Installed WordPress update 3.8.2, now can't load site

  • Resolved lisanmn

    (@lisanmn)


    10 years, 7 months ago

    Hello, I’m a beginner to WordPress, hoping someone can help. Monday (yesterday) I changed the theme on my site, updated much of the layout and content, and everything was going great!

    This morning, I installed the WordPress update, and immediately afterward the site started moving very slowly. Now it has entirely stopped loading, and I’m getting the following error while trying to get back to the admin pages:

    “Error establishing a database connection:
    This either means that the username and password information in your wp-config.php file is incorrect or we can’t contact the database server at localhost. This could mean your host’s database server is down.
    ?Are you sure you have the correct username and password?
    ?Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname?
    ?Are you sure that the database server is running?

    If you’re unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host. If you still need help you can always visit the WordPress Support Forums.”

    When I try to load the page (not via the admin login) it now just says “Error establishing a database connection.”

    Did I do something wrong yesterday when I made those changes? Is it just a coincidence that running the update as prompted correlated with the slow-to-impossible-to-load situation I’m in now with the page? Is this potentially something else entirely? I can’t even access my admin page currently to make any changes – what can I do??

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

  • Use an FTP program to examine your wp-config.php. Copy the contents or simply download the file to your computer. Then, check with your host to see if the settings for your database are correct.

    Occasionally, my site won’t load and it’s because a database server is not functioning properly. So it might be as simple as your host fixing its database server.

    Your first step should be to verify that your settings are correct and that the database server is functioning.

    Thread Starter lisanmn

    (@lisanmn)

    Thanks so much for your help!

    So, when I said I was a beginner… I am not sure what you mean by “use an FTP program to examine your wp-config.php” – I got as far as downloading FileZilla, but I don’t know what contents or file I should be downloading? I don’t know how to verify if the settings are correct since I can’t load my WordPress admin page? If you’d be willing, please explain a bit more!

    I don’t use FileZilla, but I don’t think that matters. As long as you have an FTP program or some other means to access your files on the server, you should be good to go. Some hosts allow you to access your files through your account control center or panel.

    How did you install your software? I am assuming you used some method to upload your files to the server? Whatever method you used, use the same method to browse your files on the server.

    Once you find your way to your files, you want to find your blog’s root folder and look for the file wp-config.php. Your blog’s root folder is likely one of the two following:

    www . yoursite . com
    or
    www. yourite . com / blog/

    My blog follows the second pattern. So on my host’s server, I find a directory called ‘public_html’ and then beneath that directory is my ‘blog’ directory. Inside my blog directory is the configuration file ‘wp-config.php’. That’s the file that WordPress uses to access your database.

    You want to have your host confirm that the database settings are correct. Assuming that the settings are correct, then is the database server working? If the settings are incorrect, then you need to change them.

    If you want to contact me offline, my email is just my name beside my post and gmail.

    You should be able to narrow down your issue regarding your database settings without too much difficulty.

    It looks like with new installation, you’ve overwritten values in old “wp-config.php” file (it doesn’t happen normally). If you know your database name/ database username/password, please try putting it there again.

    However if website is loading very slow, then it could be another issue, mostly likely with plugins.

    Thread Starter lisanmn

    (@lisanmn)

    Thank you all for your help! I woke up this morning and thankfully the website was back up and I was able to log in… so perhaps you were right stecyk, and it was just the host working on the server?

    Thanks so much again for your assistance!

    Sometimes servers don’t cooperate as well as we would like.

    At least now, you know a bit more about how to troubleshoot this problem again in the future.

    I am glad you back up again and running.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • The topic ‘Installed WordPress update 3.8.2, now can't load site’ is closed to new replies.