Snapshot failure after import on v9.0.3

[guccij]

I've looked and read at length over the last 24 hours, and have sent Support the necessary files. However, while I wait for them to come back with a possibile solution, I'm setting out the problem here as the weekend is looming and this is driving me nuts.

For various reasons we had to use a laptop for the last couple of weeks to run our site. It has been absolutely fine. As ever, being paranoid, I was taking snapshots several times a day.

Yesterday, with our main PC back up and running, we decided to move the latest snapshot across. It imported without errors and all seemed fine. OS is Windows XP Home on both.

However, on trying to take a snapshot after doing a little work (fortunately only downloaded two orders in the meantime), the snapshot fails with a fatal error and a dmp file is created.

These are the various things we have tried over the last day:

Compact/repair database
Import an older snapshot from laptop
Uninstall/reinstall with registry edits as well
Copy across site folder
Install v9.0.4
Change php="true" to "false" (Support's first suggestion)

Nothing works

Bright - or even dim - ideas welcome

Jules x

[Duncan Rounding]

Does it fail to snapshot on both PCs or just the one?

If you are using some custom php routines it may be an idea to place a blockif around them all with a boolean CV so that you can toggle them on/off to check if it helps.

[Rich Brady]

Jules, I'm sure this is no the case in your instance, but always worth a mention. Are they both the same V9 versions?

(Dim Idea)

[chris ashdown]

Just make backups of the mdb using jans software (Free)

I found that after a few startups it suddenly starts accepting snapshots again, but with a modern snapshot plus a backup mdb you can always restore the site (I did not say that)

[guccij]

Hi Duncan

It fails to snapshot on both the main PC and the backup PC which we tried last night. The laptop is absolutely fine taking snapshots and we're keeping going using that.

We don't have any custom php as far as I know - the only tweaks are the usual ones for scripts.

Rich - laptop and PCs are on v9.0.3. The only possible difference is that before we moved to the laptop while the main PC was out of action, we installed v9.04 beta briefly. Uninstalled it when we realised we needed to use the laptop properly rather than as a play thing. So there may be some legacy stuff going on - hence installing v.9.04 on the main PC as one of our best guess efforts. Didn't work, so uninstalled and reverted to .03.

[guccij]

Chris - we do use Jan's back up software and have tried using one of the mdb from there. It all works, but still we can't snapshot at the end of it.

[Duncan Rounding]

Thats what I do - it takes too long to create a snapshot for large sites so I take a copy of the site folder periodically and in the interim take copies of the database.

The downside is that their could well be something wrong with the database that's stopping the snapshot and causing the crash and making backups of possible bad data isn't going to fix it.

[Duncan Rounding]

Sounds like you need to get the dmp files and a zipped site folder to support for them to check into th eproblem.

[guccij]

Yes, have sent the latest dmp and the zipped mdb off this morning. Just a question of waiting now I guess.

Fortunately, as I say, the laptop is behaving well and we can work off it in the meantime. It's just soooo slow.

Thanks for all suggestions x

[guccij]

-- edit --

I think I have found one - thank heavens for backups and an OCD-like inability to hit the delete key ...

-------------

I think I have a possible solution.

Does anyone have a copy of v904BetaJEPA.exe still?

If so, can I borrow it please!

You can find me at info at snorestore dot co dot uk

Here's hoping ...

[guccij]

Good news: I finally solved this conundrum last night, after one of the those "bing" lightbulb moments (believe me, that is rare for me).

I'd come across this post by Tracey G when I first started looking, and although her solution didn't work for me, it did get me thinking.

On the main PC, where the snapshot was failing, we'd started off with v8 and upgraded to v9 along the way. On the laptop, it was a clean v9 install. What if we went back to v8, imported a v8 site and worked upwards from there? That didn't work either. Snapshots would import, but still no joy making a new one.

After a lot more messing about, we ended up clean installing v9.02, importing a v9.03 snapshot and seeing what would happen. It worked. We were able to create snapshots in the normal way.

The test then was to install v9.03 as an upgrade to 9.02. This worked and the problem was finally solved. The site now snapshots happily and I am one relieved little Swissmiss.

Incidentally, in case anyone has similar problems in future, the contents of the sites.ini files are now as follows:

[Sites]
Site1=

[Site1]
UpgradeType=
Upgrade=
Backup=