Threads Are Missing-Please help

[Debbie3]

I have a section on my forums which had many threads with helpful articles. A member asked where one was and it is not there anymore neither are many others. But when I check the show posts of the member who made the article it comes up in their list of posts they made and when I click it the post, it shows its in the helpful article section, but if you click the board its not there.

How can I fix this please and get back the articles that are missing from that board?

[Siirist]

Hi Debbie,

ver of SMF?
What Mods are installed - just in case one controls permissions.
Have you backed up you database?

I have a section on my forums which had many threads with helpful articles.

Section?  Is this a Category? Or a Board?

A member asked where one was and it is not there anymore neither are many others. But when I check the show posts of the member who made the article it comes up in their list of posts they made and when I click it the post, it shows its in the helpful article section, but if you click the board its not there.

How can I fix this please and get back the articles that are missing from that board?

Are the Articles actually "Topics"?

It sounds like it may be a permissions thing.
On my board, I gave a potential member a link and told them if they register they will see it. However, they replied saying that they couldn't find it.
When I went in to Admin > Forum > Boards and clicked "Modify" on the board that they couldn't "see" and discovered that their posting level was not "allowed" to see the board -
Allowed Groups:
Groups allowed to access this board.
The "Newbie" membergroup was NOT checked.

Those are my thoughts.

Be Well,
Siirist

[Debbie3]

thank you, they were all there before

ver of SMF? 2.0.11
What Mods are installed - just in case one controls permissions.
Avatar for banned members
SA Chat
Annoy User
IP-Address Tracer
Generic Avatars
Anti-spam by CleanTalk
Login Security
BK Modding StatCounter
Have you backed up you database?
yes

sorry its a board where the topics are missing. yes the articles are topics, all groups are checked except guests I don't want guests to see anything unless they register.
I cant see the missing topics as admin either in that board

[Siirist]

thank you, they were all there before

Something I forget to "ask myself" is
When did it happen? i.e. Did I do something to the forum? If so, what?

That said, have you

Admin > Forum > Boards and clicked "Modify" on the board that they couldn't "see" and looked over -
Allowed Groups:
Groups allowed to access this board.

Although I must agree that as an Admin, you have permission to see everything.


You could try running Repair Settings and see if there is a problem with the tables.

There is a page that gives instruction in the Online Manual > FAQs > Repair Settings.php

http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Repair_settings.php/en

Siirist

[Debbie3]

I ran repair this morning and no change but not that repair, I used repair under maintainence

Find and repair any errors

If, for example, posts or topics are missing after a server crash, this function may help finding them again


On the forum main page index it says 98 posts and 26 topics for that board but when I click on the board only 5 topics are there, if I click last post link it list 3 more topics, any ideas?

[Siirist]

That is different than what I suggested. 

You could also try "Recount all forum totals and statistics" which you will find below "Find and repair any errors".   

If you chose not to try these that is fine, instead, you can wait for a more experienced member to reply.   

Best Wishes,
Siirist

[Debbie3]

I will try the repair tool and recount thank you

[Debbie3]

recount did not fix the issue I will try the repair tool in a bit.

[Kindred]

The repair tool will not have any effect on this issue.

What did you do just before this started getting noticed? Any new mods or other changes?

What do you see when you go to that board?  It sounds like you see some threads and not others?
If you go to the user's profile and click on the posts by that user, can you actually VIEW the post, even if it's not listed in the index?

[Siirist]

The repair tool will not have any effect on this issue.

That is different than what I suggested. 

You could try running Repair Settings and see if there is a problem with the tables.
There is a page that gives instruction in the Online Manual > FAQs > Repair Settings.php
http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Repair_settings.php/en

What did you do just before this started getting noticed? Any new mods or other changes?

As I stated here

Something I forget to "ask myself" is
When did it happen? i.e. Did I do something to the forum? If so, what?

What do you see when you go to that board?  It sounds like you see some threads and not others?
If you go to the user's profile and click on the posts by that user, can you actually VIEW the post, even if it's not listed in the index?

Exactly.  Go slow if you need to while following the suggestions listed in this reply.

If you get any errors, please list them as well.

Can you post a link to your forum so that we can register and go "see" the problem?

[Debbie3]

sure www.menieres-support.org the board with issues is Helpful Articles and Threads About Meniere's.

I noticed it today when someone asked where there thread(topic) was. I will look and see the last mod I added and when.
and yes I see threads but only a few not all 26 of them or all 96 posts
only 2 pages one with 5 threads and one with 3 or something like that.

If you go to the user's profile and click on the posts by that user, can you actually VIEW the post, even if it's not listed in the index?  Yes

[Debbie3]

sorry theme is vertex

[Kindred]

Since viewing your site requires a login, we can't actually see the issue

[Debbie3]

you are welcome to register and Siirist  posted "Can you post a link to your forum so that we can register and go "see" the problem?"
so please feel free to register if you like

[Debbie3]

I can post screenshots if you prefer not to register

[Debbie3]

this is a capture of part of the index on my main forum page the board in question is Helpful Articles and Threads About Meniere's the topic count says 26 and post count 98, which is accurate

[Debbie3]

this is a capture of inside the board

[Debbie3]

if I click last post we see this

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Registered - please activate and will have a look.

[Debbie3]

thank you, approved

[Debbie3]

the last mod I added was the Avatar_for_banned_members and the statcounter mod BK-Modding-StatCounter both on July 3 when I went to uninstall Avatar_for_banned_members some field failed and it gave me a warning not to install but I uninstalled it yesterday after I saw that board was not showing all the topics.
this was the file that gave the error ManageSettings.php

[Grammy]

You should probably attach it, Debbie3, so it can be checked for left-over code or some inadvertent edit.   

The parsing for that file is

Find:

Code Select Expand

// Mod authors, add any settings UNDER this line. Include a comma at the end of the line and don't remove this statement!!

Add after:

Code Select Expand


array('check', 'enable_banned_membav'),
'',

Do you still have the StatCounter mod installed?  I see it also edits that file, in about the same place.


(StatCounter)

Find:

Code Select Expand

// Mod authors, add any settings UNDER this line. Include a comma at the end of the line and don't remove this statement!!

Replace:

Code Select Expand

// Mod authors, add any settings UNDER this line. Include a comma at the end of the line and don't remove this statement!!
                array('large_text', 'statcounter_code', '4'),
'',

[Debbie3]

Thank you. and yes I still have the statscounter mod installed
it also has another file same name but ~ after it,

[Grammy]

Thank you. and yes I still have the statscounter mod installed
it also has another file same name but ~ after it,

Having the ~ after the file means that it's the original before the edits, but becomes the backup, after the edits.   

Try uploading this file to your sources, Debbie (attached).  You still had the old code from the Avatar mod and you had the edits for the StatCounter mod duplicated.  The Avatar code has been removed (since you uninstalled it) and I removed one of the duplicate edits for the StatCounter.  You may need to refresh your cache, after.  I'm not sure that this is the only file affected, but it did need to be corrected.


Also, you may need to check your Display.template.php and your Modifications.english.php to see if there are still any edits for the Avatar mod, but there shouldn't be. 

[Debbie3]

thank you very much

[Grammy]

thank you very much

Hope it helps!   

[Debbie3]

thanks Grammy I uploaded it I'm glad that file is fixed but the issue remains
I also cleared the cache

[Grammy]

thanks Grammy I uploaded it I'm glad that file is fixed but the issue remains
I also cleared the cache

I'm not sure, but it seems that if you installed both mods on the same day and the problem appeared after, at least one of them could be the culprit.  Could you attach your Display.template.php as well?  (Just looking for left-over Avatar edits.)  Also, your two language files, Help.english.php and Modifications.english.php (although those shouldn't cause an issue.)   

[Debbie3]

something is wrong my forums wont load now

[Grammy]

something is wrong my forums wont load now

Scroll back up to your post where you attached your ManageSettings.php and upload that one again, for now.  I'll check my edited one for template parse errors.  I'm sorry; I should have said to back up that file.   

[Debbie3]

I did make a back up of the file but the forums loaded now with your file maybe it was something with my host. but what a coincidence.
but the issue is still there with that board

[Grammy]

I dd make a back up the file but the forums loaded now with your file maybe it was something with my host. but what a coincidence.
but the issue is still there with that board

That's a relief!  I just saw that Sir Osis has registered and I know he'll sort it; he's brilliant.  But if you want, I'll take a look at your Display.template.php and see if there are any leftover Avatar edits there, as well?

[Debbie3]

sure..another issue which may be related I'm not sure  this started happening about a week or so ago
some of my members need to login twice first time it tells them wrong password even though its correct and the second time it works

[Debbie3]

where would Display.template.php be located?

[Siirist]

First, I want to say that I am glad that there has been A LOT of help here.

Second, it seems that Grammy has been very helpful,

Thank you. and yes I still have the statscounter mod installed
it also has another file same name but ~ after it,

Having the ~ after the file means that it's the original before the edits, but becomes the backup, after the edits.   

Try uploading this file to your sources, Debbie (attached).  You still had the old code from the Avatar mod and you had the edits for the StatCounter mod duplicated.  The Avatar code has been removed (since you uninstalled it) and I removed one of the duplicate edits for the StatCounter.  You may need to refresh your cache, after.  I'm not sure that this is the only file affected, but it did need to be corrected.

Also, you may need to check your Display.template.php and your Modifications.english.php to see if there are still any edits for the Avatar mod, but there shouldn't be. 

however, as an Admin, if you are going to install and un-install Mods, you will need to learn how to do so manually by parsing to see the files that are modified and exactly what lines of code are modified or changed.

Just my thoughts,
Siirist

EDIT: Grammy, thanks for going far above and beyond "the call of duty", as more senior members would encourage the OP (original poster) to begin learning about installing and un-installing Mods manually.

ALWAYS backup a file or files BEFORE making changes.
What I do is in FileZilla I download the file, place forum in Maintenance Mode, rename the existing file on the forum to {file-name.php} to {file-name.php~}, then after I modify the original file {file-name.php} I upload it.
If the file already has a backup {file-name.php~}, instead I download the file, place forum in Maintenance Mode, rename the existing file on the forum to {file-name.php~} to {file-name.php~~}, then after I modify the original file {file-name.php} I upload it.
If something goes wrong, I can simply rename {file-name.php~} OR {file-name.php~~} to {file-name.php}.

I just saw that Sir Osis has registered and I know he'll sort it; he's brilliant.  But if you want, I'll take a look at your Display.template.php and see if there are any leftover Avatar edits there, as well?

Best to have only one changing files, i.e. Sir or Grammy, but not both

Best Wishes,
Siirist

[Debbie3]

thank you. Sir has not logged in yet so its up to Grammy what she prefers to do or not. I'm grateful for everyone's help

[Grammy]

where would Display.template.php be located?

In Themes/default.  I know you're using Vertex, but I don't think it has any files that mod would have edited.


And I'm just now seeing Siirist's post, and concede, but I'm still happy to at least look at the file and let you know if the old edits are still present.  But yes, we can wait on Sir Osis; probably best.   



EDIT TO ADD:  I do see elsewhere (and it's not your exact issue) where another user had post content missing and, coincidentally, he/she also had the StatCounter mod installed.  It's just another avenue to consider, if the actual cause doesn't become apparent.

[Debbie3]

where would Display.template.php be located?

In Themes/default.  I know you're using Vertex, but I don't think it has any files that mod would have edited.


And I'm just now seeing Siirist's post, and concede, but I'm still happy to at least look at the file and let you know if the old edits are still present.  But yes, we can wait on Sir Osis; probably best.   

Thanks Grammy

[Grammy]

No, that file is clean.  You may want to wait, then, on Sir Osis to log in and troubleshoot this. 

But I did add an edit to my previous post that you may have missed:

EDIT TO ADD:  I do see elsewhere (and it's not your exact issue) where another user had post content missing and, coincidentally, he/she also had the StatCounter mod installed.  It's just another avenue to consider, if the actual cause doesn't become apparent.

That's something to consider.  If you decide to uninstall that mod (and you may wish to wait) then I would stop if you get an error and seek further help with that.   

[Debbie3]

ahh yes I did not see that but good to know! thank you I will see what Sir thinks before I do anything else

[Grammy]

ahh yes I did not see that but good to know! thank you I will see what Sir thinks before I do anything else

Good luck with it, Debbie, I'm hoping to see it sorted soon!   

[Kindred]

the issue is almost definitely not in a template file, but a Sources file...
although MessageIndex.template.php is also another one to check (not display... there's no problem with the display, the problem is with the index page)

Probably Sources/MessageIndex.php  -- see, the issue is not with the actual display of the message nor the display of the index... the issue seems to be that the messages are not even getting loaded into the index array.

Debbie...  for the future, when a mod indicates a failure on install or uninstall, you can not just continue the process unless you manually correct the failures -- continuing with errors is a certain way to nerf your site.

[Debbie3]

yes there are a lot of errors listed in the error log with MessageIndex.php and with Login.template.php when I just checked
thanks for the advice on the installing and uninstalling will do in the future, the site had the issue before I uninstalled and got the error and there was no error on installs of any mods I have installed.
But I knew it should not continue to uninstall and not sure why I did

[Siirist]

. . . as an Admin, if you are going to install and un-install Mods, you will need to learn how to do so manually by parsing to see the files that are modified and exactly what lines of code are modified or changed . . .

. . . ALWAYS backup a file or files BEFORE making changes.

Best Wishes,
Siirist

[Debbie3]

and those two file errors for MessageIndex.php seem to start on July 2 and for Login.template.php  on July 4th from what I can tell

[Debbie3]

I always back up the db but when I install a mod and get no error I install it and not sure what files to back up since there are no errors

[Debbie3]

Do I need to give Sir Osis admin access for him to trouble shoot?

[Siirist]

Do I need to give Sir Osis admin access for him to trouble shoot?

If he is a member of your forum, then I'd say send him a PM (personal message), or email him.

Siirist

[Debbie3]

thank you I pmed him

[Debbie3]

I knew I had a backup of the entire forum just could not find it until now I have every file and folder backed up on July 8 and the DB backed up many times.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Just got on, will head over there now.  Yes, make me admin so I can access your package manager and error log.

Not a good idea to upload individual backup files, it can break other mods and cause more problems.  Please don't make any more changes til I get a chance to look around.

[Debbie3]

admin set for you and nope haven't touched a thing since uploading Grammys file

[Debbie3]

thanks so much Sir Osis for all your help It is very much appreciated.

[Grammy]

Oh, if it's sorted, I'd love to know what the issue was?  (It helps when someone does a search for a similar problem.  I'm usually that "Someone", ha!)   

[Debbie3]

Grammy I am not sure I think Sir Osis is best to answer I do know he had to install many new files and he was kind to do that for me. I'm not sure he found exactly what was causing it.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

It was similar to this issue, and I believe it was caused by the same buggy mod, 'Avatars on Board/MessageIndex'.  DarkTexas solved the problem by uninstalling the mod, but in this case, the uninstall apparently caused the problem.  The mod had been uninstalled and deleted from package manager, but it left behind some code in MessageIndex.php which triggered an error only on certain boards, and prevented all topics from being displayed.  On boards where error did not occur, topics displayed normally.  Uploaded clean set of files, restored their custom stuff, and all topics are back on all boards.

FYI, Pipke recently updated the mod to full hooks install, so it no longer edits files.  Hopefully this will solve the problem.

[Grammy]

It was similar to this issue, and I believe it was caused by the same buggy mod, 'Avatars on Board/MessageIndex'.  DarkTexas solved the problem by uninstalling the mod, but in this case, the uninstall apparently caused the problem.  The mod had been uninstalled and deleted from package manager, but it left behind some code in MessageIndex.php which triggered an error only on certain boards, and prevented all topics from being displayed.  On boards where error did not occur, topics displayed normally.  Uploaded clean set of files, restored their custom stuff, and all topics are back on all boards.

FYI, Pipke recently updated the mod to full hooks install, so it no longer edits files.  Hopefully this will solve the problem.

Ah!  I had removed that mod's left over code:

Code Select Expand

array('check', 'enable_banned_membav'),
'',

from Debbie's ManageSettings.php but I didn't realize it also edited the MessageIndex.php.  Wow...

I can't remember why, but after I installed that mod on one of my test boards, I yanked it pretty quickly.  No one can yank a mod faster than me! 

So glad Debbie's up and running!

[Debbie3]

thanks everyone you have been wonderful!