After what seems like forever, the site is back up and running. Sorry folks!
For those who missed it (whew), it all happened so fast. The next thing I knew the site was down because of an unknown database connection error and an unknown reason for it to happen (to me) because didn’t make any change to site (front- and back-end). All I know is that for more than 24 hours, I’ve been told by my previous host to wait for them to resolve it. I’ve called numerous times during the day and I kept hearing the same thing: “We do not have an update yet, but rest assured our administrators are working on it.” Until finally I got: “The issue has been resolved.” And yet, my sites were still down. How is that resolved? I put a temporary page up to notify site visitors of the problem, and two people from the hosting company said that they see my site has been fixed. I rest my case.
I switched to another host and restored most of everything already, but if something doesn’t work, please do let me know! Oh, and one other thing…I lost all comments since March 19. That is actually a more positive prognosis than the original heartbreak I had felt at the possibility of losing all comments. I almost couldn’t continue working when I saw that my most recent database backup did not have comments. It was the worst feeling in the world. Who knew I could be so attached to comments? It was like losing some very important memento. Well, you know what, they are. You are. What would the past 2 years be without all of you?
Moral of this mishap: Back up. Back up your blog/database. Back up your files. And something to note about backing up your WordPress blog: use the Export tool (that exports an xml file) to make your life less complicated should you need to install a new WordPress on your site and restore your blog. I restored everything using my .sql backups, but it would have been much quicker if I had the xml file.
I should have known better. I got lazy at some point and thought my web hosting company could not do much harm. Alas, I was wrong. And what a costly price to pay. Lost comments, and lost sleep.
Ah, well. Lesson learned.
Back to our regular programming. And for me, time to face the tax papers.
Joy I was heartbroken for you when I logged on earlier in the week and saw your message about being down :-(
How do you back up, what’s the process – as a relative newbie to WP, I need all the help I can get.
Glad you’re back and the damage wasn’t too bad xox
Mardi@eatlivetravelwrite´s last blog ..Books, Food and Wine
Thanks for being there with me in heartbroken-ness when things were literally down. It was a mess.
As for the backup, you can use the WP-DB-Backup plugin to create automatic, periodical backups of your database (in compressed/zip SQL form). You can also manually Export via the WordPress interface under Tools and it will have an XML file. The difference between the 2 lies in how you can restore your blog. For the WP-DB-Backup file, you need to use phpMyAdmin and possibly need to change some things on the DB file, to restore your entire blog into an old or fresh WP install. The XML file allows you to import the blog through the WP admin (=easier).
I’ll write a separate page for the tutorial next week with screenshots so that we can all have a reference for this. I’ve been reading more and more people having issues, and I for one need it just in case. :)
Oh, I so feel your pain on the lost comments. I lost *four years’ worth* when I had my site redesigned last year. I do have them in a database file, but they’re not public and they’re ridiculously hard to access (not sortable by blog post, for instance). It makes me so sad just to think about it. Thank your lucky stars to only lose a month’s worth!
And mazel tov for being back up & running. Scary, to have your site go down like that.
debbie´s last blog ..Back in the (Weight Watchers) Saddle, Again
Congratulations! I know what it feels like to lose comments on posts. I switched from blogspot to my own domain, and lost the comments on quite a few posts. It almost feels like my blog is incomplete! :)
Aparna´s last blog ..Brown Sugar Cardamom Shortbread Bars