Moving DAZ Content off of C: Drive in 2020

bevdog896_d08d9c913a

Phatmartino said:

This post was originally a question I had about finishing this process halfway through, and I was able to successfully get it done... So I thought I'd change this to lay out the exact steps I used for anyone else who might be looking to do this.

 

If you already have your Content on a new drive, you can scroll down to the Red Headings and skip straight to Pointing DIM and Daz to your new Content Folder.

 

Otherwise...

 

These are the steps to follow in the case that you're a Windows 10 user, don't use Daz Connect and have DIM set to Delete Downloads after Install.

 

 

Copying My DAZ 3D Library to a new Drive

 

There's really one folder that you need to worry about moving for sure, it's C:\Users\Public\Documents\My DAZ 3D Library. This is where your Daz Store bought (and 3rd party Manual Installs if you've done that to the default Data, People and Textures Folders) Content all resides.

 

I'll mention now, that when accessing this folder in any way using Windows Explorer interfaces of any kind, the above mentioned path is probably: 

C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\My DAZ 3D Library

 

Some of the directions below require the actual physical path which is: 

C:\Users\Public\Documents\My DAZ 3D Library. 

 

Just keep this in mind when you have to browse to it in Windows Explorer.

 

I read when looking into this to use robocopy (which is a native feature in Windows 10) to copy your My DAZ 3D Library folder to another Drive, because it allows you to be sure ALL files are copied, where Windows Explorer is notorious for trying to decide what Hidden Files, or Files it thinks should be Hidden, or empty Folders might not be copied. I don't know for sure that it's absolutely necessary, but it worked perfectly for me.

 

1. At your Desktop, on the keyboard hit: "Windows Key + R" (R only capitalized so it's easy to see here)

2. In the little interface that opens, type: cmd then hit Enter or the [OK] Button

This opens your Command Prompt where you can feel like a computer enthusiast from the late 20th Century...

3. Here's the string you'll want to input:

 

robocopy "C:\Users\Public\Documents\My DAZ 3D Library" "D:\My DAZ 3D Library" /xo /e /v /a-:h

 

The above example can be copied and then pasted into the Command Prompt, assuming you're ok with the new location being D:\My DAZ 3D Library. If you want a different location on your D: Drive or another Drive, E:, G:, etc, just replace the D:\My DAZ 3D Library with your desired path, keeping in mind that the folder at the end of your Path MUST be My DAZ 3D Library. For example, I used G:\DAZ Transfer\My DAZ 3D Library.

If you do want to change that path, it may be easiest to create a new Text Document by right clicking on the Desktop, and pasting the robocopy string you copied from above into the Text Document, make your changes there, then copy the string again from your Text Document and paste that into your Command Prompt (this is because in the Command Prompt you can't edit the middle of a string, you have to backspace to where you want to make a change and re-type everything from there... easier to make changes in the Text Document and Copy/Paste into the Command Prompt, especially in case you were to make a mistake and need to fix it and try again).

You do not have to physically create the new destination My DAZ 3D Library Folder (or Folder Structure) on your D: or whatever Drive you choose before running the robocoy string. Whatever path is in the second set of quotes in the robocopy string will automatically be created when you run the string if it doesn't already exist. Alternatively, you can physically create the new Folder (or Folder Structure) on the new Drive before running the string, as long as you correctly put that path into the second set of quotes in your robocopy string. It might be best to do the first option, let the robocopy string create the new Folder(s), so that you don't inadvertantly end up with something like:  D:\ ... \My DAZ 3D Library\My DAZ 3D Library.

 

4. Whether using the new location in the example robocopy string above or an altered string for a different new location, once you've pasted it into the Command Prompt, hit Enter.

 

Depending on the size of your Library, it may take a while to copy all that DAZ goodness. Consider watching a handful of episodes of something on Netflix or spending some time with your family.

Once it finishes, DO NOT erase that original C:\...\My Daz 3D Library yet... Keep it around until you've successfully finished the process and confirmed that everything is working with your new location after a few more steps.

 

 

Pointing DIM to your shiny new DAZ 3D My Library folder

 

1. Open DAZ Install Manager

2. Click the Settings Cog in the upper right corner of the window, and in the Dropdown Menu choose Advanced Settings...

3. There are 4 Tabs, choose the one labelled Installation.

4. In the bottom area of the window, there's a field with two column headers, Label and Path. In the field below them there should be one entry, your current default My DAZ 3D Library.

Right click in the open area of that field underneath the entry that's already there, and choose the one option, Add Content Path Shortcut...

5. In the window that opens, there are two fields to fill in...

Label : - This can be anything you want, it's probably for people who set up multiple paths to distinguish them from each other.

Path : - Click the Button [...] at the right end of this field to open a Windows Explorer style interface and browse to your NEW My DAZ 3D Library folder, wherever you ended up putting it.

In this Win Explorer Interface, you want to have your new My DAZ 3D Library folder highlighted either in the hierarchy (Left Column), or in the Right Browsing area, then click the [Select Folder] button at the bottom of the interface.

6. You're back at the Installation Tab now. Directly above the field you just added the Shortcut to, there's a Bar labelled Content Path Shortcuts:

Click that Bar and select the New Shortcut you just made in the last step.

7. Click the green [Accept] button.

 

At this point, you're set up to have DIM installations go to your new My DAZ 3D Library location. Yay!!

You could go back into the Settings Gog, Installation Tab, and in the bottom field headed Label: and Path:, you could Right Click on the original Default Shortcut (it's not there for me now to confirm exactly what it was called) and choose Remove, but it also doesn't matter if it sits there for the rest of time, so you should wait until you've completely finished the rest of the process and confirmed everything is working before removing it if that's your intent.

 

 

Confirm that DIM is set up to Install to your new My DAZ 3D Library folder

 

If there's anything sitting in the Ready to Download tab under Products (not Product Updates) in your DIM, it is an easy chance to test your work so far and confirm that a new Installation goes to your new My DAZ 3D Library.

1. Use DIM to install something that currently is not. Hopefully if you"re going through this process there's a good chance there's something you've un-installed or never installed because of it's size for you to use. If so, go ahead and Install it.

2. Maybe you're familiar with browsing your Content using the Content Library Tab in Daz, or going to actual Texture folder locations to do some editing, or installing things manually from Renderosity or Freebie sites... If so, use your knowledge to browse in Windows Explorer to your new My DAZ 3D Library, and search in any way you can for the product you just installed. Worst case scenario, while browsed to your new My DAZ 3D Library folder, you could use the Search feature to look for the product by name.

Hopefully you'll find it's been installed there... You can also browse to the same location in your original C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\My DAZ 3D Library and confirm that the newly installed product IS NOT there as well.

If both of the above are true, there's not much left to do!

 

 

Pointing DAZ to your shiny new DAZ 3D My Library folder

 

1. Open Daz Studio

2. Go to your Content Library Tab

If somehow it's not docked somewhere or something that you don't use regularly, in the Main Menu Bar select:

> Window > Panes (Tabs) > Content Library

3. In the Content Library Tab's Left Column / Folder Hierarchy (it can be easiest to look at if you collapse everything as far as possible by clicking any "Down-Pointing Arrows" so that they point to the Right), you're looking for 2 Folders:

 

> DAZ Studio Formats

> Poser Formats

 

4. Start by Right Clicking on > DAZ Studio Formats and selecting Add a Base Directory...

5. No matter where the Windows Explorer style interface that opens is currently pointing to, use it to browse to your new My DAZ 3D Library folder. This is the same as when we did it in DIM, you want your new My DAZ 3D Library folder to be highlighted either in the Left Column Folder Structure or in the right side browsing area, and hit the [Select Folder] button at the bottom of the interface.

6. Click the Right Pointing Arrow next to > DAZ Studio Formats to expand it, and you should now see 3 folders under it:

 

> My Library

> My DAZ 3D Library

> My DAZ 3D Library

 

The bottom > My DAZ 3D Library is the one you just added. You can confirm this if you like by right clicking on it and choosing Browse to Folder Location...

7. Right Click the MIDDLE (first of the two) > My DAZ 3D Library and select Remove Base Directory.

 

ALMOST DONE!!!

 

8. Now repeat the same exact process starting from Step 4 just above, this time Right Clicking on > Poser Formats (instead of > DAZ Studio Formats) selecting Add a Runtime Directory..., etc. Finish the rest of the Steps exactly the same way, only under > Poser Formats (instead of > DAZ Studio Formats) and dealing with Runtime Directory instead of Base Directory.

Now you should be fully migrated and set up to have your new My DAZ 3D Library used by both DAZ and DIM.

 

 

Deleting your original My DAZ 3D Library folder

 

Try using Daz Studio for a bit. Close it, re-open it and make sure everything is working properly, then when you feel comfortable doing so, you can travel over to your poor old C: Drive and delete your old My DAZ 3D Library folder.

1. In Windows Explorer, browse to:

C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\

2. With the folder My DAZ 3D Library selected in the Right Browsing area, on your keyboard hit Shift + Delete. This is a Keyboard Shortcut to bypass the Recycling Bin.

3. A window will pop up asking "Are you sure you want to permanently delete this file/folder?"... Click [Yes].

This may take at least a little time depending on the size of your Library, but once it's finished, so are you! Congrats!!

 

Hopefully this helps out anyone who might be in the same particular situation I was, feel free to ask any questions at all. If I can't answer them, there are several abolutely brilliant people who already responded to help me and will if needed for any questions that come up.

Very late to the party here but what about the "downloads" tab in DIM? Can I point the package archive and thumbnail archive to the new drive if I copy those over too?

felis

bevdog896_d08d9c913a said:

Very late to the party here but what about the "downloads" tab in DIM? Can I point the package archive and thumbnail archive to the new drive if I copy those over too?

Yes. In DIM Advanced settings Download tab, for each item click the 3 dots and select the desired path.