filburt, why you don't be replying to your PMs???

[Marcel Lee]

Remember when you told me that "vb backups are virtually impossible because your host doesn't have Telnet/SSH access"?

Well, please read this IM-convo I just had with my host. He says "phpMyAdmin works just as well". But I need you to help me with it. I'm scared I might do something wrong and mess something up. Just lead me thru the steps one time and I'll learn to do it myself. Thanks.

My AOL-IM = Marcel Lee 4545

Okay, here's the convo (the host's screen-name has been changed to protect the innocent)...


Marcel Lee 4545: Hi. You told me that I could back-up my vbulletin board with my admin.php file (since I can't back it up to my computer the "normal" way), but how exactly can I do that?

Host: What was the normal way?

Marcel Lee 4545: The normal way is to go to the admin control panel of my vb and click "Back-up", downloading it to my computer, which isn't working properly for me (it keeps stopping before all my MBs are stored).

Host: Ok, another easy way is to login to our site, then select Database from Websites.

Host: Then click on the name of the database in the left panel.

Host: Scroll down to "View dump (schema) of database"

Host: Select all the tables, select "Structure and data"

Host: Then check "Complete inserts" and "Save as file zipped" (both boxes)

Host: Then click go

Marcel Lee 4545: And that'll save it to the server or my computer?

Host: Your computer

Marcel Lee 4545: Okay. Thanks. I'll try.

Marcel Lee 4545: By the way, the way you just described, is that the basically the same as this...

Marcel Lee 4545:
Step One - Backup current database:
Telnet into your system (we'll call it machine1)
from the root directory, type
mysqldump --opt -uUSERNAME -p databasename > /path/to/dump.sql
this should only take about than 30 seconds to a few minutes, depending on your database size
when it is completed, it will bring you back to the prompt
verify that you have a dump.sql in the /path/to area you specified.

Host: Yep

Host: If you downloaded MySQL for Windows, you could run mysqldump locally and dump your database

Host: But phpMyAdmin provides a relatively easy to use web interface

Marcel Lee 4545: Okay, I was confused, because I had someone from vb check out your itmom site and they told me that "vb backups are virtually impossible because your host doesn't have Telnet/SSH access."

Host: Nope

Host: phpMyAdmin works just as well

Marcel Lee 4545: Okay. Thanks. :-)

Host: Sure




***************




"It's a bird!"

"It's a plane!"

"It's... SaintDog?"

[SaintDog]

1. Login to phpMyAdmin
2. Click on the database you want to backup from the side menu
3. Scroll down past the tables until you find "View dump (schema) of database"
4. You will see a box with a table list inside, highlight all of them (SHIFT+Down Arrow)
5. Click on the "Structure & Data" radio button
6. Place a check mark in the "Save as file" checkbox
7. Click go

This will download your vBulletin SQL backup. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I will try to help more

Regards,

- SaintDog

[Marcel Lee]

To SaintDog...

Originally posted by SaintDog:

1. Login to phpMyAdmin
2. Click on the database you want to backup from the side menu
3. Scroll down past the tables until you find "View dump (schema) of database"
4. You will see a box with a table list inside, highlight all of them (SHIFT+Down Arrow)
5. Click on the "Structure & Data" radio button
6. Place a check mark in the "Save as file" checkbox
7. Click go

This will download your vBulletin SQL backup. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I will try to help more

Regards,

- SaintDog

Thank you!

I did it and it worked, BUT I have a few questions...

1. When I used to back it up from my admin cp, the file always downloaded as an sql file, but doing it this new / longer way (the way you just told me) creates a zip file (I was supposed to click "zip" where it said "Save as file...", right?). Is that normal? And will that create a problem whenever I need to upload it back to the net???

2. When I used to back it up from my admin cp, it would stop backing up before all the MBs were saved. For example, my on-line vb would have 25 MBs, but the back-up would have 20 or 15 MBs. Here's the question: UN-like backing it up from my admin cp, doing it this longer way is a way to make SURE the back-up is complete, and it shouldn't matter if I'm on a 56k modem, right???

[SaintDog]

1. Yes, it may create a zip file or it may download an SQL file (it depends on what version of phpMyAdmin you have). Either one is fine and will work just as well as the other (just when going to re-upload the backed DB, you will need to un-zip the file; just a little extra work, but it has the same effect).

2. phpMyAdmin will provide an accurate backup, just as if you have downloaded it from the Admin CP (SSH is about the only way to promise an exact backup, but this is not an option for everyone). Your internet connection has nothing to do with what gets backed up. If you are using the statistics hack from vbulletin.org, I have noticed that what it says and what the actual size of your DB is usually different (not always exact) so it could say your DB is 25MB's when it is really 20MB's.


Regards,

- SaintDog

[Marcel Lee]

Thanks.

[SaintDog]

No problem, glad to help .

Regards,

- SaintDog