Overwrote everything other than config, ext/images/files - no db backup

[Mustang-man]

Support Request Template
What version of phpBB are you using? phpBB 3.3.0
What is your board's URL? http://southernskylines.com/phpBB3/
Who do you host your board with? Pair
How did you install your board? I used the download package from phpBB.com
What is the most recent action performed on your board? Update from a previous version of phpBB3
Is registration required to reproduce this issue? No
Do you have any MODs installed? No?
Do you have any extensions installed? No?
What version of phpBB3 did you update from? phpBB 3.3.0?
Which database type/version are you using? I Don't Know
What is your level of experience? New to PHP but not phpBB
What actions did you take (updating your board; installing a MOD, style or extension; etc.) prior to this problem becoming noticeable? Overwrote wrong forum, on the same server, to update from an older (unknown which version) version to the new one.
Please describe your problem. Was wondering for ages why nothing was changing, then realised i'd overwritten and updated, then deleted (do try fresh install) the completely wrong forum (same webhost, different subdomain...).

The config, ext, images and files folders were backed up first, but NOTHING else, not even database (since 2018 = forum is a bit dormant at the mo). When i downloaded everything to the computer to start the fresh install, i'd already overwritten the remaining files with the new ones.

Now all i get is; "This page isn???t workingsouthernskylines.com is currently unable to handle this request.
HTTP ERROR 500"(

or; "Index of /phpBB3 Icon Name Last modified Size Description
[PARENTDIR] Parent Directory -
[DIR] phpBB3/"

or; "Not Found
The requested URL was not found on this server."

So before i reupload and re- overwrite the files with the new ones again, have i stuffed up and lost everything back to 2018?
Generated by SRT Generator

[CPTOM]

Have you checked with your host provider to see if they have a backup of your database? Some hosts do that automatically...

[invenio]

What exactly do you mean "overwrote" when it comes to the database?

Is the database still present in phpmyadmin? If the only thing you did with the files was via ftp, then there is a good chance the database is still there.

BTW, here is the backup instructions to make sure this never happens again: https://www.phpbb.com/support/docs/en/3 ... tructions/

[Mustang-man]

Automatic daily updates are an additional expense per month that i haven't subscribed to, i rely on backups to my computer and external hard drives/storage devices. But haven't done any on that forum for years since there's been minimal activity.

Don't have phpmyadmin. Tried downloading it but can't figure out how it works.

By overwrote i mean i'm not sure where the database normally lies (which folder) and whether or not uploading and overwriting with a fresh forum version will overwrite the database back to square one or not. I initially opted to overwrite every file that was i think older than the new version, or a different size to the new version.

But yeah, been running my own forums for over 20 years and never done anything like this before. I blame baby brain (kids, lack of sleep etc).

[Madalin10]

You cannot overwrite the database itself since this is not inside ftp where you have uploaded the phpbb files/folders.

So step one is, make sure you have uploaded everything apart from config.php, from the official package - phpbb.com/downloads/
Step two, check your config.php and see what is the name of the database there, go to your webhostings’ panel (cpanel/hpanel/plesk etc…) find phpmyadmin and click on it. Once you are there, look for the database name that’s inside the config.php, and simply scroll down until the last table _zebra (phpbb_zebra) and after it you can see how much space it takes this database. If it’s your original db, it should take some space but not just 1/2 mb.

After you have done this checklist, access your board’s url together with /install in front of it. (example: google.com/install)

Once you on the install page, click on the update tab and follow the process, it should be pretty straightforward.

Oh, and make sure you run at least php 7.4 (recommended at least 8.1) for your domain, in order to update to the latest version. PHP version can be changed from your webhostings’ panel.

[Mustang-man]

Ah, finally found phpmyadmin. File size was 2.1kb or something. And php version on the server is 8.3.

And the url with /install still isn't showing anything, even adding app.php.

Keep getting:

Not Found
The requested URL was not found on this server.

Feels like i'm missing something obvious.

[invenio]

If you downloaded the database via phpmyadmin and it was only 2.6KB I don't think you have the right database. That would be incredibly small and most likely not contain any posts/user info/etc.

Are you following one of the database backup method in the backup KB article?

[Mustang-man]

Whoops, sorry. Was looking at php_zebra itself.

Total size is 25.2 MiB.

EDIT: Working now, i'd put the forum in deeper into the subdirectory than i'd meant to.

EDIT 2: And the forum has been updated with all the posts etc retained, everything the way it should be.

Thanks for the help peeps, and next time i think i'll work on the forums when i've had more sleep.