I purchased the Daz beard over a week ago, and have not been able to get the 2 additional installers found on the product page to work. The core installer works fine, but when I try to install parts 2 and 3, nothing happens. I get a big ole hourglass for about 10 seconds then nada. I have contacted Daz tech support 3 times to date, and their solution was to run the installers. I can't run the installers if they won't run! I repeated my problem to tech support, and now it's been 4 days without a reply. I'm running Win XP, and have tried running them in compatibility mode, disabling virus protection, etc. and still nothing. Does anyone have any suggestions? BTW, I asked Daz if they would provide me with the files in zip format each time I contacted them, but they have yet to offer that option. I've spent thousands of dollars at Daz, and am a little put off by this lack of support. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance, Spectre

When you load parts 2 and 3 it creates another installer that you use to load pts 2 and 3 into poser. Do a search with the names of two and three installers and you will find a second set use those and it will work fine. I did the same thing installed 2 and 3 from Daz and nothing. Did a search found the new installers created and voila. if you have used the second set of installers you've got problems. I hope this is understandable.

lol did the same thing. All the first installers are doing is making sure you have the purchased model that goes with the texture maps. Try downloading them again to make sure they are not corrupt, then install them again. You need to allow them to be copied to your hard drive. All it's doing is unpacking them after the check for the model. Are you saying that you don't even get to the dialog box? Marque

I've already suggested they do another readme that is more clear on what is going on. If you get to the dialog box, allow the file to be copied to your hard drive. You will do this for each file. Then go to where you copied them and run them again. These will install the texture maps. Let us know if you get it to work. Also you might try calling Daz, sometimes they are there on the weekend. 1 800 267-5170 Marque

I had troubles too, if you get a lot of answers and get it fixed, good deal, if not drop me an IM and i'll talk you through it, it is a bit confusing, took me a while to get it right

Thanks for all of the responses. I have downloaded the files 3 times, so I'm pretty sure they aren't corrupted. adele, I did a complete search of my system, and did not find additional part 2 and 3 installers. The only files found were the original downloads. I do have the beard object and the MAT pose files installed from the core installer. Marque, I'm getting nothing when I run the files, and have never seen the dialog box you mentioned. dirk5027, Thanks for the IM offer. I may just take you up on it shortly if the problem can't be solved here :) Anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks, Spectre

Wow, and I was going to buy the beard. I'm glad I didn't. Why would they make it so difficult to install. That's totally unlike DAZ to do that. It doesn't make sense. I probably won't buy it now that I know about this. I don't need the frustration. Thanks for the heads up. Melanie

Attached Link: http://Renderings.homestead.com/Beard.html

Thanks for the instructions Genny. The problem is, I never get the dialog box you show. I get absolutely nothing except an hour glass wait when running parts 2 and 3. However, the beard object is installed in runtimegeometriesDaz HairMilman folder, and the beard fiqure is installed under the Daz Hair folder. Could it be Win XP? I had a similar problem installing the drivers for my Wacom, and their tech support solved it by sending me a 32bit installer. Thanks, Spectre

Hi Spectre, I am running XP too........so I don't think that is it? The beard is a Character file("figures" library with Poser open), so don't be confused as to look for it in the "Hair" file library.......... as I have a Daz Hair folder in my Hair Library too!...........took me a few minutes to figure that out too! LOL! Other than this, I really don't know what to tell you? Genny

Genny, Thanks, at least I know it's not XP related. Maybe it's just my system.... Permissions or something off the wall like that. Yep, I realize the beard's DAZ Hair subfolder is under the Figures library heading, and I too have a DAZ Hair folder underneath the Hair library :). Anyway, the beard figure is sitting there pretty as you please in the proper folder, and the beard object file and MATs are in their proper folders. All that's lacking are the textures and transparencies. Spectre

OK. I had the same trouble and called Daz. The installers are loaded into the GeometriesDAZHairMilMan, after you run the pre-installer you downloaded from the Beard page. Go to this folder and run them. They're names ps_ac306_part2 and ps_ac306_part3. Everything should work fine then. The character for the beard winds up in Daz Hair, while the poses are in librariesPoseMAT Millennium Beard. It is worth it though. The beards look pretty darn good. We need some more detailed textures though (hint hint). Daz really dropped the ball on the install on this one though. The instructions don't explain it all.

pdxjims, I only have one file in the geometriesdazhairmilman directory which is blM2Beard.obj. No other installers. Spectre

Spectre3,do like adele said unzip the first installer ,then unzip the second and third installers into a place you can find them easy,then after they are both unziped,find them and double click on the new installers and it should put the files in the right spot. hope that works.It did the same thing on me,this should fix it. David

Wait...did you do the first of the 3 yet? You have to do the first file then the second and third. They are looking for the obj from the first one. Marque

Duh, saw that you did. They should have just had the maps available elsewhere to download, this installer thing made me crazy too. Have you tried calling them? Marque

Hmmm Maybe I'm not making myself clear. Let me start from the top. I downloaded the core installer. ps_ac306.exe whenever I purchased the beard. I then went to the product page and downloaded ps_ac306.part2.exe and ps_ac306.part3.exe. After that, (and I've done this several times) I ran the core installer ps-ac306.exe. It went through the usual Daz install process and completed successfully. It installed the beard object, beard figure, and MAT files into the proper folders. Now, this is where the trouble begins. I first ran ps_ac306.part2.exe. I suspose it was looking for the beard files, but all I got ( and continue to get) was the ole Windows hourglass. I never say any other dialog boxes etc. I figured OK, I'll run part 3, and did. Got the same thing as part2. I did a search of my system, and no additional installers were unzipped into the geometries dazhairmilman folder or anywhere else. All I have in that folder is the beard object file. Spectre

Spectre3, You did everything correctly but when you run the part2 and part3 installers, you have to tell them where the beard obj file is located, then they should run correctly and create the 2 installation files needed to install the remaining parts 2 and 3 of the beard.

Exactly the same thing happened to me when I installed the beard. Part 1 installed as it should, and when I double-clicked on part 2 or part 3 absolutely nothing happened, well maybe I got the hourglass for a short while. I tried to reboot the computer - no joy. The next day I tried again, and then it worked perfectly, got the dialog boxes and both parts installed. Maybe it was because I shut the machine down completely?? My OS is Windows 98 FE

you didn't let the installers name them blM2Beard.obj did you? when you run part2 & 3 name the files just 2.exe & 3.exe. Rob

Spectre,

First... my apologies for the trouble. We really didn't intend for there to be any when we chose to break up the installation process. The reason the files were broken up is for the sake of those without speedy connections. The download size would of been around 35MB+ (speaking strictly from what I remember when I zipped up the files to send out to beta testers), instead they are 6MB, 16MB and 17MB. Having had complaints in the past about download size, this is the route we chose to combat those complaints... the other option was to make the product smaller by stripping some of its content. We wanted to give those who purchased the beard as much as possible and allow them to see/use its versatility to the fullest.

Now, a question that may make a difference in what is happening to you when you try to use the updaters...
Where is Poser installed on your HD? The reason I ask is that your path for poser may not be within the parameters that updater is set to automatically look for (the hourglass is displayed while the search function is being executed).

How long do you let the search go before you cancel it? There are a couple of factors that affect the search time, some systems take a little longer for the updater/installer to search through its parameters.

If the search function doesn't return anything, you should be presented with a dialog box that displays the product readMe as well as a "Continue" button in the lower right. Once the button is pressed you'll be prompted with a dialog box asking you locate the file "blM2Beard.obj". If the search function executed at launch returned anything, when you press the "Select File..." you should already be in the folder that contains the file mentioned above. If not, locate the file (it gets installed to "RuntimeGeometriesDAZHairMilMan" of whatever directory you selected ok to in the core installer). Once the file and install hierarchy are visible in the updater dialog, click the "Update" button. The installer will then create another executable and drop it into the same folder as the obj. This executable is the standard DAZ installer you get when you purchase any product from us. Run it to install the required files. This must be done for both updaters.

If what I describe does not work for you, give us a call on Monday (I will not be back into the office until then, I've already, as I have every week since March, collected enough hours this week to cover 2 weeks worth of work... 80+), ask specifically for me, and I will personally walk you through it over the phone.

-Rob Whisenant
Content Production Coordinator
DAZ Productions, Inc.
1.800.267.5170
1.801.495.1777

P.S. I'm not in the office right now... I'm at home. I just called the office to check and nobody else is in, either. I should be in the office at about 6:30am-7:00am on Monday should you need to call.

"If the search function doesn't return anything" should read: "Regardless of whether the search function returns anything" -Rob

wow!!! now that's after sales service to be proud of :) Rob

I find there is no logic in this statement... "The reason the files were broken up is for the sake of those without speedy connections. The download size would of been around 35MB+ (speaking strictly from what I remember when I zipped up the files to send out to beta testers), instead they are 6MB, 16MB and 17MB. Having had complaints in the past about download size, this is the route we chose to combat those complaints" The installer I downloaded for part2 is 15.4MB and for part3 it's 16.6MB, BUT, the installation files they created are 13.6MB for part2 and 14.7MB for part3. Seems if we had downloaded the installation files to begin with, we would not only have saved download time but also confusion for installing the beard. Cherokee

I really want to thank everyone who responded to this thread and offered advice to help me solve this problem. I received an email from Steve Kondris at Daz. He was able to provide me with part 2 and 3 .exes which used the normal Daz installation scheme. The installations completed without a single glitch. Even though it took a while to get this problem solved, I must say the professionalism and response from Steve (especially on a weekend) restores my faith in Daz's customer service. Thank you so much Steve... and thanks again everyone here. Regards, Spectre

I didn't have any problem installing the beard on WindowsXP Pro. I purchased and downloaded part one. Didn't notice that there were two other parts until I installed part one. I went back and got the two parts. I wondered if I would have to reinstall part one. But everything worked fine. I usually don't let the installer search for my poser installation. It takes too long. It wants to search every drive I have even though poser is only on the C drive. I just cancel the search and point it to my poser directory. I wondered about the other two files since they didn't seem to be exes. I double clicked on part 2, answered the prompts and it completed. At the end, it wanted to store the exe somewhere. It put in the obj folder for the beard. I wasn't sure if that was okay. But it doesn't seem to be hurting anything. The same thing happened with part 3. Sorry to hear that some of you had so much trouble. Kevin

Cherokee,

No logic? Well, you're entitled to your opinion... however, I don't agree. I'll try to explain why.

We've had complaints about file size (smaller than this) from some of our customers. Many of which involve their slow [dial up] connections... and not being able to complete the download because they are dropped by their ISPs. Whether from being idle too long, or because the server is trying to make room for others trying to connect and they get the boot, or one of the many other reasons we've been given. We cannot change their ISPs policies, but we can try and make it a little easier for them to get the product they purchased.

Combined, the file size is approximately 35MB+. Broken up they are approximately 6MB, 16MB and 17MB. Many of those who complained about a 30MB+ file size stated that they did much better with 20MB or less. Yes, the updater adds a bit of overhead, BUT all three file sizes mentioned above... are less than 20MB. Hence the logic; those without connection issues get all files required by the product AND those with connection issues get all files required by the product AND we protect our interests by verifying they are entitled to the files.

If we placed the installers themselves on the site as you suggest, there would be no way to verify that the person downloading them purchased the product they are intended to compliment. Being that they contain a substantial amount of the product itself (ALL maps, 45 of them), it is paramount that the existence of the core files be verified.

If the store software we are currently using supported the ability to allow more than one file to be linked for any given product, this whole thing would be a non-issue... we'd simply link all the appropriate files at checkout. This isn't an option at the moment... BUT, to quote Steve's response to the "before I shop at DAZ probably dumb question" thread, above this one. He says "This was a bit of an experiment. We're trying to do what we can to ease the download problems on our site. We've been looking into several options, this is simply one. We've used this in the past on certain product updates and never had any complaints, so we thought we'd give it a try on a more mainstream product. But, do not fear, we've just recently found an even better solution and that should not be more than a month away (I say a month because this "new solution" includes TONS more changes to our existing store as there are several aspects of it we're in the midst of improving".

I hope it makes a bit more sense, now that you're a little more aware of the reasoning behind it. That said, its late... I'm headed to bed.

-Rob

Breaking the download into 3 parts is fine!!!!!!! it's the extra installers and all that nonsense. Sheesh. And I think the problem Spectre might have had is with the vise stuff used for the 2nd and 3rd. I've had terrrible troubles with Vise installers on my XP system too!

I didn't notice the other installer files and installed file one and tried the beard - all was fine until I tried a MAT and then somehow I saw something about needing files 2 and 3. I've downloaded those and have run them and saved the subsequent installers etc and have run those. But now when I try to load the beard I get an .obj error - can't find the beard obj... I tried reinstalling part one but to no avail. I think I'll delete it all and start over...