UBB.Developers Forums UBB.threads 7 Development How Do I? Suspected Database Corruption

Hi there

I'm doubtful that you can help me with this, but when you're desparate ........!

I'm running V5.4.1. This morning I attempted to alter the $lang[WEL_MSG] in the languages/english/adduser.php file. Unfortunately, the new text that I added included a double-quote (") character. When I attempted to test my amendment by registering a New User, the system hung.

Subsequently, I've been unable to access my Forums at all, ehither directly via http://www.forums.pctechguide.com/w3t/wwwthreads.php or via my phpMyAdmin tool!

I take regular backups of the database via phpMyAdmin but can't, of course, restore to one of these if I can't gain proper access! My ISP doen't allow telnet access. I guess it's down to my ISP, and getting them to restore the database from one of their backups.

However, I'd be interested in your comments as to whether the attempted action that I've described really could have caused this problem. If so, it might be worth considering try to make the system a little more resilient to this type of user error.

Thanks in anticipation.

If I'm no mistaken, the double quote you used will generate only a parsing error. Anyway, the string is addslash-ed before entering into the database so IMO the problem you are encountering is not related to that.

Thanks razvan, that makes me feel a whole lot better!

I've been tending toward feeling that there's some wider problem wrt access to mySQL at my ISP during the day. The "symptoms" have been changing constantly - e.g getting:
" Warning: MySQL Connection Failed: Too many connections" errors.

Your input adds to that view.

Hi again razvan!

OK, there was some system-wide problem at my ISP that was preventing me from accessing the Forums at all, but now that that has been fixed, it also appears that some database corruption might have resulted from my bungled attempt to change the $lang[WEL_MSG] text in the languages/english/adduser.php file.

Now, when I go to my Control Panel, I've got some mySQL error message - which includes "Can't open file: 'w3t_Messages.MYD'." - in the Received Private Messages cell of the page.

Furthermore, viewing the database via phpMyAdmin shows the w3t_messages table being flagged as "in use" and any any attempt to access it results in the following:
Database xxxxx - table w3t_Messages
Error
MySQL said: Can't open file: 'w3t_Messages.MYD'. (errno: 145)

Any suggestions as to how I can fix this will be gratefully received!

Looks like you have table corruption in your w3t_Messages table. Since you are on a hosted server you'll need to put in a request to your host to check and repair the corrupted tables for you.

I thought mySQL had a REPAIR TABLE command.

Yep, it has, and I was able to use that via phpMyAdmin to fix the problem.

I don't really know whether my adduser.php mistake caused the mySQL problems that followed, or whether these were just a co-incidence. My ISP certainly had a system-wide problem, and it was only after they'd fixed that that I was able to access mySQL at all. However, when I did, I found there was still the w3t_Messages table problem to deal with.

Oh well, all's well that ends well! Thanks for your help.