Content Manager Gone AWOL?
Fragg1960
Posts: 363
Has anyone ever lost the ability to access parts of the Content Library the middle of a session?
I was working away and everything was working fine, and then all of a sudden, I tried to open the "Products" link in the Content Library to find an item and nothing happens. Same thing when I click on "Categories"--I click and nothing shows up. I can get to all my content via the DS4 Library folder, but that's a pain. I rebooted the PC to see if that would fix it, re-opened Studio, and still nothing shows up under "Categories" or "Products".
I'm running DS 4.5.1.56 on PC (Windows 64-bit).
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Comments
It sounds like the CMS stopped running. Usually it should start with a reboot. Try restarting it by going to Start > Programs > DAZ 3D > DAZ Content Management Service > Start DAZ Content Management Service.
If that doesn't work, or it keeps happening, there are 3 next steps:
1) uninstall CMS, then reinstall DS
2) delete the database index and let DS rebuild it
3) delete the databases completely and re-import the data (if you have custom categorization, you'll need to Export User Data first).
Thanks. I took the opportunity to upgrade to 4.6 to see if it would fix it (been putting it off anyway). If that doesn't fix it I'll give your suggestions a go. I appreciate the quick response.
If you're upgrading anyway, uninstall the CMS before doing so (it doesn't get uninstalled automatically when you upgrade DS).
Stupid request time, but would it be possible to have some screenshots of where the database index is or what name it's under? Also how to completely delete the databases. I've had this problem for about 2 weeks now, and have tried uninstalling and reinstalling both CMS and DAZ Studio and also starting the DAZ Content Manager. Tried to follow this last night and might have found what you're talking about, but want to make sure before I screw things up.
The index is named ContentDB.ind, If CMS is running, stop it before deleting the file.
I think the default location varies depending on which version of DS was the first one installed, as later updates leave the existing location in place -- ProgramData\DAZ 3D\DAZ Content Management Service\Databases I think is the current default, earlier versions might have it in Program Files or Program Files (x86).
After deleting the index, restart CMS, then DS, and give DS a minute to rebuild the index.
To delete the entire database:
First, if you've done any custom categorization, use Content DB Maintenance > Export User Data if CMS keeps running long enough to do so. Then close DS, stop CMS, and delete all the files in the databases folder. Restart CMS, then DS, and Content DB Maintenance > Re-Import Metadata to load the smart content and any of your custom categories into the fresh database.
Thanks so much. I'll give it a try soon, if not when I get home afterwork tonight. Got my fingers crossed.
Edited to add: This worked like a charm, everything is working as it should and creating a category isn't crashing me to desktop anymore. Which was a problem I had that the OP doesn't seem to be facing. Had a ticket in since June 16th with no response, so right now I'm thrilled with your help!
I've had many problems with CMS stopping for no apparent reason lately in virtually every session, on one of my machines (PC) that uses an SSD for the boot drive/C: drive while data and most programs are on a separate hard disk. C: drive holds the CMS index and data files in the windows program data directory per default settings. Not sure why the CMS problems are happening so frequently-- no big system changes lately. My other machine with just one hard disk and no Poser installation is doing fine. However, Poser is on my faster machine, which holds most of my pre-4.5 (pre CMS) content in a separate Runtime with a custom directory structure. Daz CMS-compatible content goes into its own directory without any customization and when everything is working OK shows up in the smart content pane.
Eventually, the CMS database gets corrupted when CMS stops at an inopportune time, re-import metadata no longer has any effect and I can't get the smart content back without uninstalling and reinstalling CMS and Studio 4.6. Not something I want to do every week or so.
This is getting bothersome -- enough to make me consider stopping use of CMS altogether and just doing what I do in Poser - organizing everything in the Runtime Library in directories that I set up in a way that makes sense to me. I am not keen on that idea because it would make installation and organizing of content much more tedious. Anyone with ideas on abandoning CMS and scrapping the smart content pane or getting it back and stable? At least my non-CMS files are organized for use in Poser, so I'm using Poser more. Any other 4.6 users out there that have given up on CMS? If so, any pointers for managing content?
UPDATE: just reinstalled; problem may have been CMS database not being installed on c: default location. Reinstalled on default drive will see how it goes.
I've recently had a problem with my DAZ Content Management Service stopping and I recommend this as the best solution available. It might not work for everyone but it did the trick for me. A very big thank you.
CMS used to crash repeatedly for me due to a conflict with my GPU driver. DAZ has since reported this issue was resolved, though (and it was only ever an issue with newer NVIDIA cards.) Restarting the service manually never worked for me, but several video driver releases ago everything began working flawlessly again. Never hurts to make sure your drivers are up to date, though.
Content Manager crashes so frequently with me that I have a short cut to it on my desktop to restart it.
My problem only started when I recovered 40 GB hard drive that a mysteriously vanished from my computer just before Christmas. This problem only started after I compressed my hard drive space to free up space.
That sounds as if you are using Valentina - PostgreSQL is much more stable for most users.
That sounds as if you are using Valentina - PostgreSQL is much more stable for most users.
Richard,
Perhaps you can shed some light on a similar issue that just began on my system (MAC Based) where CMS has stopped operating with DS 4.8.0.55... When DS is launched, the splash screen cycles the "Starting CMS" verbiage at the bottom, however when the UI launches, a "Start CMS" radio button is present at the bottom of the content window and does nothing when activated and my content no longer appears... Also, checking with the Mac OS "Activity Monitor", Postgres is not running on the system...
That said, this issue appears to have begun after I installed one of my work related applications onto this system, which also utilizes Postgres for it's DB management. The system now contains two versions of Postgres, v9.3.4 which is tied to DS and v8.5 which is tied to BlackMagic Design, DaVinci Resolve.
Any idea how I can get this back in order ? Thx in Advance...
No idea how to actually get things back to the way they were, but to confirm that yes, you are probalby (99.9% sure) suffering from version conflicts
You also have a postgres 9.x that comes with Mac OS X running, what is important here is what ports do they listen to, most likely you have a port confict. In DAZ Studio, you can configure which port to start cms listener on, try change that if it is like 1024 or something. Pick a free post (used posts cane be sen by doing netstat -nf inet in the terminal.
Totte,
Thx 4 the workaround recommendation. By the time I got back to the forum here and read your response, I had already performed a clean install of DS 4.8.0.59 and miraculously, the problem resolved itself. I wish they were all that easy to fix !!!
I suspect you had the correct answer with a port conflict issue. The two SQL versions from DS and Resolve were probably both fighting to get in and out of the same doorway and kept slamming their heads into eachother. Now they are playing nice together...
Derek