Support

Akeeba Backup for Joomla!

#9226 Unable To Backup My Site

Posted in ‘Akeeba Backup for Joomla! 4 & 5’
This is a public ticket

Everybody will be able to see its contents. Do not include usernames, passwords or any other sensitive information.

Environment Information

Joomla! version
n/a
PHP version
n/a
Akeeba Backup version
n/a

Latest post by nicholas on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 17:43 CST

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 11:41 CST

user27870
Mandatory information about my setup:

Have I read the related troubleshooter articles above before posting (which pages?)? Yes
Have I searched the forum before posting? Yes
Have I read the documentation before posting (which pages?)? Yes
Joomla! version: 1.5.25
PHP version: 5.2
MySQL version: 5.0
Host: GoDaddy
Akeeba Subscriptions version: Akeeba Backup Core 3.3.10


Description of my issue:
I have been unable to back up one of my sites for months. I keep receiving a 500 internal server error. I have gone through all of the troubleshooting tips, to no avail. I have also uninstalled and reinstalled and also used the configuration wizard. Still nothing. Attached is a screenshot of the message I'm receiving. Thanks in advance for your help.

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 11:58 CST

nicholas
You have posted this thread in the wrong forum. I will move it for you. You are requesting support for Akeeba Backup, not Akeeba Subscriptions.

You also forgot to ZIP and attach your backup log file. Without it I can not help you other than (unsuccessfully) guessing random things :)

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 12:05 CST

user27870
I am unable to generate my backup log file. I keep receiving an internal server error when I click on the view log button. Is there another way to get this info?

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 12:08 CST

nicholas
First, an important question. Do you get a 500 error when clicking on the Backup Now page? If you do, please go to your site's back-end, Help, Server Info and paste your PHP version here (I need an exact number, e.g. 5.2.11, not something vague like PHP 5 or even PHP 5.2 – the last digit matters!).

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 12:23 CST

user27870
Yes, I'm receiving a 500 error message when backing up. Here's the full PHP info: 5.2.14

Sorry I forgot to include it earlier. I've been using Akeeba for quite some time on all of my sites, but this is my first time running into to this issue.

Thanks again!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 12:36 CST

nicholas
No log was uploaded :( Can you please try uploading it to a free file hosting facility like DropBox or Windows Live SkyDrive and paste a link here?

Moreover, let me clarify me previous question. I understand that when you click on the Backup Now you are taken to the backup page, where you click the button there. Then you receive the 500 error. Is this correct? Or do you get the error immediately after clicking the "Backup Now" icon in Akeeba Backup's Control Panel page?

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 12:52 CST

user27870
Yes to the first question: I understand that when you click on the Backup Now you are taken to the backup page, where you click the button there. Then you receive the 500 error. Is this correct?

Regarding the log file, because of the error I receive after trying to do a backup, when I click on the view log button, I don't get the actual file, I'm just taken to a 500 Internal Error page.

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 13:21 CST

nicholas
OK, a log file should be available in your backup output directory. By default, it is the administrator/components/com_akeeba/backup directory in your site's root. The backup log file is named akeeba.backend.log. If you do not see it there, please let me know!

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 13:33 CST

user27870
It's not there. The only one there is from Nov. 8th.

The only file I see with today's date on it is the .htaccess one. What now? This is so frustrating! :(

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 14:08 CST

nicholas
OK, it's time to call the big guns. You'll have to send me a Personal Message (I am user "nicholas") with the following information:
- The URL to your site's administrator
- Super Administrator username and password
- If you can provide FTP connection information it will be suer helpful and will help me to help you much faster
- A link back to this thread so that I know exactly why you're sending me the PM

Thank you in advance!

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 14:16 CST

user27870
Just sent you a PM. Thanks.

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 15:13 CST

nicholas
Other than the fact that your server is DEAD SLOW (about 50 –yes, fifty!– times slower than this site's run-of-the-mill VPS) there is no bug in the software (if it were a bug, it'd be repeatable all the time). I am actually able to see your backup log file without a problem (a couple of times it timed out with a 500 error, but I am always able to use the download button). I just have to wait a few minutes after the backup fails.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the observation which breaks the case! The backup fails because your host triggers what is commonly referred to as CPU usage limit. The backup is a resource intensive process. Your host is GoDaddy, affectionally referred to by yours truly as CrapDaddy. If I had a dime for every GoDaddy-related issue I've seen with my and others' software I'd probably be swimming in gold coins like Scrooge McDuck. *sigh* This host is known for cramming 3,000-5,000 sites on a single server (industry average: 1,000 sites per server; quality hosts: 100-500 sites per server). In order to allow all those sites to all run on a single machine they impose very strict CPU usage limits. If you bust them, your account is suspended for a few minutes.

Unfortunately, the only solution is to move to a quality host. I strongly recommend CloudAccess.net, iRedHost or Rochen. They might seem a tad more expensive, but they are faster and much more secure than GoDaddy.

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 15:20 CST

user27870
Ha! I knew it had to be a CrapDaddy issue! I convinced my bosses to switch over to Rochen for our main site earlier this year. Still working on getting them to move this one too.

Is there anything I can do in the meantime to A) Speed up the site and B) Temporarily fix the backup inability? Since this problem occured, I have been backing up using CrapDaddy's but I'd much rather stick with you guys.

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 15:22 CST

nicholas
Not much, since the problem is caused by the host's server setup. The only workaround is upgrading to a higher package, but does it really make sense? With 8$/month you can go to Rochen and they have infinitely better service (and much faster servers).

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 16:30 CST

user27870
Very true! Thanks Nicholas!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 17:43 CST

nicholas
You're welcome :)

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

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