Firestorm: Missing Environment Folders (and they won't come back)

[Rick Nightingale]

Edit to add: It's not just the environment folders... almost all the Library folders are empty, on any account I log in on this PC. The contents were there a few days ago; I use it! None of the troubleshooting procedures for missing inventory or missing libraries (or whatever) has had any effect.

A few days ago I tried to select a different windlight from my usual "9am" (environment - whatever they are called today) from Quick Prefs. None of the list was there... I clicked one of the only two things, "Shared Environment". My lighting changed, but I got an error message like "this cannot be selected". I also get another error message when I try to use the next/previous buttons there on Quick Prefs: "Could not load settings for 00000000-0000(etc) from the database". See screenshots at end.

Every account I try on this PC is the same now. The Library/Environment folders are all empty folders. They work if I log in on another PC, but not here. I've been through the troubleshooting page, right to the end, twice, here: https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/fs_missing_library

Nothing. I get the folders in the Official viewer (see screenshot, just to show I know where to look) but not in FS still. The troubleshooting leaves me hanging at the end with that result - nowhere to go.

Suggestions?

Edited January 15, 2022 by Rick Daylight

[Rachel1206]

Sounds like a corrupt cache. Tried to clear the FS cache?

 

[Rowan Amore]

Looking in Settings folder.  The new eep (windlight) settings are there.  You can also import the old Firestorm windlight.  The are free on the MP.  

https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/fs_eep

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Firestorm-Default-Sky-Windlights-for-EEP/20088838

Edited January 15, 2022 by Rowan Amore

[Rick Nightingale]

Yes, clearing the inventory cache is part of the troubleshooting steps. I did that. Via FS's menu, and manually.

The Settings folder is as empty as the Library/Environment folders, because the database is missing/not loading/whatever. In fact I followed the link to the "missing library" troubleshooting from that fs_eep page.

I have already discovered the MP set of old Windlights. Putting one of those collections into Settings does make them then appear in the Quick Prefs, so at least I can set a windlight envrionment again.

Somthing is clearly very wrong here though... I still have nothing in the Library where these things should be. If they were not in the Official viewer, I could file a support ticket with LL as per the troubleshooting page. But they are... they are just missing from FS so, I'm stuck now.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Rick Daylight

[Rowan Amore]

11 minutes ago, Rick Daylight said:

Yes, clearing the inventory cache is part of the troubleshooting steps. I did that. Via FS's menu, and manually.

The Settings folder is as empty as the Library/Environment folders, because the database is missing/not loading/whatever. In fact I followed the link to the "missing library" troubleshooting from that fs_eep page.

I have already discovered the MP set of old Windlights. Putting one of those collections into Settings does make them then appear in the Quick Prefs, so at least I can set a windlight envrionment again.

Somthing is clearly very wrong here though... I still have nothing in the Library where these things should be. If they were not in the Official viewer, I could file a support ticket with LL as per the troubleshooting page. But they are... they are just missing from FS so, I'm stuck now.

Did you clear Inventory cache specifically?  Any time I'm missing entire folders, this fixes it.  That and rebooting my modem fix it every time.

[Aishagain]

In the Firestorm wki there is a specific note about missing inventory and the missing environments are no different.  You have already noted that the environments are visible in the Linden Viewer and therefore this is a Firestorm issue, which is quite common and a right royal PITA. 

Please look at the url I attach: https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/fs_missing_inventory

This has among its options one that involves copying the uncorrupted inventory file (a .gz file bearing your avatar key).  that "should" solve the issue.

The fact that this issue persists suggests that either the FS devs do not know why it is occurring or have not yet devised a suitable fix.

[Rick Nightingale]

3 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

Did you clear Inventory cache specifically?  Any time I'm missing entire folders, this fixes it.  That and rebooting my modem fix it every time.

Yes, I cleared inventory cache specifically, as I said. I've never, in 12 years here, known rebooting my modem or router to fix anything other than a dead PPPoE or dropped line to my telco/ISP, both of which are a bit obvious. I run a business class connection with both an IPv4 routed subnet (all my PCs have static NAT to an individual public IPv4) and /48 IPv6 prefix. There's no overloading of my router which is capable of 4Gbps NAT speed and is always one of the first things I look at if anything is going wrong. Every other PC here is running Firestorm as expected; it's just the installation on this (my main) PC that's lost the plot. It's not my network or modem.

3 hours ago, Aishagain said:

Please look at the url I attach: https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/fs_missing_inventory

Thanks, I tried that expecting it to work, but no. After copying my account's file from today's login with the LL viewer to Firestorm's folder and overwriting the one there, I still only get empty Library/Environment* folders in Firestorm. But then... I do not get the missing environment files on any account logged in on this PC; three of mine and two of my wife's. That would point to it not being an issue with the account's cache file, but something more fundamental in the viewer.

Have you wondered why my profile's subtitle here is "Bugfinder General"? 🤣

Edit to add: Actually, I've just realized that I'm missing almost the entire Library contents. All the textures are missing, as are things like Linden Trees - they were there a week ago; I used them!

Edited January 15, 2022 by Rick Daylight

[Rick Nightingale]

OK, having realized the lack of all Library files, I took drastic action and wiped my entire cache folder (except textures; kept that subfolder). That worked... after reloading my inventory the Library folders are back (along with the Environment files).

Clearly the problem was with a file other than the inventory cache file, but since I don't know which file could have caused the problem to happen in all the accounts' inventories, simultaneously, wiping everything seemed a quick way to fix it. So far, so good. Shame it came to that though.

[Aishagain]

@Rick Daylightwell, that's not what I was expecting. At least a drastic action has yielded a result...as to why... I must leave you to the Firestorm Devs.   This is beyond me.  Sorry.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Aishagain

[Rick Nightingale]

@AishagainYou tried to help, no need to be sorry

It was worth a try; not your fault it didn't work. I do wonder what file it was causing it for all of the accounts, but sometimes I just want to get on with stuff and not spend my time troubleshooting. Today was one of those days, lol.

[Aishagain]

@Rick Daylight, one thing that does occur to me is that I think environments are classed as assets similar to objects and thus clearing the object cache as you will have done with a total cache clear may have cleared some corruption in the object cache.  Don't take this as expert opinion, it's not, as Whirly Fizzle and Beq Janus will readily concur!

[Beq Janus]

I've not had time to read and digest all this thread in detail, but I can confirm what @Aishagainsays, which is that EEP environments are first class assets and so it could well be that the assets in the asset cache were in a mess and clearing those cleaned it up.