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Mandatory information about my setup:

Have I read the related troubleshooter articles above before posting (which pages?)? Yes
Have I searched the forum before posting? Yes
Have I read the documentation before posting (which pages?)? Yes, Quickstart guide Section 4
Joomla! version: 1.6
PHP version: 5.2.10
MySQL version: 4.1.22 on remote server, 5.0.51a in XAMPP
Host: 123-Reg
Akeeba Backup version: 3.2.7

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Please attach your Akeeba Backup log file in order for us to help you with any backup or restoration issue.

Description of my issue:

I am using Akeeba for the first time today, so I hope my problem is a typicl nove one and can be resolved easily!

I have created a Joomla site on my PC using XAMPP 1.7.1. To permit User Acceptance Testing I want to copy the site to a subdirectory on a server I am already using.

To test Backup and Kickstart, I successfully created a backup of my XAMPP site, and using Kickstart, created a new instance of my site on the XAMPP server using database details the same as on my live site. This worked well.

I then did another backup to include my newly named database, and FTP'd it to the subdirectory I plan to use for testing. I uploaded Kickstart to the same subdirectory, and then ran it.
The ABI check screen was OK, and the DB restore setting appear correct for my new server.

However, I get the following error message:

Error at the line 12: CREATE TABLE `akb_categories` ( `id` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, `asset_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0' COMMENT 'FK to the wlmc_assets table.', `parent_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NUL ... MySQL: MySQL query failed with error 1074 (Column length too big for column 'description' (max = 255); use BLOB or TEXT instead). The query was:CREATE TABLE `wlmc_categories` ( `id` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, `asset_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0' COMMENT 'FK to the wlmc_assets table.', `parent_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `lft` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `rgt` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `level` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `path` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', `extension` varchar(50) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', `title` varchar(255) NOT NULL, `alias` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', `note` varchar(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', `description` varchar(5120) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', `published` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `checked_out` int(11) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `checked_out_time` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00', `access` tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `params` text NOT NULL, `metadesc` varchar(1024) NOT NULL COMMENT 'The meta description for the page.', `metakey` varchar(1024) NOT NULL COMMENT 'The meta keywords for the page.', `metadata` varchar(2048) NOT NULL COMMENT 'JSON encoded metadata properties.', `created_user_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `created_time` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00', `modified_user_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `modified_time` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00', `hits` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', `language` char(7) NOT NULL, PRIMARY KEY (`id`), KEY `cat_idx` (`extension`,`published`,`access`), KEY `idx_access` (`access`), KEY `idx_checkout` (`checked_out`), KEY `idx_path` (`path`), KEY `idx_left_right` (`lft`,`rgt`), KEY `idx_alias` (`alias`), KEY `idx_language` (`language`) ) ENGINE=InnoDB AUTO_INCREMENT=82 DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8

When I check the database using phpmyAdmin, I see that 7 tables have been created, but it appears there is a mySQL error preventing it from continuing.

I note that it is recommended that I use a binary setting for FTP. I actually used Dreamweaver to upload the file, and so far as I know it is not possible to change the settings. However, as Dreamweaver successfully uploaded the file when I tested on my own machine, I am hoping this is not the problem.

I was having a good day until I hit this problem! Can you help?

PS where would I find the log file?

The first problem is the MySQL version on your remote server. MySQL 4 is not supported. Are you sure it is really using MySQL 4? If it is, you should find out if they did not upgrade your server or if you have to do something to get on MySQL 5. MySQL 5+ has been required for Joomla since late versions of 1.5.x. MySQL 5.0.4+ is required for Joomla 1.7.0.

Please check that and get upgraded to MySQL 5 and then try restore again. IF your primary site is on the same as Dev, I'm surprised it did not error out as well.

Also, if you are running on Windows, you can try a product called Filezilla for doing FTP. While Dreamweaver does work to upload files most times, I would use a tool that is designed for uploading files all the time, i.e. an FTP program. It is a free piece of software. There are Mac versions of FTP programs, but I don't have any right off the top of my head.

Hi, I've answered my own question. Not a problem with Akeeba, but Joomla 1.6 will not run with the earlier version of mySQL implemented by my hosting company.

Looks like I will have to downgrade to 1.5 for the time being.

You are correct that Joomla 1.6 will not work on MySQL 4. You may find, however, that even on Joomla 1.5, some extensions you may wish to use will not run on MySQL 4 either. Just keep that in mind even if it IS a Joomla 1.5 version of the software.

My suggestion is, if you can, to move to a different host if one is available to you. Unless they are planning to upgrade soon on the MySQL version, they obviously are not too concerned about being on the latest version of software. You may want to see if they have a mySQL 5 server before you downgrade to Joomla 1.5. If they can move your sites to MySQL 5, you will be much happier anyway.

The other point to make is that you should be using Joomla 1.7 at this point. 1.6.x will be end of life as of August 19 and no longer supported. If you can get to MySQL 5, I suggest going with Joomla 1.7 if you want to go with a newer version than Joomla 1.5. Joomla 1.5 will run just as good on MySQL 5, so you would have no problem sticking with that until it goes end of life in April 2012 if you had to do that.

Good luck with your site! We're here if you should have further questions or issues with Akeeba Backup.

Many thanks 'rkendallc', sorry I didn't spot your earlier reply before I posted.

I'm just about to try things on a different server. It's all part of the learning process!

I reckon I must have been just about the last person to download 1.6, so upgrading is another fun thing to sort out!

Can I assume that 1.6 extensions will work OK in 1.7?

Many of the 1.6 ready extensions SHOULD function in Joomla 1.7. If you ahve an extension you wish to use, you should check the website of the vendor to verify it will work on Joomla 1.7.

Upgrading should be easy if you are already on 1.6. Just upgrade to 1.6.5 and then you should be able to do a one-click update i the backend to Joomla 1.7.0. I think this has been working well for others. This is only for the core Joomla sites. I would suggest you make sure ALL your installed components are on versions that are compat with 1.7 before you upgrade.

Good luck!