Hi there,

me again. :) So, I'm ready to take my site live and I've uploaded my joomla site files to my host, Futurequest, and I've changed my configuration.php to reflect my MySql: user, password and data base. Still, my site shows my hosts standard "maintenance" page. The support thinks it's something I'm not doing on the Joomla side of things. In my Global Configuration, I've put the site online so at this point I don't know what else I need to do to see my site online. Suggestions?

Ever Grateful.

Is there a way you can backtrack what you did? And install Akeeba Backup extension?

When I used that it took only a few minutes to transfer my site to a different server and go live. I had no errors or any problems. Let me know if this would be an option.

This extension is 100% free. :-)

Hi Tessa,

Night owl like me, huh. :) Thanks for responding.

So would I need to delete my site files from my host, futurequest(i used core ftp LE)and install the Akeeba extension, upload my site files and I will be live?

Yes. Start fresh and backtrack with an empty domain/server ready to go.

You use akeeba backup. Find the option where it asks you to transfer servers. It gives you a form and you just fill out a few things about your server info, and BAM it's live on your new server and domain. It is amazing. Before I used that I struggled and had nothing but unsuccessful attempts trying to go live. Akeeba is just user friendly and magical. :-)

Not the most reliable lately with database backup. (It is a website+database backup component). Just throwing that out.

Night owl, not so much. Just stayed up late making a website for fun while having some martini's, coping with the excruciating pain of snowboarding for the first time yesterday, hoping I'll be able to sleep now. About 30 falls down a mountain. Ouch. Can't wait to do it again! Thought I'd share that with everyone. :-)

ha! that's hilarious. Not in the I'm glad you're sore but in that I feel your pain. When I went skiing for the first time in years I was so sore I wanted to be bathed in icy hot and heavily medicated until the pain stopped. Martini's ofcourse! So much better an idea.

Thanks for the info, I'll give it a shot and let you know how it worked out!

Hi Tessa,

I uploaded the Akeeba backup but I don't see a transfer option. I hope I uploaded the correct extension. akeeba-3.3.12-core.

Click on Akeeba Backup > Click on "Site Profile #" and instead of 'Default Backup Profile' Click on 'Site Transfer' and click on 'Switch Profiles'

Let me know if you need help from there.

Hi FreeFormVentures,

Can we get a link to your site to take a quick look? It might just be that you have an index.html in your root that might need deleting.

Kind regards,
Nick

The drop down didn't have a site transfer option. Only the Default Backup Profile. Clicked on Switch profile anyway, but of course nothing happened.

Hey Nick,

Here is the link:http://www.authorsyoulove.com/

Hi FreeFormVentures,

Did you already delete all the files from the server? Is everything set up now as you believe it should be or are you still re-transferring?

Kind regards,
Nick

No, everything was transferred out of the hosting FTP files and as far as I can tell everything is back the way it was. I forgot to transfer back the html.index back but I've done that now.

More info as it might help back track: Originally I downloaded Core FTP LE to transfer my site files from my Uniform Server to my host at FutureQuest.net. I then changed my MySql settings on my hosting site (User, password, database), but my site still didn't show. Now I've transferred all the files back and uploaded the Akeeba backup do not see the transfer option Tessa spoke of.

Any harm in me uninstalling the Core FTP in case I missed something? perhaps that may help Akeeba.

Nah, it didn't have any affect.

Would this tutorial help at all?

www.joomlart.com/blog/joomla-templates/h...e-with-akeeba-backup

Hi Tessa,

not really, actually after reading through it, it's a lot like what I did with Core LE in that it acts as a transfer tool for my site files to my host server. But the instructions seem a bit confusing and I don't know that Akeeba is the way to go. Core LE is a type of FTP, but for some reason when I did the transfer, my site was still not live. Can you or Nick or anyone think of another way I might get this thing going? Thank you!

Hi Freeform,

Does futurquest have a one click installer for Joomla?

If they do just do an install of Joomla in the public html directory and see if it shows up.

If they don't, do a manual install of Joomla using these directions
www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/installing-joomla-25/
At this point you should have a working installation. THat will tell us if you are having a problem with the server, or if it's just the procedure.

FTP your local files to your site's joomla main directory. Don't overwrite any files. THat way it will only add the files from any extensions you added on your local computer and not disturb your joomla installation.

Go to Extensions > Extensions Manager the Discover Tab. Click discover to integrate any plugins or modules.

Then do a data base dump from your original site to an SQL or zip file. Use PHP my admin to import the dump into the new data base.

That should do it. delete any files that the host put in there like index.html or welcome.html. The main file there should be index.php.

Try that and let us know.
Ed

Could you send me some FTP credentials to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so I can take a quick look for you? Please include a link to this forum post in the email and then afterward reply to this forum post letting me know you sent the email so that I can check it.

Kind regards,
Nick

Hi Nick,

What do you mean FTP credentials? where are those? :/

Hi FreeFormVentures,

I mean the FTP username, password, and hostname. It's the same as what you'd use for Core LE. Hope that helps!

Kind regards,
Nick

Hi FreeFormVentures,

Looks like the server is working correctly. For example, authorsyoulove.com/regencygentlman.jpg

However, you don't have any of the Joomla files in the www folder. The www folder is your "live" folder and it should contain your Joomla site. Let us know if you have any questions about this part.

Kind regards,
Nick

Hey Nick,

It is in there, or at least as far as I can tell it is. When I uploaded all of the files from my site, Joomla! 2.5 was in that package. That's how Uniform Server works. You copy and paste Joomla into folder and start building. Do you mean that I need to upload Joomla! 2.5 as a separate set of files in my www folder along with my site folders which are located in the www folder?

I really appreciate all of your time with this.

Hi FreeFormVentures,

The only files the www folder is:
LadiesoftheVictorianEra.jpg
morena_victorian_915.jpg
MyFair2.jpg
regencygentlman.jpg
Victorian party.jpg

However, I figured out what the issue is :) You have a UniServer folder in the www folder and within there you have a www folder and within it you have a Mysite folder, so the path is as follows:
youraccount/www/UniServer/www/Mysite

You need to move/copy the contents of the Mysite folder to the www folder in the root of your FTP (so not the Uniserver www folder but rather the other one).

Hope this helps! :)

Kind regards,
Nick

Aaaaah, that helps a lot. So you think that once I do that I should be okay? Or do I still need to do a Joomla 2.5 upload?

Thanks Nick!

You're welcome! :) It should be OK at that point.

Kind regards,
Nick

Ug, I made the change but my site still isn't showing up. Any ideas on what might be holding it up now?

I just noticed that within my www folder there is a file called:index.fquest
I clicked on it and it took me to the default page that comes up when I put in my sites URL. Should I delete this file?

Sounds like the index.fquest file is a temporary index page. Your main index/default or whatever page should override that.

Can you tell me if you have another index/default/home file within that directory?

Hi FreeFormVentures,

I tried logging into your FTP to take a look at your progress but the connection seems to be down. Let us know when you have an update for us.

Kind regards,
Nick

Hey Tessa, I don't see another file within the www directory like that. When I click on Mysite file which contains my site files, there is an Index.php text file. But that's about it.

Nick, now that I've moved my Mysite folder to the root www directory, should I delete the Uniserver folder? Do you think that may be a problem with why my site isn't loading now?

Thanks!

Should be okay, as far as I know the info I gave you should be good to go. Try again when you have a sec.

Hi FreeFormVentures,

The login info worked this time :)

There's no need to delete the Uniserver folder for the time being. Just keep it there until you have everything set up as you'd like it. It shouldn't affected your site in any way.

OK, take a look at authorsyoulove.com/Mysite/ . Notice the mySQL erorr? That needs to be correct before continuing. It's most likely an issue with your database settings in your configuration.php file. Could you the following tutorial by Ed a try?
www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/guided-to...nfigurationphp-file/

It's an extremely helpful tutorial and specifically the "Database Settings" part of it should be helpful for your situation.

Once the site is working in the Mysite folder, you'll have to transfer the contents of the Mysite folder to the www folder.

Kind regards,
Nick

Hey Nick,

Thanks for the guide, I think it really helped me to understand that file. So, I went in and made the changes to my MyQL settings. I moved the folders from Mysite to just the www. My site still isn't loading, but after carefully reading through the guide I'm wondering if the problem lays in the tmp path. I followed it for both the tmp folder and the log folder and I found an error in the log folder and in the tmp folder the template that I'm using for my site wasn't listed. there should be a cowboy3 tmp file too. Only the first two were there.

Can you take another look please? Ug, sorry this is taking so long I just don't know what I'm missing here. Thank you for your patience throughout. Hopefully this can get resolved soon.

Thanks!

What is your tmp and log paths set to in your configuration file?

The reason why I was asking is because I was in a situation where I couldn't get my site to work too. When I reconfigured the tmp path it worked thereafter.

But the list is very long with possibilities on why a site isn't working, so that is why we are working with you one step at a time. :-)

Don't worry it will be resolved. ;-)

Thanks Tessa, and I very much appreciate everyone's help thus far. Truly.

Okay so the tmp path's are as follows:

public $log_path = 'C:\\Users\\Amber\\Downloads\\Uniserver\\UniServer\\www\\Mysite/logs';
public $tmp_path = 'C:\\Users\\Amber\\Downloads\\Uniserver\\UniServer\\www\\Mysite/tmp'

Ok your log/tmp path doesn't look right to me.

As a matter of fact, your log/tmp path are pointing to your old site on your localhost.

You need to adjust it so it points at your site on your server.

As a precaution, please make a copy of your configuration file just in case you need to revert back to old changes.

With Futurequest, i think this is the correct path:

/var/www/vhost/Mysite/logs

/var/www/vhost/Mysite/tmp

But it MIGHT need to be adjusted.

Thanks Tessa, I will give it a shot. My db path is xauthorsyoulove-authorsyoulove/www

My site files are in the www file. Does that change the path settings you suggested above? Also, what does /var/ mean?

Thanks!

No it doesn't change the path settings.

I got that path from a configuration file of someone who uses Joomla with Futurequest, which is why I thought it could be a possibility.

My global configurations also look very similar to that too, with the weird var in it.

Looked at the global configuration and the tmp and log paths are the same as what was in my config.php file. I tried changing things and it shut down my site. so I reverted everything back to the original php.

Is there a way to do a live chat help session? I feel like this is taking a while to make these tweaks respond to you and then get a response back. I also think being able to respond in real time my help me figure out what the problem is. If not, I will certainly continue to try and express what my issue is and hopefully we can get it resolved together.

Thanks!

Hi FreeFormVenture

Sorry, we don't do live chat. If we did, the price of membership would need to be substantially higher.

At the moment I see this error:

Here's what you can do to test whether your server is correctly set up ...

Create a new file with this code, just entering your own database connection details:

That should show you any errors that are preventing your site from working and you can pass them on to your host.

Thanks Steve, but I really don't understand what you want me to do. I mean I do but your instructions leave me with more questions: what do you mean create a file? A text file? Where would I put the file? how does that code above test my server? how do I test it once I've entered the above code?

I'll tell you what I did do. I started a sample site. Basically set up another Joomla site, just to see if I could get it live knowing what I do now about uploading my site to my host and changing the configuration php with my database and MySQL info. My tmp paths are correct and as far as I can tell all of the db info and MySQL info is correct.

Check it out:
[edited by Nick for security reasons]


Nick, I put the site file on my db's www folder

I'm attaching screen shots of the back end of my sites global configuration and my host site where I transferred my sample sites files to. Maybe if you see what I see you can see exactly what I'm doing wrong. see? :)

Thank you!

Hi FreeFormVentures,

Sorry but it's not allowing me to connect to your FTP again. Also, your screenshots didn't get attached.

Steve meant for you to create a php file and then place the code in it. If you call the php file test4MySQL.php and put it in your www folder then you could use authorsyoulove.com/test4MySQL.php in your browser's address to check it. Hope that helps! Let us know if you have any other questions about it. :)

Yes, starting a sample site accomplishes the same thing as the php file so good thinking! :)

By the way, your issue is definitely a mySQL connection issue and doesn't have to do with the tmp folder or log folder.

Your DB settings in the mySQL file do not appear to be correct. Your $host is likely correct as it's usually localhost almost all the time.

On remote hosts you typically shouldn't use the $user as "root". It's typically a reserved name. I'd recommend creating a new DB user and password. Make sure you then assign the user to the database and give the user full permissions to the database.

Sometimes hosts append the hosting username to the front of the database and database user. So for example, if your username was ayl, then your database would be ayl_samplesite and your database user might be ayl_whateveryounamedit

I would recommend checking with your web host as to the correct naming structures of the database and database user, as it varies from host to host.

You're almost done! Don't give up! :)

Kind regards,
Nick

Hey Nick,

Thanks for your response. I'm going to email you the screen shots just in case they don't make it on this post either.

When you said you would recommend I create a new db user and password and assign permission to the sample site, did you mean on the back end of Joomla? or did you mean with my host? I'm not sure I can create a new db user on with my host.

"Sometimes hosts append the hosting username to the front of the database and database user. So for example, if your username was ayl, then your database would be ayl_samplesite and your database user might be ayl_whateveryounamedit"

- Yeah, this is what future quest does. Authorsyoulove-"dbname"

the ftp should be working now if you want to take a look. I hope you received the attached doc.

Thank you for the encouragement,it's been really frustrating this whole process and all I wanted to do was create a simple site to sell e-books. Who knew? ha.

Thank you!

Let's try this again. Hopefully it will attach as a pdf.

Hi FreeFormVentures,

You're welcome!

I meant with your host. They should allow you to create new DB users, however if not, you can use the same DB user. Who's your host? They should be able to provide documentation or support on how to set up databases on their system (it varies between hosts).

Kind regards,
Nick

I'm with future quest. www.futurequest.net/ I will look into setting up a new db user, hopefully it will be easy. Did you get a chance to look at the screen shots? Any thoughts?

Hi FreeFormVentures,

Yes, I looked that the screenshots last time but they aren't of much use for this particular situation, unfortunately. The global configuration just displays the settings from your configuration.php file and the other screenshots are just your file manager. On the left hand side of your first screenshot of the file manager, you have a mySQL manager in left menu. That's where you want to be in and checking :)

Any luck contacting your host? They should be able to tell your their database name requirements (it varies between hosts), etc, and point you to their documentation in a matter of a few minutes.

Kind regards,
Nick

Hi Nick,

I did get in contact with my host admin and they don't have a service that allows me to create another user and password. They just suggested what we've already been doing and that is changing the conf. php file. They said it was wrong and when I changed it to the specifications they suggested for my samplesite, I am now locked out of the backend of the samplesite with this error:

Database connection error (2): Could not connect to MySQL.

I don't understand this since this AT ALL. First, I made the changes on my host in the FTP manager section I opened the configuration php and made the appropriate changes. I then opened the same file on the local or desktop configuration php where I have my site files and made the same change. Finally, on the back end of joomla in the site configuration-server area, I changed the database settings to the appropriate MySql settings (host, user, db name). when I saved it, I've got the error above now.

Seriously, what am I doing wrong? This can't be that hard...

Hi FreeFormVentures,

If your host only allows one database user and database user password then you should use those for your configuration.php. The database on your computer and the one on your live server are different and thus would need different database settings.

I'm sorry, I wish I could help more but it really depends on what your host told you to use for settings. If it's still not working after that, I'd recommend contacting them again and letting them know.

Kind regards,
Nick

Error message 2 just means you don't have your data base connections correct yet. I think you are putting the wrong info into the configuration.php file. Get the information for the data base connection from the MySQL panel of your CNC hosting control panel on Futurequest. The information that should be in there is highlighted in the attached screen shot.

notice that the hostname is not localhost on this server.

If you don't know the password, change it to something you will remember.

If you still can't get it to work. If you email me the credentials to your CNC control panel I will check it for you. Send credentials to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cheers,
Ed