Whole site just disappeared

  • My whole website and months of work have just disappeared – I don’t know what Ive done but I’m desperate to resolve it.

    I am self-hosting my site on a Synolgy NAS, and last night I updated my WordPress package via the Synology user interface. All appeared to be very slow to update but, eventually, it appeared to complete

    However, to my dismay, when I tried to enter my WP site, mediastockroom.com, from the customer end, I got the following message:

    There doesn’t seem to be a wp-config.php file. I need this before we can get started.

    Need more help? We got it.

    You can create a wp-config.php file through a web interface, but this doesn’t work for all server setups. The safest way is to manually create the file.

    Create a Configuration File

    When I try to enter the back end of the site, I get a select language page followed by this:

    Welcome to WordPress. Before getting started, we need some information on the database. You will need to know the following items before proceeding.

    Database name
    Database username
    Database password
    Database host
    Table prefix (if you want to run more than one WordPress in a single database)
    We’re going to use this information to create a wp-config.php file. If for any reason this automatic file creation doesn’t work, don’t worry. All this does is fill in the database information to a configuration file. You may also simply open wp-config-sample.php in a text editor, fill in your information, and save it as wp-config.php. Need more help? We got it.

    In all likelihood, these items were supplied to you by your Web Host. If you do not have this information, then you will need to contact them before you can continue. If you’re all ready…

    Let’s go!

    I have no idea what is wrong and no idea how to put it right.

    I have emailed Synology technical support but don’t hold out much hope that they will assist on a TP product – past experience tells me that they won’t over backup for WordPress problems and will just direct me here so, as my business website is now completely down, I thought I may as well start here and see if anyone can assist.

    I’m at my wits’ end, haven’t slept for worrying all night, and I’m scared to touch anything in case I make things worse. I can see all my web files in Cyberduck, and have downloaded a copy for safekeeping, (although after i ran the updates, so perhaps my backup contains a fault), and I can’t believe that everything can have just gone completely.

    The whole Synology/Wordpress thing has been a very steep learning curve for a complete novice, and I’ve invested a lot of time and effort into this project, but I now feel completely out of my depth. If anyone has any suggestions, (other than start over and pay for hosting), please help.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

  • Hi

    Do you have the database credentials? User, database name, password?

    Hi, your NAS has a fixed IP, correct?
    Did you have an account called “admin” on your WordPress site?
    Did you update via the wordpress control panel, perhaps? Or does Synology offer an app installer and you used that?
    Did you make any backups of the contents of the NAS as you worked?

    Here’s where the questions are leading…a fixed IP makes you a steady target. Since you are beginning you may not have installed protective plugins.

    Because WP defaults to an “admin” account when first installed it is the first thing tried my most scripters. The first thing I do with a new install is make a new admin account with an unusual name, log in with that, and delete the “admin” account.

    Synology may or may not have support and/or auto-backup provisions that might recover a copy. I’m guessing that they also default to a given admin name and password for the NAS itself, did you change those? If not, it would be easy to break into your NAS and wreak havoc.

    Also, it is just possible that you deleted or moved wp-config.php yourself. Or that, in making changes in the General section, you changed the location of the site. In the latter case, you’ll need to go into the db to change those entries. PHPMyAdmin is a tool that can help you do that.

    Thread Starter rixie1

    (@rixie1)

    Hi Edegaru and Seedy,

    Thank you for your responses – Synology are currently looking at the issue, which is a relief, as I’m way out of my depth.

    To answer some of the questions raised:

    I have a Dynamic IP
    Admin was disabled and I have a unique name admin account
    Update was done via Synology Control Panel, which is my usual procedure
    All of my Website files are visible in Cyberduck FTP, and I have a copy on my desktop
    NAS has unique user name and passwords.

    In truth, I don’t think I’ve been hacked and I’m sure that the files are there somewhere – they’re just not being seen.

    I didn’t move the wp-config.php file by accident. I was in my website, (front end), and it was loading slowly. I knew the DSM needed an update and thought it might help, so I went in to the NAS admin area to do it and I noticed updates for MariaDB and WordPress as well. I did these, along with the NAS update, and when they had completed I went back to my website to see if it was loading more quickly. That’s when the trouble started! I know i couldn’t have moved anything, as I wasn’t doing anything, either in the website admin or Cyberduck – they weren’t even open.

    Anyway, I will wait and see what Synology say and hope that all my work hasn’t been for nothing.

    Thanks again for your input

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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