Store backup only on remote storage; not on web-server disk space

Hi there,

In the Backup / Restore tab you will see the section Existing backups with backup sets listed.
If you look to the right of each backup set under Actions you will see the button to ‘View Log’.

You can click this button (or right click and open in new browser tab) to access the log info.
You can then copy and paste the content in PasteBin. The logs will help us identify any issues.

Best regards,

Nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your help.

• This is the log file of the very latest backup of 15 Jan 2025 which I can also confirm that still exists on the server- https://pastebin.com/y1RMyVSK
• Screenshot showing files still on server – https://i.imgur.com/3SOAtCL.png
• Screenshot showing that Delete Local Backup is ticked under Expert Settings – https://i.imgur.com/F2fmY6m.png

Hi Mark,

Thank you, I’m happy to help. Thanks too for the useful information.

I identified a line in your log which relates to a Fatal error. I will be checking on this.
Could you please update to the latest plugin version and run a test backup with this?

The basis of the problem is a break in the backup process when sending to remote.
A backup is initially created locally before it is then uploaded to the remote storage.

After the backup is successfully uploaded the local backup is deleted from the server.
However, when sending to remote fails the local deletion process doesn’t get initiated.

I hope this helps to understand the issue better, your settings are correctly configured.
I’ll now check the error message with our developers to obtain some feedback on that.

Updating to the latest plugin helps us to make sure it’s not specific to the old version.
If the same error occurs with the current plugin version release we need to dig deeper.

Best regards,

Nick

Hi Mark,

I did some more research and am wondering if there is a possible plugin conflict here?
Are you able to do a plugin conflict test by temporarily deactivating all other plugins?
If it’s too difficult to deactivate all, focus on those which may interact with Google Drive.

Best regards,

Nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your help. Not sure if this is related, but I tried to manually delete the plugins from Updraft WordPress backend and got this error – https://i.imgur.com/Wt35tSb.png

I then deleted plugin, deleted the public_html/wp-content/updraft folder and all the backups and also clicked on Advanced Tools > Wipe Settings but what is strange is that when I go to Backup/Restore, all the previous backups are still showing – https://i.imgur.com/dwsbUcS.png– How can I wipe everything 100% completely?

I have now renamed the folder used to be updraft-rentaboat to test. I did a new backup and this is the log file. https://pastebin.com/1kENPfrq

Also, when I’m noticing that the backup is not finishing – https://i.imgur.com/sJXHlcK.png

These are the full list of plugins that I have installed & active.

Elementor
Envato Market
Loco Translate
One Click Demo Import
PixelYourSite
Redirection
Security Optimizer
Site Kit by Google
SiteGround Central
Slider Revolution
Speed Optimizer
SVG Support
Ultimate Addons for WPBakery Page Builder
UpdraftPlus – Backup/Restore
WordPress Importer
WP All Export
WP All Import
WPBakery Page Builder
WpRentals – Gutenberg Blocks
WpRentals – Theme Core Functionality
WpRentals Elementor Widgets
Yoast Duplicate Post
Yoast SEO

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by markcassar99.

Hi Mark,

Thank you, I’m sorry for the delay with my reply.

The message you have when deleting does appear to be related as it also appears in your log file:
0302.736 (1) PHP Fatal error (Error) has occurred during backup uploads to the googledrive. Error Message: Call to a member function getTitle() on array (Code: 0, line 150 in /home/customer/www/new.rentaboat.com.mt/public_html/wp-content/plugins/updraftplus/methods/googledrive.php)

I’m going to check with the developers on this as I haven’t yet been able to identify the cause of it.
When you mention renaming a folder, did you rename this using the option under Expert settings?

I have seen problems when there was a change of the name of the folder designated for backups.
The backup resumption message is due to the inability of the plugin to progress (the error above).

To do a plugin conflict test it’s not necessary to delete the plugins, deactivating them should be fine.
Temporarily deactivating Security Optimize first may be worth a try as security can be an error cause.

Ideally, temporarily deactivating all the plugins will give you the quickest answer to if this is the issue.
If they’re all deactivated and UpdraftPlus no longer presents the error we’re at least on the right path.

Best regards,

Nick

Hi Nick,

I changed the directory name from the Expert Settings – View Screenshot – https://i.imgur.com/lemeMUu.png

Now I managed to delete the backups and I left only the latest 3 in Updraft – See screenshot – https://i.imgur.com/igxOz6E.png

However, on the webserver (Siteground), I still have 3 days of backups, when they should be deleted from the web server and kept only on remote – https://i.imgur.com/fgJrUgM.png

I deactivated Speed Optimizer & Security Optimizer which are Siteground’s official speed & security plugins, to test if those could be the issue. I run a manual backup straight after and this is the log https://pastebin.com/uiDeNnT1. As you can see, there still seems to be an error.

0028.712 (0) PHP Fatal error (Error) has occurred during backup uploads to the googledrive. Error Message: Call to a member function getTitle() on array (Code: 0, line 150 in /home/customer/www/new.rentaboat.com.mt/public_html/wp-content/plugins/updraftplus/methods/googledrive.php)

I even created a blank new folder on Google Drive to see if that could be an issue as it seems like the issue is related with uploading to Google Drive.

Not sure if it could be related but I’m using the WP Rentals Theme – https://rentayacht.wprentals.org/

Hope this can be fixed soon.

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the additional information, it’s very helpful.

I asked a developer colleague about this and they suggested to check Google authentication.
Apologies if it sounds obvious, eliminating the possibility. Is GoogleDrive correctly authorized?

Another possibility to eliminate is that the plugin wprentals-core isn’t causing the difficulties.
It’s worth temporarily deactivating this as it is the source of the error message I’ve put below:

0026.558 (0) PHP event: code E_DEPRECATED: Creation of dynamic property Google_Service_Drive_FileList::$items is deprecated (line 42, wp-content/plugins/wprentals-core/resources/src/service/Google_Model.php)

These would be my first two suggestions. If they don’t resolve the issue I will get some help.

Best regards,

Nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your help.

Yes, Google Drive is properly authenticated as I had already disconnected and re-connected it again just in case. I even deleted your plugin and reinstalled everything to start from scratch.

However, it seems like the plugin WPRentals Core is the culprit. When I temporarily disabled it, it worked well as per this log – https://pastebin.com/gyFAf7q3

Then I re-enabled it and it didn’t work again as per this log – https://pastebin.com/eCPRpL3A

Unfortunately WP Rentals is our main theme which powers the entire functionality of our portal so I can’t disable or change that one. Any thoughts of how we can solve this conflict?

• This reply was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by markcassar99.

Hi Mark,

Thank you very much, I’m sorry it took a little while to identify the specific problem.
Looking at the logs it’s pretty clear, the first one is fine; no errors or warnings at all.

I would have to suggest you contact WP Rentals, they would need to investigate this.
They should be pleased you spotted the issue and will be able to identify the cause.

I’m not familiar with the theme so it’s better to leave it to their developers who are.
The issue is not a clear one where I can recommend a simple fix I know would work.

Best regards,

Nick

Hi Nick,

This is the response from the WP Rentals support so unfortunately seems like we cannot use Updraft Plus Plugin.

“You need to choose a different way to save the backup file. The plugin uses the same function for google as the theme does. We cannot change the theme functionality for one plugin.”

We have a number of remote storages that can be used with the free version so you can also just use a different remote storage.

Hi Mark,

My colleague’s suggestion of an alternative remote store is a helpful temporary solution.
We’re currently looking at the issue and have identified the likely cause of the problem.

Once we’re certain I’ll provide you with an updated version of the plugin for Google Drive.
WP Rentals appear to have an interesting approach to supporting their paying customers.

Best regards,

Nick

Hi @markcassar99

The developers have created a tweaked version of the plugin to solve the issue:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BT4oVgnUpX7TIosrdgwCq9UPJsoXV2Zv/view

When I was downloading there was a Google message about technical difficulties.
It’s probably not persistent, I only mention it as I had to wait a while for it to start.

There was also a message about their virus scanner not being able to scan the file.
Please let me know if the fix works for you. It’s helpful feedback for the developer.

Best regards,

Nick