Reinstall?

Be careful: if the wp-config file has the info for the same database (same prefix etc.) as where your initial blog used to be… running the install would wipe out EVRYTHING and you would end up with an empty, new blog!

The other day I had this Try to re-install… message on a client’s site, while the blog was there with all the 15,000 posts.

It turned out the wp-options table has been corrupted, and after the host fixed it, everything was OK.
Please, remove the wp-admin/install.php from your server before somebody clicks on it and destroys all your blog.

If you have phpMyadmin access to your database, go in and try to browse every wp_table. In my case the error should up only when tried to see the corrupted table!

moshu, i just removed in the install and forwarded your above comment to my isp. awaiting a response from them.

how does this differ from support post where a config file may have been overwritten = https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/169467?replies=6

I don’t know. Every case and every host is different.
Everything else is just guessing, sorry.

Unless somebody who knows WP (and hosts usually, don’t) goes in to see what the issue is… it’s not easy to troubleshoot.

On a more general note: just because you had a ‘database problem’ – restoring a database is NOT the right solution, if you don’t know WHAT the problem is/was. There is a general misconception that re-installing or restoring a db would magically solve all the problems. It doesn’t.
So never rush and reinstall or restore… always try to diagnose exactly what the problem is; or find somebody to do it. With steps like your restore – you may cause bigger problems than the original issue.

just my $0.02

i slowed down as much as i possible could – even went out for a coffee ;-(

anyway, each time a disaster happens one learns that much more…

moshu, extreme prophetic on your part = the wp-options.php was crashed! they fixed it and checked rest of tables. isp asked if that fixed my isues. my isp does not know wp that well. i am backed up.

now the big question. what’s next?

1) put back install.php, close eyes, push the red button
2) rename database, rename config, do 1)
3) get another coffee
4)

1) put back install.php, close eyes, push the red button

NO!!!

#3 – yes!

Is your blog working now? I can’t promise anything but contact me with the url, site admin and blog admin and ftp info.

Let me take a look at it.

whoa! i am up! however, i have one lingering problem. my pages have disappeared and now reside in posts. today meandering around the forum i jumped into another thread with the same issue. interestingly this is my second time. my solution was to just copy the posts into new pages and delete the posts.

i have also lost my forum my forum as it behaves like a page. the forum content is there but i get a 404 for both pages/forum along with this error message…WordPress database error: [You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ” at line 1]
SELECT count(*) FROM

****

here is a thread about pages winding up in posts =
https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/169810?replies=8

here is another thread that started the whole saga. i could not write/publish but that is now fixed = https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/169852?replies=9

moshu, just sent you an email. email me back at your convenience.

I believe this is what happened to me 1/08 and this week. All the symptoms are listed…

https://iboughtamac.com/2008/03/28/protecting-wordpress-from-magic-include-shell/

@ronchicago:

My plugin, just recently updated, will convert your pages back to posts: p2pConverter. You can learn more about it at https://www.briandgoad.com/blog.

Hope this helps!

Brian D. Goad