Strange behavior, weird re-install, confusing data layout

[handlaidtrack]

Strange behavior, weird re-install, import failed

Hi everyone. I’ve got a really weird situation here that I am unable to fully explain. I do have some possible ideas, but really nothing better that wild guesses.

Early yesterday evening, my computer crashed while working on a route in Trainz. The mouse and keyboard went off-line, the screen froze, and the speakers made a lot of noise. I was unable to get anything to work, and had to use the reset button and reboot. After which, Trainz would not run at all. Even after several additional reboots, it still would not run. My best guess is that either a config file or something in the registry got corrupted.
I made a backup copy of my entire Trainz directory, uninstalled, deleted the old files, and then reinstalled. Trainz now runs, but of course now it only has the built-in content and all my own routes are missing. I installed my current route from a cdp that I made the day before, but now it says the route is corrupted. I copied the old “local” directory into the new installation, but nothing changed – all my work is still missing.
Now it gets really strange… If I run the backup copy of Trainz, everything works fine and I can access my route, having lost only a few minutes worth of changes that had not been saved at the time of the crash.

I suppose I could just make my desktop icon point to the working backup copy instead if the new installation, and everything would probably be fine. However I am reluctant to use this as a permanent solution just in case I end up investing hundreds or thousands of hours in a route which may be already doomed.

Here is something I noticed… With the new installation, there is no “UserData” directory. Most of its contents are placed directly in the “TS2010” main directory. The exception is the “Original” directory, which is absent in the new installation. I had already been wondering why the added content is divided between two completely separate hash tables as I had been unable to discover any rhyme or reason as to what goes in each one. By-the-way, when I copied the “Original” directory into the new installation, it made no difference and my missing routes were still not there.
When I first started using Trainz, I was running VISTA. Now I have Windows-7. My best guess is that the different file layout has something to do with that.

I’m hoping there is someone out there who knows the answers.
Can I just merge the two hash tables by dropping “Original” on top of “Local”.
Is there a missing index file that I need to copy from somewhere?

Surely, there has to be a way to get all my created and downloaded content to work with the fresh installation. I cannot believe that Auran would expect us to start over every time we need to re-install.

Thank-you for any help you can offer.

 

[JCitron]

Is your "new" TS2010 install the latest, or is it the original? Some changes were made after one of the service packs, I think.

This would also explain why your route doesn't load properly and other assets aren't working properly either.

Update your "new" install to the latest you can go for single player if this is what you want.

Import your data from your previous install within CMP. This is done via the file menu. Click on File then Import..., browser to the User Data folder from your old install and then click OK.

Go off and do something else, and let TS2010 CMP do it's thing.

When done, you might have to commit the assets and perhaps fix some errors if they show up.

John

 

[handlaidtrack]

Thanks Jcitron for the suggestions.

I upgraded the new installation to the same build (44088), and my route worked -- sort of (none of the DLS stuff was there yet).
Then I did the “Import” thing with the “Local” directory… Every single asset resulted in an error: “Failed to commit changes to asset _____ due to database access error”. Even my route that worked prior to this step was gone after I allowed the import to update it.
Importing the “Original” directory yielded only 134 errors, mostly unable to load textures, but there were a few of the database access errors as above.
Now, with everything installed, all except one of my own routes is missing, as is the Murchison route, and the one that I have got still has most of its assets missing. There does not even seem to be a logical pattern for the missing assets (for example, one part of the AJS roundhouse is missing, while the other parts are there).

This is not the only thing wrong…
The routes and assets currently flagged as favorites, are no longer the same as those that I flagged this way.
When I open CM, I have to wait forever for it to display a list of assets, and when it does, the vast majority are flagged as ‘modified’ or ‘open for edit’, probably as a result of the errors encountered during the import. Also, the asset type is listed as ‘misc’ for a load of assets which I know are not.
The whole program is slow to the point that surveyor is completely unusable. Attempting to select a tool tab results in a delay of several minutes.

Clearly the import was a total failure. Does anyone here know what may have gone wrong and how to fix it? … or should I just open a helpdesk ticket?
Thanks.

 

[JCitron]

Not quite.


Commit the open for edit assets.


Your favorites don't get imported. They default back.


Initially CM will report a bunch of bad content.


View the faults and warnings for the "failed" assets.

When you click on the items in the CM search, the so-called bad items will disappear.

If something doesn't get fixed, open it for edit and recommit the asset. This will remove the error.


Murchison will show up if you put in your serial number in the registration tab.


John

 

[handlaidtrack]

I think I’m going to have to open a helpdesk ticket tomorrow. That’s not working…
It won’t let me commit the open assets. I get the same error message I got during the install. All the Murchison assets also fit into that category.

I have noticed that the file structure is back to what I had before, so I guess that’s a function of the build number. One thing that has changed though, is that everything is now in the “Local” directory. “Original” is empty. I think everything is there because the new “Local” is the same overall size as both the old directories together (10.9GB). What really doesn’t make sense is that it’s the “Local” assets that are all messed up while most of the “Original” assets are OK (if one ignores the erroneous “modified” and “misc” designations).

 

[BigThing]

I did have that same problem.

Can I just ask if you have fully patched your version?

Are any of the assets faulty?

If yes Zec said on my old ticket that you should select the items, right click, and select view errors and warnings.

Also have you ran any extended data base repairs?

if not, clear your download queue and do so.

This is not the exact same problem as mine but i will try to help you as much as possible.

 

[handlaidtrack]

I ran an extended DB repair last night, receiving many thousands of errors.
I've now opened a helpdesk ticket with Auran, and will report back once the problem is solved just in case the solution is useful to someone else further down the line.
In the meantime, thank-you to those who tried to help.