This section contains detailed articles elaborating on some of the common issues phpBB users encounter while using the product. Articles submitted by members of the community are checked for accuracy by the relevant phpBB Team. If you do not find the answer to your question here, we recommend looking through the Support Section as well as using the Site Wide Search.

Forum Backup Instructions

Description: Instructions for backing up your phpBB board.

In Categories:

Link to this article: Select All
[url=https://www.phpbb.com/support/docs/en/3.3/kb/article/forum-backup-instructions/]Knowledge Base - Forum Backup Instructions[/url]

Forum Backup Instructions

You will need to backup your database and any unique or changed files on the server.

This is for forums without file modifications (with or without extensions).

Database Backup:

There are 3 optional ways to backup the database.

Option A: Via phpMyAdmin

1) Navigate to MySQL database in your host's control panel and access phpMyAdmin.

2) In the left pane, select the database you wish to backup.

3) With your database selected in the left pane, select "Export", "Quick", and "SQL".

4) Then click on "Go" and your database will be available for download.



Option B: Via SSH

Database backup and restore instructions via SSH KB Article

Option C: Via the phpBB ACP

1) In the ACP, go to the "maintenance" tab, then "Backup" under the "Database" group on the left hand selection column.

2) "Full", "gzip", and "Store File Locally" should be selected.

3) Click on "Select All" under the "Table Select" list box.

4) Click on "Submit".

This will generate a backup of the database and place it in the

Code: Select all

/store
folder on your server.  The next set of instructions will allow you to download this database backup with the other needed files for backup.

File Backup:

1) Log into your server via FTP.  Make sure you use a good FTP software that is configured correctly.  We do not recommend using any FTP through your host control panel as this is often unreliable.  See the Knowledge Base phpBB FTP KB Article.

2) You will need to download the following folders and file from the root folder:

Code: Select all

/files

Code: Select all

/images

Code: Select all

/store

Code: Select all

config.php
You now have a complete backup of all the files you would need for a complete restore.

FAQ:

Q: I have a forum where I have made modifications to the core files. Are those changes backed up?
A: No. You would have to download any modified files.

Q: What about my extensions? You didn't back that up in your instructions.
A: The data (settings) for the extensions are stored in the database which we backed up. The files in the

Code: Select all

/ext
folder can be downloaded from extension database on www.phpbb.com.

Q: What about all the other files and folders that you did not download in the instructions?
A: These are all standard phpBB files that you can get from the official Full Package download from www.phpBB.com

Q: What about my unique Board Logo?
A: That would be a "modification" from the core files, so yes, that would have to be downloaded separately.

Q: I don't have SSH access.
A: Many shared hosting plans don't have SSH access. Use one of the other backup methods.

v1.1

Attachments:
229836 - phpMyAdmin.png