php and mysql help needed. :( Forum probs

IXL · Post by **IXL** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:11 pm

Guys, this is kind of embarrasing, but I dont care. I need to sort this out and im running out of patience.

Can you help? Im going mad and bald with fustration here. Your more familair with myphp etc ...

OK, heres the picture... Sorry if this is long winded but I want to explain this as best I can so maybe you can help.

I'm rather newish to PHP and MySQL however I think im begining to grasp some of it now.

Heres the story.

My website forum hosting provider has an PHPBB2 auto-install facility which installs PHPBB 2.0.8 within a few clicks etc. It creates the MySQL database and its up in no time at all. I have recently plucked up the courage to update to PHPBB2 Plus 1.52 which has a portal and forum incorporated.

All is well and its been running fine until a freaky thing happened this morning. I was trying to do a similar install to a different location using the auto install so I could trial out some themes for it (safely) when it came up with "There was an error with the install". Subsequently, it fuxed up the existing portal/forum so It couldnt connect to the database. This drove me nuts, but luckerly I had backups from the day before. I did look into the database but really couldnt see where the problem lies. Anyway, ive since had to drop the database and start again.

I had 2 backup types. One was from within the admin panel within the forum itself. (full backup) The other was a complete backup from phpMyAdmin.

The problem:

The problem I have is that Ive managed to auto-install and update a fresh install to PHP Plus and restore the tables into the new database using phpMyAdmin backup. So far it all looks as it should and is up and running. However only the portal data is correct. The forum is blank. !!! The strange thing is that all the members and number of posts in the forum (1000 odd) are showing in the stats box of the portal, but when I click onto the forum, its just a blank forum as if it was a fresh install. No posts at all.

After this I dropped the tables in phpMyAdmin for the database and tried restoring it in phpMyAdmin using the backup I did from the forums own admin panel. This just times out and takes about 15 mins to say that. Ive tried this 5 times now, same result. I have also tried restoring using the forums admin panel php but eventually it says No File Was Uploaded.

Ive gone over and over and over all the admin panel settings and they all point to the right location. I really cant seem to see whats going on. Whats even stranger is that an Annoucement News Article is showing in the home page of the portal which is posted via the forum, but I cant access it from the forum because its blank.

Its as if the data is there, but the forum isnt looking for the data in the right place.

Anyone here able to help or suggest anything?

:what :roll :what

Heres a few screeny's.
Note the top posters box in the first image and the forum in the second image.

Post by **CyberDrac** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 5:29 pm

I'll leave this well alone until KF gets home from work ... he thinks in php and SQL, it's like a first language to him ... he also speaks the binary language of moisture vaporators

CD

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:38 pm

OK mate thanks for that.

Just for the record, the post data for the forums is in the database still in the database. Ive extracted the phpbb_text_data table via PhpMyAdmin and is shows all our post information. So somewhere along the line its not pointing to that data.

If I had time and a connection id try another install, but tbh, im quite certain ive done nothing wrong. It could be a glitch with the plus 1.52...?

If push comes to mega shove, I can do one of two things but it means loosing about a weeks work and post...

IXL · Post by **IXL** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:40 pm

It logged me out again...

lol

Post by **Kanonfodda** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 9:05 am

Hello matey, sorry it took so long to respond.

I don't know if you have resolved this or not, if not, heres the solution I found to the exact same problem.

As far as I am aware (this is certainly true of my host) there is a limit to the size of the file you can upload containing the SQL to execute, in both phpmyadmin and teh forum restore tool.

I have Never got a restore to work using the forum tools (I put this down to the hoster, rather than the forums). However, I have succesfulyl restored a database. You won't like how I did it though. As you say in your post, phpmyadmin times out before it can finish uploading/processing the file, so the solution is (you guessed it yet?) to break the file up into segments that the hosting server can handle (typically a table to each segment).

This does take a little whie to complete, but it is the only solution I have found.

If you don't feel confident, I am happy to help in any way I can. Be it carrying out the restore, or simply breaking up the backup into managable chunks for you.

anyway, thats the only solution I have found. Hope this helps matey.

KF

oh, and all forums except the troubleshooting are now registered users only for posting.

oh, if you want me to look at the setup, I am happy to do this as well.

IXL · Post by **IXL** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 11:56 pm

Im too tired to explain the latest. But will do later. Thanks for the help / ideas.

I'll let you know how i get on.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 2:36 pm

Hi fellas, just to let you know I have swapped hosts now and things are back up. Ive temp'd a forum from a backup from about a week ago and hope to update to Plus 1.52 as and when I get the time.

I never did manage to solve the problem I had, the only way I managed to get the existing board back up was via manage mysql and running queries to restore each table one by one, so thanks for that tip

Mind you it was a good excercise on understanding some of it. Think Ive learned a lot over this little episode.

Post by **Kanonfodda** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:18 am

No problem matey, glad I could help