This close to giving up on Trainz.

[Falcus]

I'm assuming you have your user ID# written down or copied somewhere? As far as it not recognizing your ID#, I would question that at that point it would recognize anybodies #.... And the DLC Servers at least have been down a few times in the last few weeks for maintenance.

If you have a copy of your route backed up, it should have a list of all dependencies in it. CM should be able to re-download all the DLS stuff automatically (In 100MB per day increments w/o a FCT). The Sam Track stuff isn't hard to find or reinstall (I forget which site, but I know Dermmy's Checkrail.com would be a great place to start).

Next, NEVER interrupt CM or, more specifically, TADAEMON, when its busy. TADDAEMON is the most fragile temperamental spoiled brat of a program I have ever known..... And messing with it in any form of "unintended" usually means corrupted Database at least in part. If you don't have a computer that can safely multi-task while its running, if trainz really matters that much to you, don't multi-task while it runs in the background.

Finally, I would suggest next time this occurs, don't reinstall the game..... I realize its frustrating for the program to suddenly freeze and not work correctly after a reboot, but honestly, It sounds like you're the one to blame for it losing your content. Reinstalling the game can, and generally will, wipe your user database, and thats every asset you've ever installed..... 99.4 times out of 100 its better to come here and ask for help or advice then it is to "follow the same old routine" you would with most programs. Even without the program working, there are ways we probably could have advised you into saving your Database before even attempting a Reinstall through the Folder Menus without even cranking the program up.....

You have my sympathy for your tribulations. But I do hope you learn for next time (Because there will be a next time), that patience and understanding are required when dealing with the raging demon child that is TADDAEMON.....

Good Luck,
Falcus

 

[BuilderBob]

The problem isn't with back up, the problem is CM not believing I have been a customer. I was deleted. One day I'm there, the next I'm not. ???? Consequently, all previous work posted to the CM was also deleted.

Whether or not CM is able to validate you as a registered user is not relevant to the content that you see in CM. Nothing gets 'posted' to CM. Assets are downloaded as files onto your hard disk. If the hard disk gets corrupted then you have to revert to a backup.

 

[BuzzKillington]

I think...(think)...I was forced into a complete reinstall, meaning, deleting the 20+ gig Auran file manually after the initial uninstall offered by Windows. That was my undoing I fear. However, I tried with the just the basic uninstall first and in terms of my route still being there, all was good, except that, all of my personal creations and downloaded assets from DSL were not in the games menus. And the basic reinstall didn't solve the ability to log into CM or the forum for that matter to ask questions, they lost me probably through my own fault, forcing a shutdown because I had better things to do. (Still doesn't explain why during a CM asset update, certain things like F9's, that I worked on to make work in TR2010, would again come up as faulty after the update. Seems to me that is a huge flaw in the game, that the update doesn't recognize that I fixed certain assets to work only to have them come up again faulty, forcing me to do what I had already done to make them not faulty. But I will look at this in terms of the silver lining...I will methodically disable everything I never used nor will ever use, making my games menus clean and tidy, with just my stuff and assets that I DL. (I've always hated while searching for assets in the game, having to wade through tons of stuff that didn't apply to my route, like BR locos, badly rendered assets and the like. Starting over can be a good thing...as I have learned from my mistakes from in terms of route building and planning ahead. Not unlike a real scale railroad I suppose. But like you said, CM is a brat. I get that now! So back to square one. I have 1000 assets to download again, so off I go. Live and learn.

 

[BuzzKillington]

My Content folder on CM was full one day, empty and/or gone the next as was my password to CM and this forum. I forced a shutdown during a CM update. This is where I screwed up. Do not force a shutdown of CM during an update...it doesn't like it when you do that, apparently.

 

[shaneturner12]

Another thing, as I advised further up, is to make sure Trainz can actually write files to it's folder. What operating system are you using?

Shane

 

[JCitron]

I think...(think)...I was forced into a complete reinstall, meaning, deleting the 20+ gig Auran file manually after the initial uninstall offered by Windows. That was my undoing I fear. However, I tried with the just the basic uninstall first and in terms of my route still being there, all was good, except that, all of my personal creations and downloaded assets from DSL were not in the games menus. And the basic reinstall didn't solve the ability to log into CM or the forum for that matter to ask questions, they lost me probably through my own fault, forcing a shutdown because I had better things to do. (Still doesn't explain why during a CM asset update, certain things like F9's, that I worked on to make work in TR2010, would again come up as faulty after the update. Seems to me that is a huge flaw in the game, that the update doesn't recognize that I fixed certain assets to work only to have them come up again faulty, forcing me to do what I had already done to make them not faulty. But I will look at this in terms of the silver lining...I will methodically disable everything I never used nor will ever use, making my games menus clean and tidy, with just my stuff and assets that I DL. (I've always hated while searching for assets in the game, having to wade through tons of stuff that didn't apply to my route, like BR locos, badly rendered assets and the like. Starting over can be a good thing...as I have learned from my mistakes from in terms of route building and planning ahead. Not unlike a real scale railroad I suppose. But like you said, CM is a brat. I get that now! So back to square one. I have 1000 assets to download again, so off I go. Live and learn.

Well yeah! You deleted your content along with the program files this is why your stuff is gone.

After you reinstalled, you need to resetup the configuration in Windows firewall, and give the program its self permission to write to the install folders if you are using Windows Vista and above.

So this is what I recommend, and I know you are going to hate me and the rest of us here for it, but it is what it is.

--- Let's start from scratch, meaning delete your Trainz TS2010 is it install again. The uninstall will not work, so delete the contents and folder. Make sure you backup any user data you have if there is any, but at this point I doubt it.

--- Once the program is deleted, run a program such as CC-Clean. There's a free version available as a pay-version. You can get that from www.pirosoft.com This will clean up any temporary files left over from your previous installation attempt and clean up any registry entries which might confuse things and sometimes do.

--- After all this is done, install TS2010 from scratch. Instead of just installing to the default location, put it in the following: C:\N3V\TS2010 or if you have a second hard drive, put it there instead.

--- When all is installed, right-click on the shortcut, choose properties, and set the compatibility to run as Administrator. There's a tab and a checkbox for this.

--- Go to the control panel and Windows network settings and add in Content Manager, TADDaemon, TrainzUtil, Trainz.exe (Both copies), and Launcher to the firewall.

--- Start up CM and put in your user information and your User ID, which you can find on MyTrainz.

The program will run and there will be content updates, etc.

You should be all set from there for a base install.

For service packs, you need to run the installer as administrator. Right-click on them and choose run as administrator.

Let the service pack install and DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER cancel the installation! This will kill your install and you'll have to start over.

Good luck and let us know what happens...

John

 

[Falcus]

There is ALOT going on in your description of your experiences, so I'm gonna try and break it down a little. I wager you're not even aware of some of the key parts, so I'll try to point them out where I can.

I think...(think)...I was forced into a complete reinstall, meaning, deleting the 20+ gig Auran file manually after the initial uninstall offered by Windows. That was my undoing I fear.

To the best of my knowledge, Trainz will never force you to uninstall. I have never personally, or remotely (Secondary information from the net or anywhere else), encountered such a thing. Won't say it can't happen, but its outside of my realm of experience. I will say, if it ever DOES ask you on its own to uninstall, Say NO, or barring that, open a web browser, on another computer if you have to, and come here and talk with us about it. Outside experience is a HUGE deal in this hobby. This particular program (Though all of the rail simulators really) are far too big and complicated for one person to debunk and deal with every single problem that could possibly occur, though there are definitely some here that would come closer to that then most.

ADD: On that note, I wanted to mention, that there is a set of Folders within your install, that you can access any time, right now included, that if you copy or just drag, out of your install, will protect your entire database (Because they ARE in fact, your database in and of itself). And having asked here, we could have told you about it and saved you ALOT of headache, and apparently 1000+ (Id wager alot more then that in all reality) assets worth of downloading to do.....

However, I tried with the just the basic uninstall first and in terms of my route still being there, all was good, except that, all of my personal creations and downloaded assets from DSL were not in the games menus. And the basic reinstall didn't solve the ability to log into CM or the forum for that matter to ask questions.....

Your ability to log onto your Trainz Account tends to be vastly seperate from your personal installation of your game. Its dependent upon your account with N3V and your ability to access it through their servers. I do not know what caused the malfunction of your account, and certainly messing with CM/TADDAEMON (Particularly if you were super unlucky and it happened to be dealing with DLC Content at the time, don't mess with the DLC Content if you can avoid it, the DRM coding in it is powerful enough to make your day very unhappy if it goes wrong, at least in TS12, IDK about TS10), I believe has caused some people issues before, but regardless, its better to find a way onto these forums. Why not create a second account on the forum? You don't have to register a game CD Key to do this. Generally this isn't a good practice (I think its in fact against the T.o.S.), but honestly, if its the only way to get the advice/help you need, it can't hurt to try? Try making some friends here, and getting an email address or two? Try one of the UK Trainz Forums (There are a couple I believe that have some folks that are just as knowledgable, if not more so, then some people here). The point Im making, is that in the case of protecting your trainz install, almost anything is better then just giving up and reinstalling. This is where learning some patience would help for next time.

they lost me probably through my own fault, forcing a shutdown because I had better things to do.

Uh-huh, see previous comment. Though again I'll ask, how important is Trains and your content to you?

(Still doesn't explain why during a CM asset update, certain things like F9's, that I worked on to make work in TR2010, would again come up as faulty after the update. Seems to me that is a huge flaw in the game, that the update doesn't recognize that I fixed certain assets to work only to have them come up again faulty, forcing me to do what I had already done to make them not faulty.

Im not sure what F9s, or other content, these were. However if these are personally modified versions of things that are currently available on the DLS, then this is a known issue. The DLS is not like a Supermarket, where you buy a Corn on the cob, decorate it, and when you want another newer one you just buy another to put next to the first.... Its more like a Copy machine. Except when you get a new copy, it will overwrite the old copy unless you individualize that copy by giving it a new KUID. This, as I said, is a known issue/quantity. Its never going to change. If you want help ensuring this doesn't happen again, search these forums, or post a new thread asking about how to protect "Locally Modified Content" from being overwritten in updates.

But I will look at this in terms of the silver lining...I will methodically disable everything I never used nor will ever use, making my games menus clean and tidy, with just my stuff and assets that I DL. (I've always hated while searching for assets in the game, having to wade through tons of stuff that didn't apply to my route, like BR locos, badly rendered assets and the like. Starting over can be a good thing...as I have learned from my mistakes from in terms of route building and planning ahead. Not unlike a real scale railroad I suppose. But like you said, CM is a brat. I get that now! So back to square one. I have 1000 assets to download again, so off I go. Live and learn.

Regardless of how you think about it, if your interest is strong enough, you'll make a come back. And I'm glad to hear it. This kind of attitude is all too rare these days in my generation and younger. I applaud your determination. And Disabling unneeded content is a good way of dealing with alot of the older stuff that no longer fits with the more modern assets.

Also, CM isn't the real "Enemy" here. The enemy is a master program called "TADDAEMON". Next time you have Trainz up, or CM, up and running, open your Task Manager. Depending on your copy of Windows, it'll be listed in a few different places. It only runs in the Background. This program is responsible for the direct managment of all of your assets. As long as you're careful, there are actually instances where you can Force Quit Trainz or CM (Even more rarely, both at the same time) and TADDAEMON will just quietly shut down and not cause you any grief. But more often when you Force Quit Trainz, and particularly CM, especially if you're actually having CM DO anything, it'll Hang TADDAEMON, and that is what will actually corrupt assets and cause you no end of grief. I will say that, CM 3.7 (The one that shipped with TS12), has been far far more stable in its ability to deal with TADDAEMON, at least in my experience (Though its still far from perfect), and I haven't had 1/10th the problems I used to have back in TS'06. But learning more about all three programs (Trainz, CM, and TADDAEMON), can only help you in your endeavor to use these programs to accomplish what you want......

Good Luck,
Falcus

 

[JCitron]

While I agree with lots of what was said above, I beg to differ on one issue. TADDaemon is not your enemy by all means. It's your friend, your go between and negotiator for your asset database. Without TADDaemon, you couldn't download assets and view content at the same time, or even as I do open Content Manager and search for content on one screen (I have two monitors) while building a route in Surveyor on another. I have even gone as far as download content in Content Manager while in Surveyor at the same time. This requires switching categories to force an update, but it works quite well. What TADDaemon is doing is it acts as a traffic cop and allows the various program data-threads access the database. Without this background process occurring, you would get lockups and program crashes if you tried to access two parts of the database at the same time.

By stopping the database manager, or background processor TADDaemon you corrupted your database and left it in an unstable state. This can cause Trainz not to load and or force a database repair when starting up again. This surely is frustrating, but knowing this will happen should help prevent this in the future. Sometimes there are issues beyond your control that can occur which will cause TADDaemon to stop working, or perhaps have to close unexpectedly. When these issues occur, prepare for a quick database repair to resolve 99% of the problems. When all else fails, and you really cannot get things running, resort then to the Extended Database Repair which is extended because it digs very deep into the data and can possibly cause other problems such as the ones you are seeing now.

When shutting down or restarting your computer after using Trainz, you need to ensure that the database is completely closed. There are two methods to ensure this is the case. The first is to simply wait about 3 to 5 minutes. I'd err on the 5-minute side to ensure that everything is done processing. What is happening is TADDaemon is actually running some background tasks and shutting down the database connections even though the program, TS2010, is actually shutdown. A daemon in software, by the way, is a background task so this would make sense. The other methods is to go to the Options screen in the Launcher, choose Developer and click on show database processes. This will bring up some small command console windows which will show what's going on. When these close, it's safe to restart or shutdown the computer.

Keeping this in mind, your biggest job here is to protect that database, namely assets.tdx and all your content, because once you lose this you lose the keys to your game and all your content. Having said this, I highly recommend backing up your full Userdata folder frequently to a secondary device. An external hard drive; a 1 TB drive is probably good to start with. Having this frequent backup and a secured copy will save you a world of frustration because should anything like this occur again you can simply restore your data back to where you were before everything crashed around you.

John

 

[BuzzKillington]

I too have double monitors, and like you have also searched CM and DSL while in surveyor, downloaded as well all without a hitch or hiccup. (Sidenote: I will never be able to go back to one monitor). I have upgraded my computer to a point where it runs TS2010 quite well, even with high poly assets, probably not good enough for TANE yet, but for 2010, all is quite adequate. I have become somewhat proficient with Content Creator and have fixed many faulty loco and rolling stock assets and even improved a few. For all the content I have created for personal use I have saved the CDP files on a 1 TB external HD. I thoroughly corrupted my database, there is no disagreement there. And as you describe, I may have been able to fix it using the tools you mentioned, however, the problem was after my user error, my ID number was gone and CM would not, under any circumstance allow me to plug it back into the field. I know my number, have it saved in notepad and Sketchup, but to no avail. CM lost my ID # and that renders CM fairly useless. I got the dreaded red box at the bottom of CM stating in effect, I didn't exist. And to make matters worse, my password for this forum was corrupted, which doesn't make sense, but there it is, and after some cussing and ranting, I think I was left with no other option than to start over. 2 years of addiction to this game, lost. Your info was very well written and nicely put and I thank you for that, I will take your information to heart and should something stupid happens, whether my fault or not, I will refer back to your post. However, I have searched the Auran file on my HD, I have yet to stumble upon the asset.tdx file you speak of. If you could please, point me in that direction? Again thanks! Appreciate the input.

 

[BuzzKillington]

I have learned more about CM, and this TADDAEMON thing than I cared too learn. this week. I used the words "forced to reinstall"...just as a clarification, no, the game itself did not "force" me to do anything of the sort. It was probably bad grammar on my part. Let's say, things got so out of hand that I was left with no other option than to reinstall. Thanks for the useful information, appreciate it.

 

[Falcus]

The easier way to save your Database in a Pinch (Since many of the specific files are hidden), at least in TS12, is to copy and paste your User Data File to your desktop. TS06 had a similar file as well that you could just grab and move, so I would wager TS10 would as well. Its not to be done lightly as whichever file it ends up being is rather large, but if you're really hurting and you want a back up with a shot at repairing your database with your current assets, even if you bugger the DAEMON up, its possible to make this work. Generally moving this file around, particularly after an install or an update will mean an DRebuild is required afterwards, but that will still take less time then entirely re-installing all your acquired assets.

As I recall the exact process for finding, copying, and re-integrating this file is a little different for each iteration of TS. Im sure there are many here that could give you exact directions for TS10, JCitron probably being one of them (I think of him as a rung shy of Mr Trainz Wizard, with Shaneturner sharing a seat at the Round Table of Trainz Awesomeness, or something like that....).

Bad Grammar or no, all Im trying to point out is that, regardless of what was occurring, there should have been a path to saving your database. I may not know exactly what that path may have been, but your determination and interest in this game is enough for me to want to help ensure that you're never in this predicament again, and from what I'm reading, it sounds like we can do that, at least in part.

Good Luck,
Falcus

 

[john2002]

You can just give up on trainz. You can start over if you wish

 

[cascaderailroad]

You can get on Free Skype and chat with me about Trainz

Skype: cascaderailroad