Windows update clobbers Daz Studio
Peter Wade
Posts: 1,666
I have just had the latest windows update and it has totally ruined my Daz Studio installation 
First I found the desktop icons for Studio and Hexagon were gone and I can't find them in the start menu either. The programs are still there, if I go into Program Files and double click the Daz Studio executable it runs but I had to re-enter the serial number and all the plugins that need serial numbers will need re-doing.
But my content is all gone. Windows update has removed everything from my documents folder
I can re-download the stuff I bought from Daz but I have been buying stuff for a long time and It will take a long time to download. I am on unlimited downloads but I don't want to push it too far in case my ISP thinks I'm over doing things. I might be able to recover some stuff since windows hasn't cleared the public documents folder and Install manager keeps it's files there. I also have some old downloads I backed up on an external drive, I need to find out how to get Install Manager to re-install stuff it thinks it has already installed without re-downloading
I've also lost all my custom categories, which I never got around to backing up. I thought these might stay as I don't think they are stored in the library, I still have a cms folder with a ContentCluster folder in Appdata/Roaming.
Bryce managed to keep it's desktop icon and it is still in the start menu but I did have to re-enter the serial number.
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Comments
I never use the C drive for data of any kind where I have the choice so I've never experienced Windows destroying anything. Keeping OS and data on different drives has several advantages.
Windows update shouldn't have deleted anything. Eventually if you didn't have enough space but that should be checked before the update process and prevent it from beginning unless you specify to not keep old datas.
Isn't there any $WINDOWS.~BT directory at the C root ?
There is a Windows.old directory that was created at the time of the update which has a $WINDOWS.~BT in it but Windows.old only has 6.83 GBytes of stuff in it and it's document s folder is empty. $WINDOWS.~BT hasn't got a Users folder.
I had nearly 100 GBytes of free space before the update which should be enough for any Windows update.
Unfortunately, this is an issue they are aware of. It doesn't effect everyone but for those it does they say to contact them because they might be able to help you retrieve what was deleted. In a thread on their website it says to try turning your pc on and off about 4 times and that has restored several people's deleted files. There is more info and things you can try in threads on Microsoft's website.
From what Windows version did you update?
Are you sure you did an update and not a fresh install? Sorry to ask but DS shouldn't have asked for a new serial
Can you check the size of Windows.old directory ?
From my POV, either it's a fresh install or Windows messed up your old profile directory. You could eventually try to search if your old profile wasn't renamed
If you had a lot of contents you can try to use treesize and check biggest directory
I had something like this happen after a recent Windows update.
Before your update did you not have a user account that was registered with Microsoft that you used to log into your system?
If so, did you have to create an account or log into an account to access Windows?
I didn't do the update. I am running Windows 10 Pro and it came up saying it had a new update to install. The Update history says it installed "Feature update to Windows 10, version 1809", and the update history is not showing any of the earlier updates. If it did a fresh install I certainly didn't tell it to but it remembers my user name and password so I don't think it did.
The Windows.old directory is only 6.83 GBytes in size, it all seems to be system files of some sort, none of this is in the documents folder.
The free space on the drive has increased a lot so I'm sure that the files have really been deleted and not just moved somewhere.
I have got one of those Microsoft online accounts but I don't use it. I am in the UK but I have an account with an American audiobook company and if I log in with my microsoft account it keeps sending me to the their British branch and I can't authorise the player. I have switched to using local login on all my Windows PCs.
What a great company. "Oh yeah, the update might delete everything on your computer. Sorry about that but since it's not too many people we're going forward with it. If you're one of them, well, maybe if you ask we can suggest helpful ideas like unplugging it and then plugging it back in, turning it on and off a coulple times, maybe that will work."
Too bad. Seems you may be another victim of Win10 update
As suggested by Taoz, no important data in C drive
You can try to contact MS, but I think your only option is to do a file recovery or just reinstall everything if you still have datas in C:\publics documents \DAZ 3D\InstallManager\Downloads
Delete .dsx files there to enable Install manager to install again, if I'm not mistaken (or just move them elsewhere to be sure)
This is what happened to me, the information may be useful to you. I'm not quite sure to be perfectly honest.
1. I had been logging into my desktop with my local password. I didn't have a user account, I just had the typical Windows security that I always used.
2. Overnight Windows pushed an update to me.
3. I went to unlock my computer and found that it wanted a username, which I never had to use before. I tried using my old password and what could have been the embedded user names. No luck.
4. Finally I tried my Microsoft log in, which I only used sporadicly. Buying items on the Microsoft site, playing games on my Xbox 360. To my surprise, that worked. My computer had somehow been associated to my Microsoft account.
5. Once I got into the machine I experienced what you described; everything was gone. Everything from My Documents, My Pictures, my Desktop, all my installed programs. It was like a brand new computer, but not.
6. Through some finagling I was able to get my Microsoft account to be recognized as the Admin to my computer. I am not sure exactly how I did it (there was a lot of screaming, banging on the desk, and swearing). From there I was able to unlock the C hard drive so that I could get Admin access to the entire file structure.
7. The old Desktop, My Documents, and My Pictures (etc.) directories were then visible. I was able to copy out my files to a location where I would be able to access them. What I was not able to do was log into that old account no matter what I did.
In the end, I was able to access my files, but had to resinstall everything. I didn't have anything installed under the "My" directories or my Desktop, but thought it best to start clean and avoid working off a potentially unstable foundation.
Hey DAZ, anytime you want to make a Linux version is fine with me. Just sayin'
And what I do is have a clone of my C: that I can open up and replace in the machine for the screwed up one I got curtesy of Microsoft. Backups aren't a terrible idea either you know...
Yet another reason why a native Linux version for Daz Studio, Hegagon, etc. might be a good idea
Microsoft has an effective monopoly, and they know it, and they've gotten lazy. The October update had issues, and now this one has issues. Apparently it's messing with games too. Be it the 18% VRAM tax, issues such as this one, Microsoft bloatware, and a host of other issues that didn't used to be issues, yeah end users REALLY could use a viable alternative to Windows. That isn't pricey in the process (I'm looking at you, Apple!).
Unfortunately, Linux hasn't been able to unseat Windows up until now, despite several areas where Linux is just better. The thread scheduler in Windows comes immediately to mind r.e. the large core count CPUs (this primarily affects AMD, but the HEDT Intel processors have a bit of a performance hit here too vs. Linux). Unfortunately, short of some catastrophic vulnerability, Windows isn't going away anytime soon.
BTW, I'm typing this on my Windows 8 laptop. Which boots significantly faster than my Windows 10 desktop, despite having a signifcantly slower CPU. Just another example of the ballooning Windows kernel. I miss 98SE, or at least the mean and lean aspect of that OS. Sure, updating it to 64 bit, adding support for various things (larger HDDs, more memory, USB & Thunderbolt 3, that sort of thing) would add to the overhead, but there's a lot of stuff that Windows 10 has in it's kernal that simply is not needed for those that use it just to run programs, and don't want or need things like Cortana, the Microsoft Store, etc...
But I digress. My primary Daz system (Windows 10) is currently offline, and hasn't been connected to the internet in months. Moving Daz packages from this computer to that one via my USB stick is a bit more of a chore, but threads like this one just reinforce why I have no desire to have my computer 'phoning home' to Microsoft and doing stealth updates that may wreak havoc on my system. Probably not an ideal strategy, but I simply do not trust Microsoft engineers anymore, due to the complacency, apathy and laziness that has developed in the Microsoft culture since Windows 10 was launched (maybe even before that).
Odd, I don't use a MS account to log in (and I don't have any apps from the store installed, which may be the difference) and I also do have to log-in on start up (so that may be the difference). I didn't have any issues like that - which do sound to be account related. Definitely worth flagging it to MS, or in their support forums.
What you are describing is how my Desktop was prior to the update.
I don't know if my experience was intentional on Microsoft's part or if it was the update automatically associating my desktop with my MS account.
In any case, I would just say to back up occasionally. Or not do Windows updates.
FWIW, if you want to see some history of the updates on your computer, and whether there were any system problems, go to "Control Panel//Security and Maintenance/Maintenance/View Reliability History". One of my favorite features in W10.
Sadly, MS doesn't let you do that without downloading 3rd party tools to monkey with the system registry. At least, not with windows home.
BTW, I believe you can also "Uninstall Updates" under Settings/Update and Security/View Update History. Maybe that will restore you back to the good version?
Thank you for all the suggestions. I even tried switching on and off again four times although everything I know about Windows made me think it wouldn't do anything. I was right, it didn't. I don't think uninstalling the update will help since the files have been deleted. In fact it would probably make things worse since Windows 10 forces you to accept updates eventually so I'd just got throught the same update again. Recuva managed to recover some files from Documents but not the Daz Library. I didn't think it would.
I think my best plan is to try re-installing the content, first using the .zip files that are still in Install Manager's directory and the ones I backed up from there. I think I'll try and move the library out of Documents, maybe onto a different drive or maybe a directory in the root of c:. I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to re-install Studio or not. It probably can't do any harm
*sigh* Ever get the idea your computer isn't really yours anymore? :/
Laurie
...the reason I am staying with W7. If I ever do go to W10 it will be the LTSB version which doesn't auto update and has none of the rubbish feature bloat of the commercial versions.
Read about the gaming situation on ZDNet earlier today. Wondered if anything else might be affected.
I don't bother with any of the Windows document folders on C:(which is why I don't use Connect). All my Content, image files, manuscript files, etc are on secondary drives. I also have an external backup.
It may take a class action suit against Microsoft to put the fear of god into their software techs. I don't see anything less than that working currently, short of (as I said) some catastrophic vulnerability that prompts users to flee in droves to other options.
Sure, they may iron out the bugs over the coming weeks, but that won't give back the time required to 'fix' these problems by the people who are getting nailed by the issues caused by the latest update. We saw a similar thing with the October update as well, which is why I commented that the Microsoft techs appear to have become compacent, apathetic, and maybe even lazy.
Also, change for the sake of change isn't always a good thing. As witnessed by the issues being reported. What did they feel the need to change anyways? There's a concept called 'leave well enough alone'. More people should look into that.
I DO want to see a Linux version of Daz Studio (and Hexagon). It'd give me a decent excuse to move to Linux. Sure, there's wine, etc. but people are still jumping through a few hoops to get the Windows version of Daz working in Linux, and there are various issues when attempting this, from what I've read on this forum, which doesn't inspire a lot of confidence on my part. Hence, why I haven't tried it yet.
The problem is that as long as most application developers only support Windows there isn't anywhere for people to flee to in droves.
I would love to have Linux versions of Daz Studio, Hexagon and Bryce. From what I've read in the forums I got the impression that using wine some peole had managed to get 32 bit Studio mostly working. But they sounded like Linux sysadmin experts. As an ex Unix programmer I know something about Linux but my sysadmin skills are not good so I haven't given it a try.
And the main reason I'm still on 8.1 and will stay on 8.1 until nothing works anymore. LOL
Laurie
Just an idea, could you do a system restore to set it back to an earlier date? I've done that a few times to restore things that got messed up.
A system restore only puts the system files back as they were. My problem isn't with the system, it's the fact that installing the system deleted my files in Documents. These don't get saved when Windows creates a restore point, and my computer doesn't have enough free disc space to do that even if it tried.
Yes, I always clone my system partitions as soon as they've been built, and also after every major Windows update. Before doing (or rather being forced to do, as it usually is) such a major update I first restore from the latest clone image, so I get the update on a clean system, and immediately after the update is finished I create a new image. Windows tend to accumulate problems over time and if you just keep updating without restoring from a clean image first such problems may just be perpetuated forever.
I wonder if those who wish for the days when Linux ruled the world have ever actually used Linux for any length of time. I've found that Linux is great for those who love to tinker with computers and spend endless hours trying to figure stuff out, including how to do all the stuff they've become used to over the years in a completely different application. With Linux the "devil is in the details", and with Linux there are TONS of details.
Just one example...
And yes, Microsoft makes bad mistakes in their software updates. But so does every other piece of software on your computer. Last year Malwarebytes locked up my computer and made me think it was taken over by a major virus. The list goes on.
Welcome to the digital age. I predict that at some point we'll start to realize that all of this digital stuff isn't as awesome as we thought.
Try googling "Windows Fonts to Linux" and tell us how much time it took. Many things like that have already been covered since a long time and copying fonts isn't exactely difficult
The question I'd ask would be why not the other way? Make a document in LibreOffice then open it in MS Office and have the same problem would it mean that Windows is bad ?
Reading you makes me feel like you speak of a Linux version from the 90's. If you use a major Linux distribution, I doubt you'll lack support
A friend of mine has a grandmother who has only used Ubuntu in her whole life and has no problem using it. Her HDD had a problem once and my friend called for help because he replaced her OS with Windows and she couldn't use it. I put back Ubuntu and she was happy
Windows 10 update system is clearly a regression if you compare to it's previous versions and any Linux version I know. From my knowledge it's the first OS to cause such a mess with deleted files. As you are forced to do the update sooner or later, that becomes a major problem because you can't trust your OS to keep your files secure. That point is fundamental. Until Windows 10 you could trust your OS and you'd only lose file if you had HW problems or if you messed yourself with software.
Common users don't do backup and don't follow secure rules. It's a bother to them and they don't want to spend time on these. At this point in time, for web surfing, office use and other basic stuff, Linux offers a better and more reliable alternativ. Linux has other problems, and mostly lacks proper Industry software support, but it is not that difficult to adapt to it. I think people who really want to use it will succeed. It's just a question of willpower
My main problem with Windows 10 (apart from it deleting my Daz library!) is that Windows 10 keeps insisting on doing things without asking me and without letting me override it. I live in the UK but I have an account with an American site that sells audiobooks. It was a struggle to get my computer authorised to play the DRM protected books. When I tried to connect to their server for authorisation Windows kept saying, No, you don't want to go there, go to this place in the UK instead. I spent an afternoon looking for settings I could change to try and stop this. I did it eventually get it to work. There should be a setting for "Do what I say and don't argue about it" but I can't find one. It went through a phase a while ago when I kept setting IrfanView to be the application for double clicking image files and Windows kept changing it back it it's own viewer, although it seems to given up on that now.
Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think an operating system should be a reliable, functional system that runs applications, lets you configure it and does what you tell it to. From what I've seen so far Linux is a lot more like that than Windows 10.