Topic: How can I restore smf forum from a backup?

[GeneMoore]

How can I restore smf forum from a backup?

It is easy to backup my smf-forum to my PC from the Admin section.

How can I restore it if I need to?

Thanks!

Gene

[青山 素子]

The Online Manual is a good thing to read.

Restoring a Database

[GeneMoore]

          Thanks!  Have a great day!   

,
Dear One!
I sincerely appreciate your response!  Thank you!  However, at my age I do not wish to become an expert on database (been there/done that/now obsolete technology).....  If you can just say  do this, do this, do this please.  Thanks!   Gene
PS.  Maybe if I make it more clear as to what I am doing, you, or someone else can relate.
1.  I set up and am admin for an smf-forum, hosted on bluehost.com
2.  Everything is going well, and folks are populating the categories/boards.
3.  I have used the administrator screen, Forum Maintenance, make backups utility, 3 times now, and it runs swiftly and backs up my stuff to my PC, as a compressed .GZ file into a file folder I named "smf-forum-backup".
4.  Question:  How can I restore a .GZ compressed file from my PC to the file folder on bluehost.com sub-directory named smf-forum.  I know how to get to that sub-directory on bluehost.com, and I can look at all my stuff there.  I am just not clear, as to how to replace all my stuff, with the backed-up stuff in that .GZ compressed file.   Please advise.  Thanks!  Gene

[Harro]

Well, the manual does say exactly what you have to do:

If you have cPanel on your host you can access phpMyadmin by logging into cPanel, usually at an address like: mysite.com/cpanel or mysite.com:2083.

Once you are logged in, click on the "MySQL Databases" button.
Scroll to the bottom of that page and click on the link that says phpMyAdmin.
From there, click on the drop-down box on the left side of the page under Database and select the database name that corresponds to the database that your SMF Forum uses.
Upon selecting your database, click on the tab near the top of the page that says "SQL".
From there, click on the Choose button under Location of the textfile and browse for your database's SQL file on your local computer.
Once that's completed, click on Go.
 If you encounter any errors upon uploading your database, consult the SMF support forum.

Also, the database isn't stored in a file on the server. You have to use something like phpMyadmin for that.

[青山 素子]

Dear One!
I sincerely appreciate your response!  Thank you!  However, at my age I do not wish to become an expert on database (been there/done that/now obsolete technology).....  If you can just say  do this, do this, do this please.  Thanks!   Gene

It is difficult to give a single set of instructions because every host is a little different. The Online Manual tries to give the most common situation, which should work in most cases.

You don't need to be an expert in databases to restore from a backup, but you do need to know a little bit, and that little bit won't hurt you. I encourage you to either do just a bit of reading, or find someone who already knows and can help you if you should ever need it.

Now, the most common tool is called phpMyAdmin, and most webhosts have it installed for their customers somewhere. If you can't find it, ask your host, they can show you where it is.

What is phpMyAdmin?

[Perrine]

I agree with Harro....

Simple steps for simple minds. 

 

[青山 素子]

I agree with Harro....

Simple steps for simple minds. 

How do you function in daily life?

What happens when a road is blocked on your way to some place. Do you panic because you don't know the next step, or do you take a detour route? What about if a signal is not working, do you suddenly not know what to do?

Documenting every possibility to restore a database would require quite a lot of time and work. Some hosts have phpMyAdmin access in a different area, or use a different tool. Some places have their own custom tool for managing databases. Heck, even if you can count on a tool like phpMyAdmin, it is slightly different between versions.

The documentation I pointed to gives a good overview of what you will want to do and how to go about it. Read it slowly, understand how the steps work. If your area looks a bit different, look it over and find something similar that matches. You use your intellect every day to figure out things, this isn't any different.

[Perrine]

What a nasty and demeaning reply from someone who claims to be a Support Team Mentor-Support Specialist! You claim to be a Mentor? What a laugh!. There are many of us struggling to understand what may appear to be simple procedures to yourself.  Let me point out that some members may be from other than English speaking cultures and having difficulty with the language and terminology.

Your comment is just plain discourteous, unprofessional, and disrespectful.  Creep is a term that comes to mind.

I'm sure you will sanitize this post and remove my comments, but I sure hope you take note of them.

[Harro]

I actually agree with Motoko-chan.
Documenting every possible situation is almost impossible and useless to do...
If you write a step-by-step guide (do this, then that then that,..) you'll get more complaints that somebody can't find step 3, while in that situation it could be skipped for example.
That's why the documention should give a general overview of the required steps, and rely on peoples common sence to do the required steps.
And if you then make a mistake or got question, the support team (or the community itself) will be very happy to guide you further.
Buty ou can't expect that they write documention that covers every single situation, for every single host/admin panel, every type of server,...

And if you're not from an english speaking culture (like me) you can always visit the language specific boards for help.

[青山 素子]

What a nasty and demeaning reply from someone who claims to be a Support Team Mentor-Support Specialist! You claim to be a Mentor? What a laugh!. There are many of us struggling to understand what may appear to be simple procedures to yourself.  Let me point out that some members may be from other than English speaking cultures and having difficulty with the language and terminology.

Yes, and I respect that. If the instructions as posted are unclear they should be revised. If the person is having difficulty with the terms, they are welcome to ask on the terms. There are also the language-specific boards for assistance.

At most, a website host should be able to help out. You pay them for hosting and support, why not use it?

Personally, I am of the mind that if you can't be bothered to learn about the basic tools needed for administration of something, you shouldn't be running it.

Your comment is just plain discourteous, unprofessional, and disrespectful.  Creep is a term that comes to mind.

Perhaps, but I had advised you to contact your host for help if the general instructions did not work. Do remember that not every host does things the exact same way, but they also know best how their system works. You were the one that said you had a simple mind, not I.

I'm sure you will sanitize this post and remove my comments, but I sure hope you take note of them.

I do not censor, nor do I sanitize (unless there is stuff like passwords or other sensitive material). I find it insulting that you would accuse me of that with no evidence.



Edit: Thanks for seeing the point in my post, Harro.

[Perrine]

You are very flip in your comments and the term "Pompous" comes to mind.  Unfortunately many "hosts" have the same attitude you do and are of no help at all.   I do not appreciate your comments in concern to a lack of desire to learn on my part... taking your quote... "I find that insulting".  I certainly hope you find yourself in the same predicament in search for guidance.  You reap what you sow; you have no business being on a support board.    I did take note of your childish response in quoting my comments in my report of complaint, as it appears you are the moderator.  Have no fear, my complaint will reach the right ears.  Again someone with your attitude has no business being a "Mentor" or in any kind of support function. 

[SleePy]

perrine,

Motoko-chan is a very experienced SMF user and dedicates some of his time to helping out users to his best ability.
While we try to provide you with as much information as possible it isn't always possible to provide every step possible for things that are beyond our control.
Such as restoring a backup. We provide documenation on this but every host uses a different control panel. Some use cPanel, webadmin, plesk, and places like godaddy their own created control panel.
So it is impossible for us to provide documentation on all sorts of control panels for such things like restores.

Our Community is made up of users so if you would like feel free to comment on our documentation and provide information for other users like the location of such and such for X host. It does greatly help our community when others can provide information we are not able to though we do try our best which is why the more common control panel was used. Most hosts seem to be using cPanel so providing documentation on this helps out a lot of our users, which sadly will not help all users but it does leave them hints where they may find it in their own control panel.

Your host is your greatest source of knowledge how to do something like a restore to your site. They will know more about this than we can provide and should be contacted when you have questions about restoring something like the mysql database and such..

With that all said. phpMyAdmin, Bidump, and create_backup.php/restore_backup.php are useful tools you should checkout that may work to restore a database backup.

[Perrine]

"Your host is your greatest source of knowledge how to do something like a restore to your site. They will know more about this than we can provide and should be contacted when you have questions about restoring something like the mysql database and such.." 

My host denies any knowledge on this subject after about 7 phone calls to their tech support.  Yes, they stink.

Therefore; I have turned to the Forum. 

My complaint is not the quality of information provided or lack of it... I completely understand that you cannot hold everybodys hand; I have a problem with the nasty snide remarks of Motoko-chan.

Aside from that, Ia very helpful moderator on the forum came to my assistance me with the process and I bless his/her little pointy head.  It took all of ten minutes.  No thanks to Motoko-Chan.

[SleePy]

Perrine,

Please don't be rude to the Motoko-Chan. He is apart of our Support Team and only was trying to help.

If your host isn't offering much help it may be time to think of a new host. If you occur a similar problem in the future they again most likely wouldn't be helping you and you would be back to problems trying to get it fixed.

What backup programs have you tried? BigDump, phpmyadmin, restore_backup.php (user here made script)

[Perrine]

Sleepy;  Please read post # 6 and then tell me I am being rude.  "How do I function in daily life"?   His comments were downright nasty and demeaning.  If anyone is owed an apology it is towards myself.   No my host is not much help and no I will not be renewing with  them...what is surprizing is that they are a known name and not some offside reseller.   As I said another "Kind" soul gave me good guidance and the issue is resolved for me.

[Harro]

To be honest I still fail to see what was so nasty about that.
It was a question, not an insult.
But it's probably better if I keep my mouth shut 

On a side note, who is your host?

[msginabttl]

Well,I manage after 2 hours of reading and searching your forum to find out where php admin is on my host. and i tried to follow your instructions.I selected what I believed to be a file and then went to sql but could not find the "choose button to select the fgzip file i have on my pc.I think the lack of a restore button in the forum maintenance and the lack of information right there is wasting customers time as well as your support time.People that are downloading your forum and then are by default becoming "administrator"are not experts on forums.Clearly this forum has to many possibilities for screw ups and no easy way to restore them.I don't see how you think you can reach mainstream pc user when your products have to many variables to cope with for the ordinary person.Any useful information to a particular subject is hidden under layers of useless ,none relevant information short of having a paid support group function where you can actually demand that you get your money worth,how can you ever compete with a for profit business that depends on it's customer for survival.I believe that this forums ,as great as they are when and if they work will be just for those of you that like to tinker with script.When I spend all my time getting your product working and being frustrated and no time on being creative and producing anything that can be useful ,then what is the point of your product?

[Harro]

We can't tell you where phpMyadmin is on your host, you should've contacted them about it instead of spending 2 hours here.
As mentioned before, different hosts can use different control panels.
And different control panels means different ways to restore backups.
It's impossible for the documentation team to cover every single control panel that a host can use. That's also the reason that we (people that give support) often have to say "contact your host about it".

And I believe that people who want to run a forum should not become experts, but they should be willing to learn how things work.
Installing and running a forum can't be compared with a general PC usage. There are way to many things that could lead to problems, like different server configurations, different php/mysql version and so one. There is not much SMF can do about that either.

If you don't want to learn it, then you can become a charter members and we'll do it for you.

Just curious, is SMF the first forum you used, or did you also try phpBB, vB,.. ?
And what's your opinion about these then?

[msginabttl]

I did not know tha I could become a charter member and thatit had certain benefit compared to what I am now.I have only used your forum as a user and I liked the setup .I have never used or being a administrator of any other forum so as I said before I am new to this.I clearly understand that.I started to use computer 1989 before there was even a internet and I think I am a little more than the average pc user,but whats in here is clearly beyond what I know .I am willing to learn and I did find the php admn panel ,I also followed your instruction given here in the forum but in the panel itr referd to a "SQL button" and said after thI hit that one should look for a choose button and dowload the backup file from my pc.I could not find that button.I read your forum and I see alot of post by peoplethat are far more experienced than me and still get in trouble,the volume of problem I understand is a result of a forum that is evolving and open to many variables where one fix in ones forum are having consequences for another user .I have a main domain where this forum was installed on and the problem started when I added same forum to my sub domain but with different content.

[codenaught]

GeneMoore, msginabttl, I'm going through old unresolved topics, do either of you still need help with this?