Media uploads that have been deleted or uploaded not showing in FTP

Made a backup of the images. Purged the database:

DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = "attachment";
DELETE FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_key = "_wp_attached_file";
DELETE FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_key = "_wp_attachment_metadata";

Deleted everything in FTP, purged the cache, purged Cloudflare, and yet when you go to the home site I see this:

View post on imgur.com

View post on imgur.com

So the upload is still there? Where? FTP shows nothing, I purged everything…

• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by sangredeespana.

Is the image actually loading?

Just because the image is referenced in your CSS doesn’t mean it actually exists.

Yes, the actual image is loading. What prompted this was ALL 2024 image uploads through Media Library, have url’s, but when I would go into the link, via FTP, there was no 2024 folder, nothing.

Ok, it’s odd that your /wp-content/uploads/ folder has no year folders in it (I assume from the partial screenshot).

Have you been offloading your images elsewhere? There are ways to move the upload directory in wp-config.php and plugins that upload the media elsewhere but map what would be the original URLs.

No, no offloading images. Do you need a shot of the config file?

Im currently running a file search through FTP for all .png files. Maybe its being referenced somewhere else? Will post back…

Nothing. I looked at Media Sync in the Media Library and even though nothing exists in FTP this is what it shows… what is going on…? Thanks

View post on imgur.com

I suspect you are looking in the wrong directory via FTP. Create a file called “test.txt” with any content via FTP in /wp-content/uploads/. Can you then access them via the web? So domain.tld/wp-content/uploads/test.txt ? If not, then you are in the wrong FTP directory.

As already indicated above, the upload directory could also point somewhere else via wp-config.php. Take a look there and see if you can find any information about it in the file.

Thanks! Ok, this might be an issue… I logged into the host file manager and this is what I see…

View post on imgur.com

The 1665087…. is a cloned copy… however, whats up with the two main url’s? The Public_HTML -> wp_uploads has the what Media Sync show… and whats in the header for images… the other one has nothing. I cannot read from this url as you recommended above. I put a text file in it and I got a 404…

Here is the entire tree…

View post on imgur.com

You would have to ask your hoster’s support why which directories exist in your hosting. Either there are other domains there that point to the directories or it has grown like this historically.

I still suspect that you are looking in the wrong upload directory. Where did you upload the test file? You can also upload such a file to the other upload directories, each with different content. This should allow you to find out which directory is used by your project.
And what did a look at wp-config.php show?

Ok, so I uploaded through file manager, a test.txt in the public_html/wp-content/uploads/test.txt and it shows…. my ftp is however not showing the public_html and is going to the xxx.com/wp-content/upload…. should there be a public_html – > XXXX.com and a XXXX.com separately?

I do have a plugin that changes the login folder… would that have done this? Im wondering if i should wipe everything, and start all over… all the changes Ive made in FTP have been in the other one, not public_html… ???

• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by sangredeespana.

I can’t tell you where which public_html folder should be in your hosting. This depends on which domain in your hosting points where. Only the support of your host can tell you that, that exceeds the support that WordPress can provide you here.

Hosting is saying it was installed twice… not sure how that happened. Considering the amount of headaches Ive been having. Would it be prudent to wipe everything and start over, plugins, subscriptions, etc.? Site is not live…

Or can anyone suggest a better option… thanks.

• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by sangredeespana.

The hosting support should also be able to tell you which domain points where. This should make it clear where the WordPress you are accessing is installed.

It is completely your decision to do what you want with the project. You can delete everything and start over if it makes sense and is feasible and doesn’t cause you too much work. If available, you can export existing content beforehand in WordPress under Tools. You have to decide for yourself.

It would also be possible to move the project to another host. There you could also set up everything again and start from the beginning.

Thanks