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LOST DATA in Opensim.
Hello everyone, I recently decided to move my regions back into a mini-grid application (linked in my profile) due to issues I was experiencing with OSgrid. One of which was the problem with losing MESH assets. It was a well known fact that some 'textures' would go missing but eventually return again. My biggest issue was mesh assets being worn on NPCs while rezzed inworld. One NPC had his head missing, the maid had a missing foot. Console errors would warn me that my NPCs were not going to be fully drawn. I keep boxes of all assets for NPCs and the backups also had the same missing content problem. It does not end there, boxes with mesh items rezzed on land inworld (not in inventory folders) were also affected. It was my understanding (from online articles) that storing items on land was generally regarded as being safer than keeping items in your inventory.
What do you do?
When attempting to load an old oar to OSgrid, I discovered that it will ignore assets which are already in their database, even if the osgrid entry is damaged or missing. So the only way to get those items back is to load this oar on another grid. Maybe a Standalone, Dreamgrid or any other server which has it's own database. Here is how my recovery procedure worked:
1. I loaded an oar backup (from a hidden INVENTORY REGION) I made LAST NIGHT which had several thousand missing items. During the creation process, RED console errors gave warnings of items that would not be included in the archive.
2. I created a separate region to load oars (made last year and the year before) of that SAME sim. As the oars were loading I noticed it was skipping assets and only loading the missing content. I had one old oar load 15 assets and skip the 25k+ which were already in the database. In this experiment, I used several oars in the "recovery" region. I emptied the sim after each oar load. I figured It would not necessary to keep the content live.
3. When all was said and done, this produced an interesting side effect. Since missing assets are now in my new database, I could go into the region which once had asset loading errors and rez mesh content which was previously missing. This tells me that the damaged oar had mention of the missing assets written into it and all that was needed is to load the missing items into the database for retrieval. The way Oar archives work is nothing short of genius!
4. Once the procedure is complete a NEW OAR can be made (with noticeably less content errors) and the Wizardry & Steamworks database cleanup procedure (https://grimore.org/opensim/database/asset_cleaner) can be used to discard database bloat.
Anyway, I wanted to share my findings on this topic and I hope it will help someone who has lost assets. As a content creator, I can tell you it is devastating to lose things you spent a great deal of personal time making. An old saying comes to mind: "Never keep all of your eggs in one basket". Having a hypergrid enabled standalone region on the side will let you get those lost items back. If you wish to stay on OSgrid, you can have your alt bring recovered data to your OSgrid region with NEW asset IDs.
I cannot stress enough... BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP your DATA.
-Peace & Love
Spax
Hello everyone, I recently decided to move my regions back into a mini-grid application (linked in my profile) due to issues I was experiencing with OSgrid. One of which was the problem with losing MESH assets. It was a well known fact that some 'textures' would go missing but eventually return again. My biggest issue was mesh assets being worn on NPCs while rezzed inworld. One NPC had his head missing, the maid had a missing foot. Console errors would warn me that my NPCs were not going to be fully drawn. I keep boxes of all assets for NPCs and the backups also had the same missing content problem. It does not end there, boxes with mesh items rezzed on land inworld (not in inventory folders) were also affected. It was my understanding (from online articles) that storing items on land was generally regarded as being safer than keeping items in your inventory.
What do you do?
When attempting to load an old oar to OSgrid, I discovered that it will ignore assets which are already in their database, even if the osgrid entry is damaged or missing. So the only way to get those items back is to load this oar on another grid. Maybe a Standalone, Dreamgrid or any other server which has it's own database. Here is how my recovery procedure worked:
1. I loaded an oar backup (from a hidden INVENTORY REGION) I made LAST NIGHT which had several thousand missing items. During the creation process, RED console errors gave warnings of items that would not be included in the archive.
2. I created a separate region to load oars (made last year and the year before) of that SAME sim. As the oars were loading I noticed it was skipping assets and only loading the missing content. I had one old oar load 15 assets and skip the 25k+ which were already in the database. In this experiment, I used several oars in the "recovery" region. I emptied the sim after each oar load. I figured It would not necessary to keep the content live.
3. When all was said and done, this produced an interesting side effect. Since missing assets are now in my new database, I could go into the region which once had asset loading errors and rez mesh content which was previously missing. This tells me that the damaged oar had mention of the missing assets written into it and all that was needed is to load the missing items into the database for retrieval. The way Oar archives work is nothing short of genius!
4. Once the procedure is complete a NEW OAR can be made (with noticeably less content errors) and the Wizardry & Steamworks database cleanup procedure (https://grimore.org/opensim/database/asset_cleaner) can be used to discard database bloat.
Anyway, I wanted to share my findings on this topic and I hope it will help someone who has lost assets. As a content creator, I can tell you it is devastating to lose things you spent a great deal of personal time making. An old saying comes to mind: "Never keep all of your eggs in one basket". Having a hypergrid enabled standalone region on the side will let you get those lost items back. If you wish to stay on OSgrid, you can have your alt bring recovered data to your OSgrid region with NEW asset IDs.
I cannot stress enough... BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP your DATA.
-Peace & Love
Spax
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Comments
Curious... I'm basically a user in Open Sim. I don't have any land that I rent/own and I don't run a sim. Is it possible for me to back up my inventory in OSgrid using the OAR method?
I'm looking to set up a second account somewhere else. Currently designated my Kitely account as the first from this point forward. I want to import all of my outfits and objects from OSgrid to another HG, like Alternate Metaverse or DigiWorldz.
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I'm looking to set up a second account somewhere else. Currently designated my Kitely account as the first from this point forward. I want to import all of my outfits and objects from OSgrid to another HG, like Alternate Metaverse or DigiWorldz.
Unfortunately, NO. Only REGION operators can use the console commands that generate oars. This is because OSgrid is not hosting all of the regions, individual users are. Instructions are given on osgrid.org showing you how to host your own region using a spare computer at home and then connecting it to osgrid.
You can transfer items to your Kitely avatar or any other HG alt; assuming you have the necessary permissions to do so. This may be the best option for someone in your situation. Good luck.
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You can transfer items to your Kitely avatar or any other HG alt; assuming you have the necessary permissions to do so. This may be the best option for someone in your situation. Good luck.
Thanks, I think the IAR format page I linked to in Pagane's comment is helpful. That should do the trick. :)
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NVM figured it out, it's explained here: http://opensimulator.org/wiki/IAR_Format_0.3
I'll have to give this a spin... if it works, I'll keep my OSgrid account active but it'll basically mothball and I'll quit adding content on it... maybe occasionally to see if their servers aren't too f'd up. *shrug* Thanks!
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I'll have to give this a spin... if it works, I'll keep my OSgrid account active but it'll basically mothball and I'll quit adding content on it... maybe occasionally to see if their servers aren't too f'd up. *shrug* Thanks!
In order to generate an IAR you would also need access to the simulator console which is only available to region operators. In generating an IAR the 'user name' and 'password' is used in the command string to generate the archive. You do not want to share this information with anyone.
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