Database Backup

[babjusi]

Okay, thanks, will do! 

No problem, let us know how it will go.

[CerebralJam]

Just letting you know I've had some very hairy moments!

I decided to reinstall all my SMF files back onto the server overwriting all as I could not solve the issue of the links not working... (excluding the databases) and see if this solved the problem. 

It did but what worries me is the settings.php had info from my old webhost and I had had a problem with this that it crashed their server twice,  thus I moved!  I suddenly saw their favicon appear on my site and so I stopped the ftp - I was transferring stuff from my hard-drive to the new webhosts ftp server.

Is it possible for SMF to go to an ex hosts server and reactivate files and put them live, purely via the settings.php?  I need to ask this as they accused me of reinstalling and activating a closed account the other day when I first moved the site, and was not on theirs!  ...  Yesterday they told me I have no ftp access whatsoever so this is very worrying if it can do this.

This could be a serious loophole in security if at all possible so I am letting you know so that you can look into it, save it happening again to some other innocent party.  Perhaps if you could assure me this is not possible that would be good too.

Many thanks for all your help.  I think I have it sorted now... unless the old host deletes the files as I have asked and I lose it all LOL ...

Good night all!

[Norv]

It did but what worries me is the settings.php had info from my old webhost and I had had a problem with this that it crashed their server twice,  thus I moved!  I suddenly saw their favicon appear on my site and so I stopped the ftp - I was transferring stuff from my hard-drive to the new webhosts ftp server.

If SMF had your old host's settings (SMF being on the new host) then it will fail connecting to the database, because it tries to connect to the current host with the name and password and everything else which worked on the old one, but will probably simply not work here. It would try to use the paths as they were on the old host's computer, too, but it would try to use them on the computer of the new host, and most likely your new host doesn't even have the same paths, so it will fail.

It's like you have your files on your computer on D:\mes documents\apa3\summer97, and you have a program where you saved this path in favorites. Then you transfer the program to another's computer. The program will search for D:\mes documents\apa3\summer97 on his computer, will probably not find it, and the bookmark will be broken. It doesn't mean it would try to connect to your computer, even less that it tries to put files on yours out of the blue.

As before, you need to correct the data in Settings.php directly or by running repair_settings.php, and perhaps in the old database as well.
You could save this "new" Settings.php then in/near the files of the old backup, just for your peace of mind.

favicon is a little file, favicon.ico, which should be at the root of the site, in order to appear when you browse your pages (perhaps you have it directly in SMF directory). Check it out, in case you did not know it, then I presume your old host added it, you can safely remove it or replace it with whatever image you want for your site.

Is it possible for SMF to go to an ex hosts server and reactivate files and put them live, purely via the settings.php?

No.

I need to ask this as they accused me of reinstalling and activating a closed account the other day when I first moved the site, and was not on theirs!  ...  Yesterday they told me I have no ftp access whatsoever so this is very worrying if it can do this.

If you have no access to the former FTP account, then you could not (with any program, be it your FTP client or SMF or any other) access the former FTP account.

Many thanks for all your help.  I think I have it sorted now... unless the old host deletes the files as I have asked and I lose it all LOL ...

I thought the files are on the new host's server? I guess the old host can delete the copy from their own server all they want, as I understand you do not wish to come back to them, have them on the new host's server, and you have a backup on your harddisk anyway.

Good night all!

Thank you, good night! It has been a long day...