Akeeba Backup for Joomla!

Monday, 19 December 2011 16:00 CST

user53652

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, all of them.
Joomla! version: 1.5.23
PHP version: 5.2.5
MySQL version: 5.0.92
Host:siteground
Akeeba Backup version: 3.3.10 (right now, i'm just using the core and not the pro version)

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Please attach a ZIP file containing your Akeeba Backup log file in order for us to help you with any backup or restoration issue. If the file is over 2Mb, please upload it on your server and post a link to it.

Description of my issue:

my backup file is v. large, and i cannot post to server due to the issue which is:
i'm in the middle of a backup and cant get out. the first part, kickstart, will not complete. first because of an unwriteable file put in there by siteground for backups. i removed it. but then it still wouldnt complete b/c it said the file was corrupted.

i think my site may be too large, or rather i dont have enough space to do a backup, so i wanted to reconfigure akeeba to create the backup in pieces, and see if that would help. but i cant get into the backend. only thing that comes up is akeeba backup installer, and it cannot finalize without kickstart doing its part.

ive tried removing all files that might prevent me from going into the regular backend of my site, but am unsuccessful.

Monday, 19 December 2011 16:25 CST

nicholas

Hm, I can't understand your support request. Do you have a problem backing up (take a copy of your site TO a backup archive) or restoring (create a site FROM a backup archive)? In your request you say that you are trying to backup, then you mention Kickstart (which is only used on restoration) not working, then you talk about Akeeba Backup Installer (which is extracted FROM the backup archive by Kickstart) then you say it can't complete without Kickstart working. All of that does not make any sense.

First tell me if I am correct when I suppose that what you are trying to do is restore a site. Then, please do tell me if you are restoring on the same or a different site. Also, please do tell me the steps you followed, one by one, and copy & paste the EXACT error messages you are receiving. If I can't understand what you're doing and you don't tell me the error messages you are receiving I can't help you.

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!

Monday, 19 December 2011 17:05 CST

user53652

i'm sorry, you are right. i am using kickstart. I am restoring on the same site.
First i created a backup file accessing the akeeba components in the backend of my site. the file was created just fine.
Next, i installed kickstart to my root directory, and opened it in a website (mysite.com/kickstart.php)
I hit start, choosing write directly, and the kickstart program began. it stopped on a file called zzzz_sg_2008.08.28, saying it was unrwriteable.

I deleted that file from the root directory and tried running kickstart again. it stopped again, this time saying "The archive file is corrupt, truncated or archive parts are missing."

Monday, 19 December 2011 17:21 CST

nicholas

OK, this now makes much more sense.

First, check if you have a multipart backup archive. In this case you have several files with an extension of .jpa, .j01, .j02 and so on. You will need to put all of them in your site's root to perform a restoration.

Another thing you have to check is that you have transferred all files from and to the server using FTP in binary transfer mode. Anything else could corrupt the files and cause this problem.

If this still doesn't help, you can try extracting your backup archive on your local PC using Akeeba eXtract Wizard, our desktop software for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux which allows you to extract JPA and ZIP backup archives created by Akeeba Backup. In this case, just upload all extracted files to your site's root and access the installation directory directly, e.g. http://www.example.com/installation/index.php. When you're done with the restoration, just remove the installation directory.

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!

Monday, 19 December 2011 17:42 CST

user53652

I do not have a multi-part backup. it was all just one file. Also, my FTP is set up for binary.

I did download the extract wizard, but i dont understand how it works. When Akeeba made a backup, it provided a link which downloaded the backup file locally to my computer.

The extract wizard seems to only be able to locate the archive file from on my computer and transfer it to another place on my computer, so i don't see the point, unless it is doing something in the process.

In any case, I have previously run the file through the extract wizard, but that has not changed the outcome.

I had thought that making some adjustments to the component would help, but I cannot make those as long as the backup is waiting for a response from kickstart.

Monday, 19 December 2011 18:06 CST

nicholas

Contradiction:

I do not have a multi-part backup. it was all just one file. Also, my FTP is set up for binary.

When Akeeba made a backup, it provided a link which downloaded the backup file locally to my computer.

This means that you did not download the backup archive using FTP. Correct?

Akeeba eXtract Wizard will extract the backup archive on your computer. If this works, the rest of the instructions were mentioned in my post:

just upload all extracted files to your site's root and access the installation directory directly, e.g. http://www.example.com/installation/index.php. When you're done with the restoration, just remove the installation directory.

Anyway, when you try Akeeba eXtract Wizard, do you get an error? And if so, what is the error message?

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!

Monday, 19 December 2011 18:30 CST

user53652

no, i did not download the archive using ftp. but i'm afraid i dont understand how to use the wizard, or where/when i would have used the wizard.

the link to the archive was available through the akeeba component on the backend of my site. Now, i cannot get to the backend of my site, or the frontend, becuase any time i type in the url, i am taken to the akeeba backup installer.

Now i have gone through all of the steps on the backup installer. and there were no errors. I clicked the link to automatically remove the installation directory, b/c trying to do it manually did not work for me.

but even that would not solve the fact that kickstart has errors. So i must be missing some understanding of the extract wizard.
I dont see how the extract wizard connects with anything other than my local computer (i.e. does it connect with the internet, or does it connect onto my website soemhow?)

Tuesday, 20 December 2011 03:00 CST

nicholas

Even though it's the third time I'm giving the same instructions, let's try a step by step approach.

STEP #1 : Extracting the backup archive on your PC
- Download the backup archive to your PC
- Run Akeeba eXtract Wizard
- The topmost textbox is titled "Archive file". Click the button to its far right.
- Locate the backup archive you downloaded and double click on it
- The textbox below is titled "Extract to folder". Click on the button to its far right
- Select a directory where the extracted files will be written to on your local PC.

STEP #2 : Uploading the files to your site
Use your FTP programme to transfer the files you just extracted to your site. We need you to copy the files from your PC (the "Extract to folder" directory you chose above) to your site's root.

STEP #3 : Take the trash out
- Using your FTP programme, remove kickstart.php from your site. You will NOT be needing it! Kickstart is ONLY required to extract the JPA file. We already extracted it using Akeeba eXtract Wizard. Therefore, we do not need Kickstart at all.
- Rename .htaccess to htaccess.bak (if you have a .htaccess file in your site's root)
- Rename php.ini to php.ini.bak (if you have a php.ini file in your site's root)

STEP #4 : Running the restoration
- Visit http://www.example.com/installation/index.php where www.example.com should be replace with the domain name of your site.
- Follow all the restoration steps
- After you are done, use your FTP programme to remove the "installation" directory from your site's root.
- If you had previously renamed the .htaccess and/or php.ini files:
i. Rename htaccess.bak to .htaccess
ii. Rename php.ini.bak to php.ini

You should be up and running now if you follow these instructions.

If, despite following these instructions, you can not see your site's front-end or back-end, please send me a Personal Message (I am user nicholas) with the following information:
- URL to your site
- FTP connection information (host, username, password)
- Database connection information (host, database, username, password)
- Super Administrator username and password
and I will take a look myself.

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, 20 December 2011 07:09 CST

user53652

Hi Nicholas,
I had already done those steps. And i see from your detailed instructions extract wizard does all of its work inside my local computer and not from the internet. I guess its a cleanup program. that makes it more clear.

i do have the site back up and running. I had gone through the steps of the backup install several times without seeing the link to automatically remove the installation directory. I tried this and it restored the site. Thank you for your patience and detailed instructions for a newbie like me.

I was saying earlier that kickstart never did complete its scan, even though i had run the backup file through the extract wizard. and i would guess that is still the case if I tried to run it again. But I really did not need to restore my site to another location, so it is ok.

I have tried restoration on smaller sites, and it has worked well. Also i have performed several backups on my site, which is large, and that also has worked out fine. I have since purchased the pro version of admin tools as well, and like what it does.

I'm sure i'll have other questions in the future but thank you for developing these very fine programs, and for answering my distress call.

Tuesday, 20 December 2011 08:08 CST

nicholas

You're welcome!

But you still did not understand what eXtract is. JPA files are like ZIP files. They hold many files together. eXtract is to JPA files what WinZIP is to ZIP files: it extracts them. Kickstart is like eXtract, it only extracts the backup archive (JPA file). The difference is that Kickstart runs on your server whereas eXtract runs on your local computer (not the server). This means that the files are extracted by eXtract to your local PC. That's why you need to upload them to your site.

The restoration is not performed by Kickstart. It's not performed by eXtract either. The restoration is executed by Akeeba Backup Installer, also known as ABI. ABI is a programme written in PHP. It is included inside the backup archive (inside the JPA file). When you extract your backup archive, you see the installation directory, right? This is where ABI lives. In fact, the installation directory contains only two things:
- Akeeba Backup Installer (ABI)
- Your database backup, inside the installation/sql directory

So, no matter if you use Kickstart or eXtract, you need to run ABI to perform the restoration. Kickstart offers you a button called "Run the installer". Clicking this button opens a new browser tab. The URL in the new tab is something like http://www.example.com/installation/index.php. When you do not use Kickstart, i.e you used eXtract, you have to visit this URL yourself.

Joomla! will always redirect to installation/index.php if the installation directory is present. That's why after the restoration you need to remove it. If you use Kickstart, it includes a "Clean Up" button which does that automatically, for your convenience. If you don't use Kickstart, you can simply remove the installation directory yourself using FTP.

It all clicks together if you realise that the restoration is actually three independent steps. Just like with all things web, you are under the illusion that it's one process, when in fact it's three independent things happening one after the other. This illusion is what makes it look easy ;)

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!

Support