This problem occurred using WinXP after moving Poser files over from Win98SE. I am reposting this here so that anyone else who has this problem can find the answer without "digging" through the other thread. cheers, dr geep ;=] ***************************************************************** Here is what I had to do .... When the .pz3 file is "opened ... and the "No Disk" window (shown above) pops up ... I started clicking on "Continue" many, many times. It "appears" that Poser is "stuck." BUT, it is not because if you CONTINUE to click on "Continue," the file will eventually load. With some .pz3 filles, I only had to click "Contine" 2 or 3 times before the file would load. Some of the files required clicking on "Continue" 50-60 times! ... and then the .pz3 file would load. I am guessing, but I believe that Poser has all the "links" to figures, lights, cameras, etc. embedded in the .pz3 file and when these "links" do not work, the "No Disk" window pops up. Clicking on "Continue" somehow forces Poser to "search again" for the missing "link." There seems to be a correlation to the number of times that "Continue" must be clicked and the complexity of the .pz3 file. I had to go through each file a click on "Continue" and keep on clicking until the file loaded. Then I saved the file back using the same name. (but in a different folder) I have verified that the newly saved .pz3 files load without any problems. BTW(#2) - I am now using WinXP (from Win98SE) and had never seen this "No Disk" window pop up before in Win98SE. cheers, (finally) dr geep <-------------------------------------------------------(happy again!) ;=]

I'm glad you got things going. This is the way I understand a pz3 file: It is actually a "roadmap" or recipie that points to where the actual items are found. If you send me the pz3 file, it won't work unless I have every item you had setup, in the same place where you had all the items setup. In your case it appears you "moved over" stuff. That really puzzles me. If I want a program to be on a new hard drive or computer, I reinstall the program. I don't "move" any program over anywhere. Poser does have the runtime folder. You can safely zip all those folders within the runtime folder and actually copy them over somewhere. You would in essence be keeping "your poser installation" after a fashion. You'd still need to install Poser on that new hard drive or computer first. Does that make sense? In essence, you supplied Poser with a roadmap that was no longer accurate. Poser kept complaining. Poser is not very sophisticated when it provides error messages. The most common one is "not enough memory." That error message is, in many cases, false. It's just Poser's way of saying "I have a problem." I hope this helped in some way. Ron

You might want to right click the shortcut button for Poser and make sure that "Start In" info is correct and pointing to the correct drive. Yours may not be the same as mine.

I believe that I created the problem because I "reorganized" my Poser stuff before I moved it to the new machine. I shouldn't had oughta done that! ;=]

I have done this type of operation before without any problem (i.e., same machine, same OS), but the combination of a different machine and a new operating system (i.e., WinXP) plus "reorganization" evidently caused Poser to lose track of "the stuff."

I think Ron is correct. Although I don't know the exact mechanism, I believe Poser does keep a "roadmap" of what it needs for a .pz3 file and when some dumb user (like me ;=]) thinks they have a "better way," ... Poser gets it's revenge!

Thanks for the input and ...

cheers,
dr geep
;=]

Hey Ron, OT - Used the scales yet? (just curious) ;=]

Geep, If I understand correctly, a pz3 is nothing more than a road map or recipe book. There is nothing else in the pz3 file. Oh, I hadn't used the scales yet. Right now I'm working on a project to create facial expressions and poses for the DAZ Millennium Girls. When that's done I plan to start illustrating my poetry book. Oh, and I have my first contest running now in this forum! Ron

Hmmm, I guess there are 348 jellybeans in the jar. Am I right? Do I win a prize? ;=]

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12356&Form.ShowMessage=577840

Nice try, grin. Click on the link, and read about my contest. Ron

I went. I read. I thought. I wrote. It sucked. I did not post. But it's a neat idea Ron, maybe next time. ;=]

Well next time I'll have you "draw a picture." You can do that, right ?!

No! But Poser does a half way decent job! I just push the mouse around 'till somthin' happens that looks good. ;=]

Attached Link: http://www.iguanasoft.com/poser/faq.htm

According to one FAQ

"a .PZ3 file. This is another giant text file. It is basically a collection of CR2s. The lights, cameras, figures, etc. are all in this."

I've had PZ3's ask for geometry files it needed or textures, but never gotten the no disk message.

Some PZ3's are quite large (Latexa V2 is 8MB+), so I think there is more in there than just a roadmap to external files. Perhaps one of the experts can clarify.

The pz3 file can't contain everything. I have saved pz3 files from previous installations of Poser and Windows. I tried loading one pz3 file, and it complained that it couldn't find many elements that obviously were not installed in the current Poser installation. The pz3 file is merely a roadmap, and list of ingredients. Ron

Ron, haven't you ever downloaded a PZ3 (Arduino's Eve for example) that has a figure, lighting, and two props (snake and apple) included in it? There's also a utility out there to convert a PZ3 to a CR2. Now how could it create a character file out of nothing but a roadmap? I actually took the time to look inside a PZ3. There's geometry data in there, geometry for clothing, geometry for hair, geometry for props. I also repeat my previous proposition that a multi-megabyte file has more than a bunch of file paths in it.

I tried this simple experiment: Loaded Posette, a sofa prop and the Alice Hair. I saved the PZ3, exited Poser and then moved Alice.hr2 and Alice.rsr, the sofa.cr2,obj, rsr and mtl files to a different drive. I started Poser and loaded the PZ3 file. It opens with Posette, the sofa and the hair intact as saved. Now that's one helluva road map, better than GPS.

A PZ3 won't store the standard geometry files, it references them just as a CR2 does - you're expected to have those. It also references textures.

I certainly respect your artistic abilities and your knowledge of Poser but I simply think you're incorrect on this.

OK, let me put it to you this way. 1.) I've saved a pz3 file consisting of many different characters, and a stage, etc. 2.) I've wiped my hard drive totally. Then I've reinstalled Poser without reinstalling everything I had before. 3.) I've loaded the pz3 file, and was told Poser couldn't find the items that were not installed this time around. They weren't installed because I had not installed them. 4.) I routinely got pz3 files from 3Dcc, with super hero stuff. Many of those pz3 files wouldn't work because I didn't have the same elements that the original artist had on his/her own computer. With that in mind, a pz3 file does not contain everything. If it did then I'd be able to load a pz3 file without first reinstalling all the missing items, characters, scenes, etc. A CR2 file is a road map too. You need to have the proper elements to make it work. Ron

Actually, Geep, I bet some of your pz3's have the "wrong" king of file path. Poser normally uses an address something like: figureResFile :Runtime:Geometries:Sexy Shoes Set:Vickie_boot_l2.obj I've also seen another, absolute address used in some CR2s, which looked something like: C:Program FilesMetacreationsPoser 4RuntimeGeometrieswhateverwhatever.obj. I've seen it with the slashes instead of the (:), too. I have no idea why Poser writes this kind of a file once-in-awhile, but I've seen them. If yous had something like that and you moved Poser to another drive or folder you would confuse it. Why you have to click 60 times is there are probably 60 addresses in the CR2, texture files have 'em too. If this is the case, incidently, you can probably use a global search and replace in something like MS Word to fix them, but you would have to fix every PZ3.

Let me try this again. A PZ3 file can store light settings, prop geometry, etc. Since you mention 3DCC, let's use one of their files as an example - '60's BatGirl.'

Look at the file list:

Batgirl.pz3------Poser file
60's Batgirl Costume.jpg------Batsuit Texture Map
60's Batgirl Costume Bump.jpg-Batsuit Bump Map
60's Batgirl maskf.jpg--------Mask Texture Map
60's Hair---------------------Hair Texture Map
60's Hairbump.bum-------------Hair Bump Map
60's Batgirl Belt-------------Utility Belt Texture Map
Batgirl Skin------------------Body Texture Map(a modified Happyworld Map)
Marble.jpg--------------------Ground Texture Map

Load the character. She has a cape, mask, gloves and '60's hair' There are no corresponding files included. Open the PZ3 in a text editor. Search for 'mask.' You'll find:

prop 60's Batgirl maskf:1
{
geomCustom
{
numbVerts 27144
numbTVerts 20013
numbTSets 126200
numbElems 37033
numbSets 126200
v 0.027540 0.656900 0.026490
v 0.021930 0.632740 -0.010300
v 0.016060 0.629430 -0.019390 ETC. ETC.

That's the mask geometry stored inside the PZ3. There is no mask prop Ron, no mask file. Delete everything but the mask, save it as a prop. Now you have a prop you can use on any figure.

Now I'm sure you've had PZ3's behave as you describe. As I said before, textures aren't stored and certainly there CAN be external .obj references. CAN doesn't mean MUST.

"Pz3 files created using these models will also contain the information from the Victoria 2.0/Michael 2.0 or Victoria 2 P4 Cr2" - DAZ3D Why is DAZ worried about anyone pirating a roadmap?

Looking for PZ3 info, I actually found a link to your site Ron. Remember that 'Gym Studio' PZ3 file you had problems with? Edit it. Delete the two lines that say "figureResFile :Runtime:Geometries:props:bench1.obj" and save it. Loads fine now, no .obj needed. Now if you must have an .obj (because obviously, this won't work for you), export just the 'PowerBench' part of the prop as bench1.obj into the folder it wants. That works fine too. Heck, even putting a copy of the Vicky .obj file in that directory and naming it bench1.obj works! It doesn't care, the geometry's in the PZ3.

If you still see roadmaps, then go ask Traveler or Yarp or someone whose opinion you respect. I don't think anything I say will convince you.

" ...I bet some of your pz3's have the "wrong" kind of file path." I believe you are correct, Jim. And ... clicking on the "Continue" button forces Poser to "re-"search for the required file and when it finds it, it sets the correct parameter in the .pz3 file because when the "problem" .pz3 file is saved and then re-loaded, there is no problem loading it. Thanks to eveyone here who provided a response. cheers, dr geep <-------------------(happy again ... 'till the "next" bug) ;=]

OK, you totally ignored the facts that I had stated. I wiped my hard drive then I loaded a pz3 file for a scene I had previously created. (Before the hard drive was wiped). I had not installed all the elements that were previously in the scene. The pz3 file would not work because those items were not currently in my Poser installation. Simple enough. Now tell me I was dreaming.

Ron, pz3's stores most everything except maps and the actual .obj files in the Geometries folders. For these it does include just the filepath pointers. Open one up in a text editor, they are pretty interesting inside.

OK, let's go over this once again. I'll try to reword it so you might understand. In fact I'll go backwards. 1.) I loaded a pz3 file that had been created before I wiped my hard drive and reinstalled Poser. 2.) The pz3 file would not work. 3.) The pz3 file was looking for items that were not installed in Poser at that time. 4.) Those items had been installed before I wiped the hard drive. They were not installed after the hard drive was wiped. 5.) Those items included several characters, their clothes, and perhaps the swimming pool which was the scene I had used. **** OK, now let's analyze this quote from Nance: "Ron, pz3's stores most everything except maps and the actual .obj files in the Geometries folders. For these it does include just the filepath pointers." If the pz3 file doesn't have the geometries for the items involved, you in effect don't have the items in the pz3 file. You need to have those items on your computer at the time you use the pz3 file. I run into this problem a lot. If you use the super hero files at 3DCC, there is a pretty significant list of items that you must have installed for some items in a pz3 file format to work. In some cases the item won't load at all, and you get the infamous out of memory error. OK to illustrate my point, I found a pz3 file stored on a CD. This pz3 file was created before I wiped the hard drive, and I never bothered to install all the times that are in this pz3 file. You can see the error message for yourself. I rest my case. Ron

I got a few of those error messages. The items that showed in the scene were items that are currently installed into Poser. I haven't reinstalled the Daisy Mae outfit. So this poor woman is mostly nude. To you see the correlation here?! The pz3 file doesn't hold everything. Ron

OK here is one very complex render that I did for a contest last year. It involved several characters in the pool area. I have not reinstalled most of those characters or the pool since that image was made. Did that pz3 file load and work?! Nope. I don't have the stuff installed. Ron

No, Ron, I didn't totally ignore everything you said. In fact I agreed with you that such missing item errors can occur, I've had them too. The question here is one of what a PZ3 file can do, NOT what it always does. Your statement that a PZ3 can ONLY be a list of references is simply incorrect. If you look at the examples I provided, that is obvious. The Gym Studio file which you apparently have is evidence of this. There are no external .obj files included, the geometry is included in the PZ3. The bench1.obj loading error is a result of an erroneous reference in the file. I showed you two ways to eliminate the error. Apparently, you are so enamored with your own view that, you did not bother to try it. The BatGirl figure is another example. Again, I tried to show you that various items of geometry are included in the file. As Nance suggested, take the time to look. Is that so difficult?

You would be correct in saying that a PZ3 CAN contain references to external .obj files and not having those files will cause the errors you mention. The BatGirl PZ3 has a references for the boots and the P4Nude Woman .obj files. If they aren't there, you'll get an error. You'll never get an error asking for the mask, cape or gloves. Neither will you find corresponding .obj files for them anywhere because the .obj geometry is in the PZ3.

Now I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of what gets included or what gets referenced, only that both are possible, as evidenced by the specific examples given.

Final example. Find an .obj file, not one from poser, just something from 3DCafe perhaps. I chose a beer bottle since I could use a beer after this discussion. Open Poser and load long-suffering Posette. Go to import->Wavefront obj and import the file. Uncheck all the options, scale, floor, etc. The obj. may be huge and hide Posette but don't touch it. Immediately save the scene as a PZ3. Close the scene. Go and delete the .obj file you imported. Back in Poser. open the PZ3. Everything is there, Posette and the model, even though the imported .obj is deleted. Now, close Poser. Get the .obj out of the trash or load another copy into a text editor. Look at the first lines of vertex data in my case:

g Bottle_object_1
v -0.456887 1.190007 0.456888
v -0.449994 2.013380 0.449994

Now open the PZ3 in the editor. Scroll or search for the object in my case I find:

prop Beer_Bottle
{
geomCustom
{
numbVerts 1250
numbTVerts 0
numbTSets 0
numbElems 2488
numbSets 7464
v -0.456887 1.190007 0.456888
v -0.449994 2.013380 0.449994

Do those 'v' lines look Familiar? They should, it's the same geometry, now embedded in the PZ3. I don't know how much plainer I can make it. Someone in PoserTech can probably tell you what gets embedded and what gets referenced and to what degree you can control that.

I'm not denying or trying to invalidate your experience with PZ3's just saying they can do more than you maintain and that your blanket statement based on your experience and consequent assumptions is incorrect and amply refuted by a few simple empirical exercises. If you choose not to do those exercises or doubt the validity of the results, then yours is a purely dogmatic position, closer to superstition than reality.

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but you have a knack for sometimes communicating in a manner which does you an injustice, as I know that is not your intent, nor does it accurately represent you. You may choose to again refute what I have shown, but I have nothing further to say in the matter.

You can sound as harsh as you want, but you're engaging in word games. PZ3 files don't always contain everything. It's as simple as that. I don't open CR2 or pz3 files, and there is no need. I've proven my point. Ron

Attached Link: http://www.morphworld30.com/tutorials/externalcalls.html

The difference is if the geometries are embedded or if the pz3 calls to an obj from the geometries file. If you delete the original obj, or move it, then you'll get an error Embedded geometries will hold generally, unless they've been corrupted, those that access the geometries folder will still have to have the original obj in the same folder it called to before. And the textures are not stored in the pz3, only the pointers on where to find them. If they've been moved, Poser will ask where to find them. And every once in a while something will happen that makes no sense at all. *shrugs* Traveler's got a tutorial at his site that explains it probably better than I am. Link attached.

Who's on first? Thanks Judith. I've actually (quite unintentionally) developed an unseemly interest in the PZ3 after this, so thanks for the link :-) I'd rather have the knowledge to fix an error if possible rather than...

Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say "Why not?"
Robert F. Kennedy (via George Bernard Shaw)

I think it's all a matter of taste. Some people prefer the embedded geometries, some prefer the external call. I like the external call, so that if the pp2 gets corrupted, I don't have to search through scads of disks to find the prop. The downside is, your Runtime folder gets pretty large. It's just a matter of what you can live with. ;) I usually end up converting anything I use often. That, and I like having my files go to a structured directory, rather than having to search in all the folders. The geometries folder is bad enough. With an 11G Runtime folder, it's a nightmare to get around in anyway. LOL!!! Who me? Addicted? No way. :)))

And I thought I was mad with 6GB. Time to check into Betty Ford! If Poser would show PZ3's in the library with thumbs, I'd use them more.

I'm not even going to tell you what I've spent then, though on the last poll that circulated through here, there were many more with bigger directories than I. :))) It's a good thing I can claim some of it on my taxes, as I use it commercially.

Don't blame me. On the other hand, your Prancin Pony Inn poses have added to the burden on my high-speed rotating storage device. And then, I go and see Chris' cairn which I know will be useful for something and I don't think I I've downloaded it before... I heartily endorse CloneSpy. It will ferret out and delete duplicate files, even if the names are different. Must have freeware for forgetful folk like me.