"Connection Problems" after attempting to Export database backup with phpMyAdmin

Started by Bivouac, October 03, 2017, 01:41:14 PM

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Bivouac

Hello there,

I'm having a minor nervous breakdown after apparently murdering my forum whilst trying to back it up prior to migration.

I'm pretty sure I've got a full copy of everything (files/attachments etc) plus a couple of copies of the database which I grabbed with the tools within the SMF admin panel... but having done that, I discovered that the forum tools are no longer considered reliable due to possible issues with data corruption etc.  So the logical thing seemed to be to follow the official guidelines and acquire an additional backup via the 'export' feature in phpMyAdmin.

Unfortunately, immediately after exporting the database in phpMyAdmin, I checked the forum, and it appears to be broken/dead/inaccessible.  Is it possible that phpMyAdmin could have damaged something in the process of exporting the backup? 

Can phpMyAdmin do that?  I'm pretty sure I didn't click anything weird.  I was extremely careful to follow the instructions to the letter.


The specific error message I'm getting is: "Connection Problems
Sorry, SMF was unable to connect to the database. This may be caused by the server being busy. Please try again later. "


I'm uncertain whether I should simply try to 'import' the database which I've previously 'exported', in the hope that this might repair any damage... but it seems like a risky option when something has clearly gone so hideously wrong.


My intention in doing all of this was to move the entire forum to a new host (and temporarily to a new domain on that host, so I could test it before migrating the original site itself.) 


The second issue which I suspect I'm facing is the discovery that I can't install the forum onto the new host without upgrading it to v.2.0, due to the fact the new host is running MySQL 5.5, or some such nonsense.  (My forum is currently still on 1.1.21). 

It occurs to me that I probably need to upgrade the current forum (on its original host) to version 2.0 and THEN export everything afresh... but I obviously can't do that until I've got the original forum up and running again.  (Or can I?)


Sorry if I sound like an absolute moron.  I'm sure this is all really straightforward for someone who knows what he's doing, but it's got me slightly baffled. 

Many thanks!
Bivouac

Sir Osis of Liver

phpmyadmin will sometimes timeout without error when exporting large databases, or even small ones on slow servers, and you end up with a partial backup, but I've never seen it damage a database.  If you don't have a reliable backup, and especially if backup was done with SMF admin backup, you don't want to try importing it into your production database.

You're getting a connection error, that doesn't mean the db is damaged.  You need to check database credentials in forum Settings.php, and check them against db settings in your host control panel.  If there's nothing different, try resetting the db password.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

Bivouac

Thanks very much indeed, Sir Osis.  You've set my mind at ease to a great extent.  I'd be astonished if phpMyAdmin had actually damaged the active database, (although it's way outside my area of expertise), so your suggestion about settings/database passwords etc sounds highly plausible to me.

I'm tied up right now, but will follow your advice asap and check the settings etc.

Many thanks,
Bivouac.

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