For whatever it's worth, I did read/search the resolve manual on databases and found it very lacking. Theres some basics on how to set up a database but very little other information. Specifically this was not adequate to resolve the problem, which is why i posted up here.
Heres what i found in the manual.....
Reconnecting Databases You Previously Disconnected
Unlike the Project Manager in DaVinci Resolve, the DaVinci Resolve Project Server application shows
you every single DaVinci Resolve database on your computer, whether it’s connected to Resolve or
not. For this reason, it’s a good way to find the names of databases that have been disconnected,
either deliberately or accidentally, in order to reconnect them.
To reconnect any database on your workstation:
1 Open the DaVinci Resolve Project Server application.
2 Find the database you want to reconnect in the Databases list at the left.
3 Open DaVinci Resolve.
4 When the Project Manager window appears, open the Databases sidebar, and then drag the
database you want to reconnect from the DaVinci Resolve Project Server window to the Database
list of the Project Manager. That database is reconnected and appears in the Database list.
ok......where are the databases located in the OS so that I can recconect them? Specifically what folder do i need to select? what the heck is the Project server window?
There's some other stuff there that makes me shake my head but thats really lacking a a ton of necessary detail to fix the issue.
for comparison heres Avid's training center site
https://www.avid.com/tutorials
3 rows down in the middle is a video called part 1 setting up your project. It goes into the OS and explains how avid works. The information provided by BM pales in comparison to what avid provides.
I don't come around here often but if the database issues is throwing off multiple users then thats something BM might want to address. Especially in light of how their competition is handling its tutorials.
But I agree the UI isn't helpful either. I get the feeling that the database structure was designed by an IT engineer and not from a post production workflow.