Update disaster

  • Resolved chaa_OKC

    (@chaa_okc)


    9 years, 4 months ago

    Attempting to install the 4.2.3 update has apparently totally wiped out my local test site installation, and so far I’ve not managed to reinstall it. The system is Xubuntu 14.04.x with all system updates installed. Initially I had problems making everything work together, and had to tinker with permissions in /usr/share/wordpress to get it going.

    After five attempts to install the 4.2.3 update, all of which failed due to permission problems in the wp-includes directory, I did a “chmod -R 664 *” on that directory. The result was, apparently, to wipe out everything or at least mangle things enough that all files now report zero bytes, and a “ls -l” on it shows only question marks for permittions, owner, and group.

    I then removed the package using Synaptic Package Manager but retained configuration files. Attempting to install it then got a “broken package” error message, but dropping to the command line and using apt-get install did apparently succeed.

    However, the directories did not recover, the files still show as 0 bytes, and https://localhost/wordpress still gives only a blank screen.

    Since this is a local test site where I try things without harm to my production sites, it’s not critical — but I do want to get a test site going again as soon as possible. The MySQL “wordpress” database is still intact, as is a backup that I created immediately after the initial installation — but so far I’ve not managed to discover how to restore from that backup (Simple-Backup, a single zip file for /usr/share/sordpress and another for the MySQL database). I need advice from those who’ve been through this morass before!

    A link to the site would be useless since it’s not responding at all…

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  • Thread Starter chaa_OKC

    (@chaa_okc)

    Making some slight progress. Folder permissions in /usr/share/wordpress, although they looked correct, triggered errors in Thunar with offers to fix the problems. The files then miraculously recovered their content, and I am now able to get a login screen. However nothing happens next, just a blank screen with no indication of what might be wrong.

    Still need advice!

    Thread Starter chaa_OKC

    (@chaa_okc)

    Problem mostly solved by renaming /usr/share/wordpress to /usr/share/wordpress-old, then manually installing the latest version (4.2.3) but keeping the original wp-content directory, copying the critical configuration file from the “old” directory to the new one. Had to also manually copy the media library, after restoring from the backup I had made just before attempting the update, but almost everything seems to be working once again.

    I’m more than slightly disappointed at the lack of responses here. Guess I’ve been spoiled by the Ubuntu forums and the great assistance available there…

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
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