Disadvantages of deleting install packages
HorusRa
Posts: 1,664
Just what are the disadvantages of deleting the install packages of the products we buy here at daz? If I'm understanding correctly one would be that if you need to reinstall anything, you would have to manually re-download the product? Up to this time I have just kept all of them, but I've been thinking about checking the box in DIM that says to delete the package once installed. I guess I have basically kept them becuse just in case something gets discontinued, I'd have a back-up. I thought of burning all of the packages to dvd, but because of product updates from time to time, that could cause confusion and didn't know how I would handle that.
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I don't use DIM, but I do back up all my zips just in case. I also keep a backup copy of my runtimes so that if I ever do need to resinstall, it is way faster than d/ling them all again.
For me it's just about convenience - I keep the downloads on a spare drive. I've had to reinstall Windows a couple of times recently, so it saved me downloading them all again. So really it's just a time saver.
One thing to think about is what happens is DAZ ever goes out of business. You would want to have a copy of all your packs otherwise you will lose out.
Thanks you both for the info. I think maybe I'll just go ahead and burn them and to handle confusion on updates just date the dvd's, as one might do with backups. I just feel funny about deleteing them permanently. My biggest worry is as I mentioned; something gets discontinued. That would be a kick in the butt, huh?
Redownloading would be slower than reinstalling from a local zip. Dating the archives would help with keeping track of updates - just use the most recent version.
haha, Richard and Frank, you posted just as I posted. Thank you two also for the help. Yes, I am just going to burn them in just a little while and date the dvd's. Thanks again all.
Personally, I've given up on burning to DVDs...I just grab some USB flash drives and use them. 16 GB and larger are pretty cheap these days and they can be updated, easily, too.
yeah, that would be optimal, but last time I was looking at them in walgreens, they weren't cheap, but they weren't exactly expensive either. Maybe they have went down since. Hard to tell online right now as everything is on sale (and I'm broke, gave all my cash to Daz), so I'm not sure what the average price for a 16g'r would be, at Walgreen's, for example, here in the States. I have a huge bundle paks of dvd's yet that I need to use up, but I'm sure I'll do the usb thing after they drop a bit more.
I use a four terabyte drive to keep backups of my working and backup drives where I keep my downloaded packages. It works great.
I have that too, but no more room for drives, plus I have all my other Modeling, Photoshop, Daz and other data on it already. For now it will have to be Dvd, and I'll pick up some usb flash drives later on.
errr, ah, err, or maybe not with dvd's. Looks like right now it would take me 25 dvd's to back up the Daz zips.
Think I will wait till payday and just buy some usb's. Four 32GB flash drives would do it.
Yeah I gave up on burning to DVDs long ago - far too many to store! I have two external USB drives (1 TB and 2TB) and keep them both up-to-date about fortnightly. (My DIM DLs currently run at 190 GB with about 40 GB still waiting download!)
Prices must be different in the States. Here a 1TB portable external drive is cheaper then 4 x 32GB flash drives and while I don't use portables for working from they are OK for offline archive storage.
I have discontinued items, and they're still in my producct library. One of them I picked up when the PA announced that it would be discontinued. I can still download it.
I'm not sure where you're located - but I've got a pair of 1 TB USB drives I use (two copies, one on each drive). They cost under $100 when I bought them.
I thought I'd run out real quick to Best Buy and do some flash drive shopping. There was a SanDisk Ultra usb 3.0 64GB for 17.99, I picked that up for now. Well, you mention external flash drives; I did not know those existed. I knew about SSD drives, but not large external usb drives. Yeah they were priced ok, nothing I can afford right now seeing how it's rent time and with some purchases I bought here at Daz. I saw one that was 49.99 (may be a black friday sale though), can't remember if it was 500GB or a terrabite. They went up in price from there. Thats the ticket, and I'll pick one of them up down the road, maybe after christmas sometime. My daughter and wife won't be spending that much on any single gift for me this year or I'd ask for that. I know this because I wanted Avengers: Age of Ultron and my daughter freaked because the average for it is $24.99, she said no way. Don't blame her, I wouldn't do it either, maybe those would be cheaper if they would stop putting dvd and digital copies in the cases along with the blueRay. Anyway, regardless, thats what I see for externals. At least with this 64gb, I'll be able to get some stuff off the drive, maybe I'll just back up my rendo or rdna stuff for now, and do the daz stuff when I get an external.
That is reassuring. Maybe they keep them indefinately. I wouldn't want to trust them on that, but it could be the case. I'd feel much safer having a backup of any discontinued stuff. I don't believe I have any right now, except for the Aeon Soul stuff from RDNA, from that closeout the last few weeks. Well at least you can d/l your stuff so far, that is good.
Greetings,
I use a DL-Blu Ray burner; ~50GB/disk. Right around $3/disk in packs of 25. (When I got the burner it was ~$15/disk...) That said, I *used* to do that; nowadays I just delete them. I feel like I'll have enough warning if DAZ starts to have existential issues. :) That reminds me, I need to go download everything I've ever bought at 'rosity...
FWIW, I also have a 6-TB NAS with ~3TB free that I could copy them to. And probably should, but won't. Delete works fine for me.
-- Morgan
Yep. Same here.
Where is that box found? I must've accidently clicked it, because since a few months back everything I download removes the install file, which is very annoying since I have to download it manually later.
I'm running DIM 1.1.0.41
See the attachment
Thank you, HorusRa!
You don't want your back-up rive permanently connected - if you get a ransomware infection it will probably then encrypt your back-up.
Absolutely. There are many things that can go worng and keeping the stuff you bought on a spare drive is cheap insurance. Don't count on 'cloud' storage either. The providers can go out of business instantly leaving you stuck. They can also change their EULA and start charging you to download your own stuff. There are millions of people who lost a ton of stuff when the Megaupload servers where seized by the American DOJ. The only way to guarantee that it's backed up and secure is if it's on a HD on your desk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure_of_Megaupload
keeping persronal files on a well known pirating sites file server probably wasn't all that good an idea from the start.
I agree though, hard drives are the way to go.
Your welcome.
So you put it on an external flash drive and unplug it then, right? Thats what I would have done anyway. I can't see the use to keep a backup drive connected at all times.
I agree. But the flash drives are good too, for smaller amounts of data. I don't trust off site storage, not for the technology as much as the humans who run them... Accidents or malicious actions and I lose data and inevitably it will come down to "aww, that's a shame, but didnt you read the fine print?... It's in line 26,458- (these servers are for convenience or novelty purposes only and all clients should create a personal back up of important data)... Sorry, but it really sucks to be you"... Ultimately I could see that being the official answer should anything horrible ever occur. Everything infallible is infallible until it fails somehow.
If your data is important to you, saving it on two or even three different types of media can't hurt... DVDs, flash drives, HDs and even Cloud storage... You lose one, you have the other... I'll never place my faith wholly in one media.
BTW, about what someone said about flash drives not being cheap, but not being expensive... That's true, unless you buy them on sale, then they are okay... Not comparable to HDs, but good if you like creating wholly separate archives. My price point is about .25¢ per gigabyte, which usually places 32 GB drives as the best buys... They average around $8 (but occasionally $6-$7) on sale in the big box office stores and megamarts. 16 GB are more commonly on sale, especially in club type stores sold in sets of 3 or 4, but they still don't match the savings or unit size.
"Discontinued" only means "not for sale any more". If you've bought something, it's in your Product Library list and it stays there; it will always be available to download, either manually or through DIM. The only annoying thing about discontinued items is that you can't access the store page any more through the Product Library page link, and sometimes there is useful information on it.
I recently picked up a 3 pack of 16 GB drives that even with shipping came in at about 23 cents/GB.