard drives. I usually fix the problem by removing the hard drive from the case, and installing it in another case. I'm about to try that again with this drive.

    While this might "seem" to fix the problem for awhile, I'd still get the stuff off of the drive if you can though onto a new one (or one you're sure isn't failing). If a drive isn't working correctly there's usually something wrong with it which usually ends up in failure at some point in the near future.

    Laurie

     

  • hyteckithyteckit Posts: 167
    edited June 2018

    Need to backup. Apple comes with Time Machine and iCloud. Hard drives are so cheap these days. Make 2 backups of everything. 1 in the cloud and 1 on a local drive.

    Post edited by hyteckit on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,026

    Offering you support and encouragement.  I have also lost much work, even when backed up - because sometimes the backup fails, at exactly the wrong moment.  Thus my tag line about nothing being foolproof.   Like others, I encourage you to try to stay positive because your learning and creativity was not lost.  Stay creative!  

  • hyteckithyteckit Posts: 167
    Diomede said:

    Offering you support and encouragement.  I have also lost much work, even when backed up - because sometimes the backup fails, at exactly the wrong moment.  Thus my tag line about nothing being foolproof.   Like others, I encourage you to try to stay positive because your learning and creativity was not lost.  Stay creative!  

    That's why you have 2 backups. 1 in the cloud and 1 local drive. 

  • KitsumoKitsumo Posts: 1,210
    AllenArt said:

    Thanks again for your sympathy and understanding. It appears that my original DAZ3D hard drive is dying. This has happened before with desktop hard drives. I usually fix the problem by removing the hard drive from the case, and installing it in another case. I'm about to try that again with this drive.

    While this might "seem" to fix the problem for awhile, I'd still get the stuff off of the drive if you can though onto a new one (or one you're sure isn't failing). If a drive isn't working correctly there's usually something wrong with it which usually ends up in failure at some point in the near future.

    Laurie

     

    Yeah, I meant to say that earlier. If you have a drive you think is suspect, don't use it! Or, if you have 2 drives with similar capacity, you can use them in a Raid 1 array (mirror - or 1 full copy of your data on both drives). That way, when 1 drive fails, you can still use the other. But using a drive that's already showing problems is just asking for trouble.

     
  • Ron KnightsRon Knights Posts: 1,723

    I have backed up all my drives in the past. This time was different because I wiped the DAZ Drive, but kept the backup Disk. I put the 3TB DAZ3D drive into a new case, and it kept disonnecting itself from my iMac's USB 3.0 connection.

    I took the drive enclosure over to the 2009 Mac Mini. I've been running SuperDuper to make a clone backup onto the 3TB portable drive. I'm using a Firewire 800 connection on the Mac Mini. So far the backup is going just fine. But it is very slow compared to USB 3.0 on the iMac. I just don't know what I'm going to do after the backup is done.

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 13,189

    I'm not familiar with Mac but how was it disconnecting with USB 3.0? Usually internal isn't connected by USB or were you saying its an external?

  • Ron KnightsRon Knights Posts: 1,723

    Yeah, all my data drives are external desktop drives. I also have external portable drives for clone backups.

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 13,189

    Did you try plugging it into another USB port to see if it still kept disconnecting? I don't know why that happens so often. I have it happen here and there. I just plug it into another until it happens again then it gets plugged into the original slot and works fine. Is really stupid lol

  • Ron KnightsRon Knights Posts: 1,723

    Yeah I did. I wonder if the problem is caused by the fact that my computer is on a special desk which I can push forward and back when I sit on my easy chair.

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 13,189

    Who know, maybe. Might be a short in the cable and when you are moving it back and forth it disconnects. I know my damn iPhone does that.

  • AJ2112AJ2112 Posts: 1,416

    I agree with Frank, 90% of the time in my experience, it's a bad cable.  Reason I have a box full out in the garage from over the years.   

  • Ron KnightsRon Knights Posts: 1,723

    I tried a couple different USB 3.0 cables on the iMac. Then I tried a couple USB 2.0 cables using the bare drive in a USB drive dock. Had the same troubles.

Sign In or Register to comment.