Is there any reason besides file archival ocd reasons why I shouldn't use the file compression option when saving a file? Is there a noticable speed difference between compressed/fully expanded files when saving/opening?

Thanks!

The speed issue is a little more complex than it seems at first and depends on cpu/disk speeds, but with a modern system compressed will probably load faster because the slowest part of loading is transfering from hard disk to memory and the files compress well.

Something that you might consider is what else you do with the files.  If you edit the files, you will have to uncompress, edit, and recompress.  Also some utilities don't always work with compressed files.

Bill

I have to admit to having a strong bias against any form of compression.  I can just about accept it with things like .jpg files if handles with care but I thnk compression just adds another possible failure point.  These days with hard drives being very cheap I would rather add another drive and keep everything uncompressed. 

It is a highly personal point of view but in my line of work I come across people who have lost data through failure of compression and encryption systems or forgotten passwords.  In some cases I can recover the passwords but if that is the case it really defeats the object of encrypting it in the first place.  I have also known users who have used compression on their backup discs only to find that it will not uncompress needed. 

I agree with hornet.  Avoid compression when possible.  A terabyte HD won't break the bank so the issue of compression doesn't seem relevant nowadays.

Quote - Something that you might consider is what else you do with the files.  If you edit the files, you will have to uncompress, edit, and recompress.  Also some utilities don't always work with compressed files.

I'm a really simple Poser user, I pose and render with a few tweaks in between. Do you know offhand which utilities might cease to work with file compression enabled? I don't think I have any scripts that edit files directly. And as hornet mentioned, I'm worried about data corruption not just for general use but for long time archival interests.

I'm kind of running out of room and since I'm still out of work and barely have enough to pay my car loan/monthly bills, I guess I'll just have to either not save files or compress them until I can afford a new hd.

A worthwhile compromise is to burn to DVD or BluRay.  If you burn at a low speed, use good quality discs and store with care, you should be fine.

I'm also very short of cash but I manage to buy 100 blank DVDs every once in a while.  

**Quote -**Is there any reason besides file archival ocd reasons why I shouldn't use the file compression option when saving a file? Is there a noticable speed difference between compressed/fully expanded files when saving/opening?

Thanks!

I've been using file compression with poser for years now with no problems. I'm on i7 right now with 16gb ram.   Compressed i'm up to about 180gb of poser files, if it was uncompressed it would A LOT more.

You could not use file compression and allocate like 1tb to your posr files and see where you go from there. It's easy to turn it on and tick save to compress in the future.

I tend to be leery of file compressions too,  but if you're out of space, that might may be your only option. But you might look to see if there is other things you can remove from the drive. Make sure you don't have temporary files on there. Do you have several versions of the same scene, either because you save incramentally or use que manager? Make sure your runtime doesn't have duplicates. Are there any other files you don't need on the computer that could be moved to dvds? (use single write ones for better stability)

the file xompression used is basically the same as a zip file. Its been around for many years and is pretty trouble free.  Any scripts that need to read files either dont recogbise the compressed file extensions and yherefore dont work or they decompress the file themselves. 

Poser comes with the script to compress and decompress files.

I tried the file compression thing once and didnt like how it worked...bit that was years ago and on my Mac. 

So....what do people do around here for backup? My runtime is 30gig (and I thought THAT was massive). I used to back up on CD then DVD then DL-DVD. Anybody have a backup on a second HD? Are you using some sort of backup software? Im running W7 ult now any thoughts?

Quote - I tried the file compression thing once and didnt like how it worked...bit that was years ago and on my Mac. 

So....what do people do around here for backup? My runtime is 30gig (and I thought THAT was massive). I used to back up on CD then DVD then DL-DVD. Anybody have a backup on a second HD? Are you using some sort of backup software? Im running W7 ult now any thoughts?

USB backup hard drives are fast now a days, just let it run every two days at night automatically.

I have a 'day one' image for Windows 7 taken after I had a working copy of my basic programs such as Poser installed.  I have a Paragon Dis Manager boot disk which should also get me out of trouble if that fails.  My runtimes are backed up once a month to a 2TB hard drive via an e-sata external hot plug in unit the drive then stays in a safe.  Each week I do a back up to another 2TB drive that is network linked.  Once a quarter it is all backed up to another external drive that is left elsewhere with a member of the family.

For software I use Karen's Replicator as my back up program which is free for personal use.  The beauty of this program is that it only backs up the changes to folders and files so the backups are quick.  The other advantage is the total folder structure is maintained so in the event of a reload you can strart it running and go to bed rather than stay up waiting for Windows to request the next incremental backup.  I have used it in anger and it works a dream.

Also check your runtimes for files you may not need.  I often find promos in the runtimes and duplicated files.  I do not use Daz Studio so I also delete any Daz related files such a materials/textures, it all adds up.

In the past I have archieved stuff on to DVD.  I use DVD-RAM which is re-writable but slow and more expensive than DVD-R.  It does however have better error correction and theroretically a longer life than other DVD formats.   I am not sure if this is ture but I have yet to have one fail.

All of that may sound paranoid, and you may well be right .  In my defence I spend a large part of my working life try it tell people ,sympathetically, that they have lost all their data because the hard drive is corrupt or has stopped spinning. 

I've never had a problem with Poser's file compression. It's UNIX gzip, which is very robust. There is an decompression script to decompress a directory with Poser if you need to work on an uncompressed file, but I just uncheck the file compression box and re-save it under a new name (see below) if I need to hand edit a file.

You can also extract them with 7-zip, but they are stored without an extension, so you will need to add it afterward.

A caveat; if you have, say, myfile.cr2 and myfile.crz, they will be seen by Poser as the same file; saving one will delete the other. I asked about this and was told by Support that Poser does not support mixing of compressed and uncompressed files in the same directory; this is due to the compression method used...

Quote - For software I use Karen's Replicator as my back up program which is free for personal use.  The beauty of this program is that it only backs up the changes to folders and files so the backups are quick.  The other advantage is the total folder structure is maintained so in the event of a reload you can strart it running and go to bed rather than stay up waiting for Windows to request the next incremental backup.  I have used it in anger and it works a dream.

Here's the link:  http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp

I remember reading her column years ago on paper. She passed away a couple of years ago,  so think of her when you use it...

Quote - > Quote - Here's the link:  http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp

I remember reading her column years ago on paper. She passed away a couple of years ago,  so think of her when you use it...

 

Thanks for adding the link I should have done that.

I am saddened to hear that she has passed away.  I have been using her programs for more years than I care to remember and I am always happy to recommend the program to others as it is so useful and works so well.

Quote - > Quote - For software I use Karen's Replicator as my back up program which is free for personal use.  The beauty of this program is that it only backs up the changes to folders and files so the backups are quick.  The other advantage is the total folder structure is maintained so in the event of a reload you can strart it running and go to bed rather than stay up waiting for Windows to request the next incremental backup.  I have used it in anger and it works a dream.

 

Here's the link:  http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp

I remember reading her column years ago on paper. She passed away a couple of years ago,  so think of her when you use it...

Now that looks like a really useful program! Thank you for the link.

I had a crazy though, what about using usb thumb drives for backup? They don't have any moving parts like an external hd and they're much cheaper than an external SSD. Plus I can have backups of backups and move them to seperate locations.

Has anyone tried this?

*Edit: I just tried file compression and it took a 313mb file and made it 68.6mb. Wow, that's a huge compression ratio! D:

That is a possibility just remember that like SSDs USB thimb Drives they have a limit to the number of writes and when they fall they fail.  Generally it is an all or nothing situation.

Backing up to a USB thumb drive will make you sad. I used to work in the repair dept of a computer store. I've seen too many customers with their entire life saved onto thumb drives.....family photos, tax returns, legal docs etc. All gone. Don't do it.

I just read through the 3 sentances they wrote in the Poser ref man about file compression....you'd think they would have more info on it there. 

I just started using PhilC's Wardrobe Wizard. Does the file comprssion mess with WW's function?

Quote - Backing up to a USB thumb drive will make you sad...

I almost laughed my bollocks off at that. :D  

Quote - > Quote - Backing up to a USB thumb drive will make you sad...

I almost laughed my bollocks off at that. :D  

Made me smile too but I can relate to it.  I still help out in a PC repair shop and I dread having to tell people that all thier data has gone.  Pictures of the holiday of a life time, weddings, families growing up and so much more.  All have been lost or some only recovered with the help of a specialist recovery team at a cost of £500 or more.  

I should be hardened to it by now but I still feel some of their desperation and loss each and every time.

You can use a duplicate finder like CloneSpy Sometimes you find quite a bit of space in duplicate files. If you have folders with lots of fairly compressible files, turning Windows native file compression for those may also save some space. From time to time, I search for files over 100MB or so and often find something I really don't need. Files I don't need often I compressed with WinRAR - which allows adding recovery records to the archives. Disk space may be 'cheap' but it ain't free :-)

Do be careful with clonespy or anyother duplicate file finder. They sometimes give false positves. They may also find files that need to be stored in multiple places. And sometimes poser thumbnails can be the same for different items (i found that in poses mostly). I'm not saying don't use a file like this, just use it with care and don't use an autodelete but go through all the results by hand.

"I'm not saying don't use a file like this, just use it with care and don't use an autodelete but go through all the results by hand."

Agreed and the docs emphasize that - though the chances of false positives are extremely small. I usually restrict the file types to scan and always do it in manual mode. You van even replace the duplicates with shortcuts or NTFS hard links if desired. Obviously, don't use something with 'delete' in the name without reading & understanding the instructions and wearing safety glasses as Norm would say.