SMF board is down after getting multiple messages "SMF could not connect to the

[Arantor]

Fair enough, bye.

[Illori]

I don't chill out when I see people giving incorrect and possibly damaging advice, because who knows what mods will be broken by replacing index.php?

It was definitely not a damaging advice. Anyways, you really need to take a chill pill dude, and while you are at it, you need to adjust your attitude and ego too.

yes it really could be if a mod or mods modified that file. all those edits would be removed and could actually break the forum OP is running.

[Doug Heffernan]

I don't chill out when I see people giving incorrect and possibly damaging advice, because who knows what mods will be broken by replacing index.php?

It was definitely not a damaging advice. Anyways, you really need to take a chill pill dude, and while you are at it, you need to adjust your attitude and ego too.

yes it really could be if a mod or mods modified that file. all those edits would be removed and could actually break the forum OP is running.

That is true, I agree. However, my advice was based on my understanding of the first post that the index.php file has been corrupted. i.e. emptied out. In that case all mod edits that might have been there would have been long gone and by replacing it with a fresh file as per my suggestion, would not cause any harm at all. All the OP had to do in that case, is readd the changes again.

If the repopulating of the Settings.php file will bring the forum backup online then the replace of the index.php file is not needed. But if it won''t, then a reupload of said file might fix the error. This is always based on the reply by OP 's host about said file being corrupted, which was my take on it.

[pirc-bw]

Hey guys, I am still stuck.

What would happen if I created an new database and pointed it there???

[Illori]

Hey guys, I am still stuck.

What would happen if I created an new database and pointed it there???

you dont want to do that or you could loose your content which is in the database. do you have a backup of your Settings.php file that you can restore? if not then you need to reset your database password and use repair_settings.php to put that new password into the Settings.php file.

if you dont have a backup you could ask your host if they can restore just that ONE file from the backup they should be doing.

[Doug Heffernan]

Hey guys, I am still stuck.

What would happen if I created an new database and pointed it there???

Did you run the repair_setting.php file and entered the correct db info?

Personally I would advice against creating a new database at this time. It is not necessary. But if you want to go that route, you must restore there the backup of your current database and still enter the db info at the Settings.php info.

P.s. What about the Setting_bak.php file, is it intact? If it is, rename it to Settings.php and see if it would fix the error and get your forum back up online.

I don't chill out when I see people giving incorrect and possibly damaging advice, because who knows what mods will be broken by replacing index.php?

I forgot to quote the post by the OP which makes my advice about replacing the index.php file very valid btw.

File manager says both files have 0 bytes

[pirc-bw]

It turns out that my co-admin does have an old one from January.  It's being uploaded now.

Repair settings didn't do anything.

[Doug Heffernan]

It turns out that my co-admin does have an old one from January.  It's being uploaded now.

Repair settings didn't do anything.

You should note that by restoring an older backup file, you will loose all content required from the time of that backup till now.

Anyways, how about the Settings_bak.php file, did you try that out? If all the db info are entered correct and you still get the connection error, check if the db user has full permission to the db that it is assigned to.

[pirc-bw]

The .bak file was also empty.  Should we also upload an old version if my co-admin has that?

[Doug Heffernan]

The .bak file was also empty.  Should we also upload an old version if my co-admin has that?

By older version you mean a copy of the Settings.php file? If so by all means. If no db info has been changed in meanwhile it should do the trick.

[pirc-bw]

Ok, thanks.

[Doug Heffernan]

Ok, thanks.

No problem. Let us know how it will go.

[pirc-bw]

So far nothing has changed except that I am getting a message about not being able to connect to the database, where before it was just a blank white page.

[Doug Heffernan]

So far nothing has changed except that I am getting a message about not being able to connect to the database, where before it was just a blank white page.

That error occurs because either the db info are incorrectly set at the Settings.php file, or there are too many connections on the server. i.e. the problem lies with your host.

Are you really sure that the db info are set correctly at the Settings.php file? Did you check and make sure that the db user has been granted full access and privileges to the db?

[pirc-bw]

I just checked again.  The user has full privileges.   

[Doug Heffernan]

I just checked again.  The user has full privileges.

This is strange. If the db info are set correct at the Settings.php file and the db user has full access to the db the error should not occur. Unless it is a hosting issue.

Amyways, I can take a look at this for you if you want. Hit me with a pm in a couple of hours, as right now I do not have much free time. But first read this link though before you give someone access to your forum.

https://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=190255.0

[Illori]

then ask your host to look into it, you may need to change the database password and put it in Settings.php file.

[vbgamer45]

What tables do you have in the database? What is the prefix is it "smf_" ?

[pirc-bw]

That's the correct prefix.

I created a new user for it and gave it full privileges and then plugged that into the Repair settings.  Now I get "Table 'i4769326_sm1.smf_settings' doesn't exist"

[pirc-bw]

I am thinking it's time to start over from scratch.  Time consuming but will fix it.