I just cannot get the toolset to work. First I had trouble installing it at all because of the path issues that come with the GOG version, but I was able to use GOG's provided tool to fix that. But once I managed to do that I had trouble successfully installing the 2005 SQL. I even tried to install the SQL separately and it keeps failing because of this or that. I manage to get the toolset installed but it can't find the database, even when I run the toolset configuration thing. I assume this is because SQL 2005 won't install properly. This is very frustrating.

So I am just curious, has anybody else managed to succeed in doing this? For my part, I'm about to just give up.

Yep, I've managed to get it working with almost no problems. But it was the boxed edition (with all expansions and patches). I have the GOG version, but never installed it. I presume it should work however as someone tested it for sure.

Realized I hadn't installed the toolkit yet so gave it a shot. Worked just fine. Here's how:

1) Open a command prompt as Administrator
2) Navigate to your dao_toolset folder and run regkey-switch.cmd, pressing Y when prompted
3) Run the DragonAgeToolset1.01Setup.exe, accepting the defaults
4) If you have Origin installed, follow steps 1 and 2 again to remove the registry key

You should see a link to the toolkit in your start menu. You may also get prompted to update SQL Server Express - your call, I didn't do that yet. I also didn't install the EclipseRay portion of things yet. System is running Windows 10 1809 build.

Hope this helps. =)

Flynn

I appreciate the response, unfortunately its not working for me. I have gotten it to install but now I can't get passed the "Unable to Connect to the Database" error. Very frustrating.

Frankly, I really just want to install it so I can edit my save. And what I want to edit is is my inventory capacity. What the game gives us, even with upgrades, is simply not enough in my opinion. This is the only way I know of to work around that. Can't do it though if I can't successfully open the toolset.

Anyway, thanks again for trying to help me. :)

You can edit your saved game with GffEditor.exe from the Dragonage\tools folder.
Under SAVEGAME_PARTYLIST
SAVEGAME_MAX_ITEMS
Value in pic shows 125, just change it to what you want.
See pic

Yeah, I think at this point it's revese the steps you took to try and install it, clean up any resisdual fo;es ;eft behind and try it again. Which can be a royal pain. =(

Flynn

Thanks, it worked! It requires the toolset to be installed for that particular tool to show up, but it works without needing to have the SQL sever working so I have what I needed. Thanks again! I think if I could figure out how to make the more recent SQL server updates point to the game database and vice versa, it would still work but I just don't know how to do that. Oh well, while frustrating, at least I can access the game editor which is what I really needed. Thanks again for your help! Hopefully at some point I can figure this out.

Hi, I also couldn't nstall it, the toolset says "path not found", but I solved it!

About SQL 2005 problems, simply install SQL 2008, it works. I've used SQL 2008 several times but with the DAO EA Origin version, and I can confirm that it works, but just recently I bought the GOG version, and installed the Galaxy version and it doesn't work.

I also can confirm that the toolset installs correctly with the manual installer of DAO (the .exe file, not the Galaxy download), at least it used to work.

But if you'd like to use the toolset with the Galaxy version, then:

The solution is: go to the GOG website, in the Downloads section of the game (Dragon Age Origins) download the Toolset, it's a .zip file, extract it, you'll find the instructions in a text file.

You have to run the regkey-switch.cmd file to change the registry of DAO to the old path, then you can install the Toolset, then you can run again the regkey-switch.cmd to revert the path to the GOG Galaxy path.

To run the regkey-switch.cmd file:

1) Open a command prompt as Administrator.
2) Navigate to the folder where is the regkey-switch.cmd, and run it, by pressing Y when prompted.
Example:
I created in c: a folder called DAO_Toolset_GOG, then put the .cmd file in there, so my command to run it would be:
c:\DAO_Toolset_GOG\regkey-switch.cmd
Press Y

3) Next, run the executable DragonAgeToolset1.01Setup.exe, unselect SQL 2005 SP3, install SQL 2008 instead.

4) If you have Origin installed, to prevent Origin from changing files in the Dragon Age Origins (Galaxy install) then run again the .cmd file to remove the registry key, example:
c:\DAO_Toolset_GOG\regkey-switch.cmd
Press Y

Done!

Enjoy your Dragon Age Origins (GOG Galaxy version) with the Toolset installed.

:-)

P.S. While you could use any SQL version after 2005 (2008, 2010, 2019, etc.) I recommend SQL 2008 because if you only need SQL for the DAO Toolset, then the SQL 2008 version is the smallest (and the minimum that Windows 10 will run), so that way you don't waste too much space on your storage drive.

to run the edit tool in Gog version some Windows 10 users will need support for older networks first
see image

DAO TOOLSET & SQL SOLUTION AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE "CONVENTIONAL" ONES ON THE INTERNET

JUST AS A PREFACE, THIS IS JUST A QUARTER OF THE ORIGINAL POST, AS GOG DOESN'T LET ME WRITE THAT MUCH. YOU CAN FIND THE WHOLE POST ON NEXUS FORUM IN "TOOLSET HELP! REQUIERED", LOOK FOR "AliceQuinn". I TRIED TO COVER AT LEAST MOST OF THE TROUBLESHOOTING PART IN HERE, BUT YOU WON'T GET THE RUN DOWN OF THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION, JUST THE MENTIONING IN THE BEGINNING. ALSO NO LINKS HERE AS GOG DOESN'T LET ME POST THEM

Hi, everyone,
so I'm sitting in front of my PC for 6 days in a row now and finally I managed to get everything to run.

What I did now is called a Dual Boot. It's the process by installing a second OS on your pc, so you can switch from one too another any time you want in their full form. So everytime I boot my PC now, an option pops up on the display for me to choose between Windows 7 and Windows 10.

In the end, now that I tinkered with this tool in a million different ways, I can tell you exactly what the issue is with the Toolset.

For starters - it doesn't matter where you install SQL, and what version you install, even 2008, 2012, 2015, or 2018. Some people said that they got it running just by installing fresher SQL, and either they didn't tell everything, or it was just my case. The thing is, that SQL as a program needs settings to be turned on in Windows of any version, or your system to download extra components/software, whatever it all was. Per default mine were all turned of in Windows 10 as well as in Windows 7. Maybe it was just me, but the thing is, that I NEVER have been to this section of Windows before and I never messed around in that section. Either it's a part of a big conspiracy, or this people had this options on and extra components from previous tinkering, installation, etc. Not that hard to be forced to, really, I am also forced to do this all the time on Windows 10.

Secondly - if you turn on the option in the Toolset installer for SQL to be installed (which you shouldn't, as I'll explain it in a moment), the Toolset will use the default configuration for the database location that will be different from yours. When you install SQL manually, your Service will be called "Computer Name"/SQLEXPRESS, while ToolsetConfig.exe has .\BWDATOOLSET. Because of this your SQL database DOESN'T HAVE the content for the Toolset in the first place. You installed blank Program, what should the Toolset use? So in order for all to work you have to create a databank, put the content in it that is luckily included in the installed Toolset files, and then navigate with the ToolsetConfig.exe of your Toolset to the databank.

Third - after you've done this, we are still not finished. The register entry, that all except for GOG users have per default (the GOG users have a file in the downloaded folder that they have to RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR, otherwise CMD will show a wrong error text) is set to the default databank of the toolset. We need to navigate this too..... and after that (or actually rather before, but that doesn't matter, I'll tell everything in the proper order in a sec) we have to navigate the Toolset to the correct game installation path, that at least for me was wrong.

SO, WHAT DOES THE TOOLSET NEED EXACTLY:

IN GENERAL:

0.1) It's not me, the wiki say's that it's best to do a manual install[. The Toolset setup brings SQL installation on, but SQL doesn't tell if everything went according to plan. It only says "I am finished", which can also mean "I failed at every corner, and ended the setup". Actually I wouldn't have gotten this thing to work ever in my life, if I hadn't started to do a manual installation, because of how much it is that one must edit as you can see. You can't find out this stuff with one single error message from the Toolset.exe after installation. If you want to keep trying to get it working the simple and quick way, be my guest and keep trying to search in all this forums with everyone else clinging on that one person who says, that he got it running by installing a later version, or something like that. Maybe it is that simple, maybe they already had made all the following steps in the past, maybe I'm just nuts. But none of the forums got me anywhere, only by doing the manual installation with the guidance of wiki.

ONLY FOR GOG USERS:

0.2) The Toolset depends on registry entries, which are by default always installed with the game, except for the GOG version. Those users have to run the register file included with the tool AS ADMINISTRATORS (otherwise the CMD will show something totally different). If you ran the register file multiple times, chances are that you also deleted the entry again, since the file does creation and deletion of this. When you run the file, it should say "Path not found. Do you want to create?" press Y. If it says that the path is already there, it gives you the option to delete it. Self explanatory. You will find out soon enough if you have the entry, you don't have to have it from the beginning, so just keep this section in mind and move forward.

NOW FOR ALL:

1) Install Dragon Age Origins, download the Toolset from your vendor (probably in "extra" section - it is at least in GOG), install the Toolset WITHOUT THE OPTIONS "INSTALL MS SQL EXPRESS 2005 SP3" AND "RESTORE THE DEFAULT DATABASE" (UNCHECK THEM).

2) Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features and on the left side click "Turn Windows features on and off". There go to "Internet Information Services" and just check EVERYTHING in there. Now you should have IIS7 installed on your PC (in Windows 10 it's IIS6 for god knows what reasons, but same procedure), and when you type ISS in the search field you'll see "Internet Information Services". Run as admin, on the left go to "View Application Pools/Set Application Pool Defaults". Choose "Enable 32-Bit Application" and set it to "true".

3) Download SQL (I did this with SQL 2005 on my Windows 7, on Windows 10 I tried 2005: not compatible, 2008: loads something, and then nothing happens, hell I don't know if my PC is full of junk now, since this stuff flies somewhat through the whole system, find leftovers everywhere...; 2012: error; for some reason even 2018 had an error, I don't get what's wrong with this system....). You need Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Service Pack 4 (or similar) & Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express (64 or 32-bit) (or similar).

Use the default settings everywhere, don't change anything as it is stated like this on Toolset Wiki. It was a bit too much for me to play around with, and luckily Windows 10 didn't even let me this far, otherwise I had 1000 things to try out to potentially get it to work....

4) Now type in the search field "SQL Server Manager" and open it AS ADMINISTRATOR. In the middle field, the big screaming letters is your Server Name. Right-click on "Databases" in the window below and choose "New Database". Type "bw_dragonage_content" as Database name and click okay. Now you have the area the Toolset will search for content, but the content itself is missing. Luckily the Toolset installs a backup of it's database with the rest of the files. Right-click on the new "bw_dragonage_content" and choose "Tasks/Restore/Database". Switch to "From device" and navigate to "...\Dragon Age Origins\tools\dbbak" and choose "bw_dragonage_content.bak". DON'T CLICK "OKAY"!!! On the left click on "Options" and choose "Overwrite the existing database". Now click "okay", BUT DON'T CLOSE THE MANAGER!

5) Go to "....\Dragon Age Origins\tools" and open "ConfigureToolset.exe". In Win32 Game Build navigate to your game folder, NOT THE TOOLSET FOLDER (my path was totally messed up). Click next. Uncheck "Use the default database" and click on the three dots. In "Select or enter a server name" copy your Server Name (the screaming letters in the Manager, or on the left side if you are not in the root folder). Don't copy the whole String, only what comes before the brackets. Me as example: THISPC\SQLEXPRESS (SQL Server 9.0.5000 - ThisPC\Alice Quinn), my Server Name is THISPC\SQLEXPRESS. Copy the string to the Data Link Properties of ConfigureToolset that you had opened. Make sure that "Select the database on the server" states "bw_dragonage_content", which is the name of your databank. Now click "Test connection". If it succeeds, congrats, everything exists and is working! Click "okay", BUT DON'T CLICK "NEXT"!

This is one of those ways how you rule out what the issue with the Toolset is. At this point, it can't be missing files

6) Now the only thing that's left is to edit the register, as it was installed with the default path (now is the point were GOG users should start to remember). Press Windows button & R together. This should bring the Run windows out. Alternatively just use the search menu. Type "regedit" and run it. The register window should show up. Navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\BioWare\Dragon Age\Toolset\Environment". You should see "DefaultDatabaseConnection" in the big window. Double click on it. Now bring out the ConfiguteTool program and copy the new generated database path between "Database" and "...". Replace the content of "DefaultDatabaseConnection" with it. Click okay and close the register. Click next and finished in the ConfigureTool.

Run the Toolset, it should work now. If there are errors, but "Test connection" in point 5 succeeded - the issue is not installation, SQL, missing files, or not able to connect. Only the proper naming and path, or compatibility in case of Windows 10, which is, well - that's what I warned you about. If you want to get it running, my alternative solution continues on Nexus Forum. For all who got it solved...

CONGRATS YOU'RE DONE

Thank you, it works perfectly.
Your explanations are very clear even for me who doesn't speak English very well.

Wow, this actually worked. Took me about an hour in total, but amazing job and an even better documentation of what you did and it's process. Thank god for the Internet sometimes and the fact that posts like this remains for everyone else to see.