ERROR: Could not generate a WordPress export file.

Hey Daniel, are you still around to answer these questions?

Hello, I see it’s a still active issue, and I can confirm that. I’m also having this issue no matter what I try. No way I’m going back to a previous PHP version!
I have this issue on only one site that’s hosted on the same server as other websites which are working perfect…
So in my opinion it’s an issue by the plugin and would be great if it could be restored. Right now I daily check the backup manually..

Furthermore it’s a really great plugin I love to work with!

Regards, Marcel

I want to inform everyone how to fix this. The problem is that your database is too large and the WordPress XML is timing out. However, Daniel included in the plugin settings a way to overcome your monster of a database.

I’ve created a Youtube walk-through on how to fix it which you can see here: https://youtu.be/QNE1gK5ukac

Thanks Flywebguy! I just edited the settings for my backup jobs and will find out tomorrow if the problems are resolved, but I’m pretty confident they are ??

Thanks again for the great contribution!

Best regards, Marcel

Thanks flywebguy, worked for me as well.

Here are the written instructions, taken from his video.

1st go here
BackWPup > Settings > Jobs > Maximum number of retries for job steps = 5 > Restart every main step = CHECK > Maximum script execution time = 80 > Reduce server load = Medium

Then go to Jobs > Then edit your job with the problem > Export XML = CHECK
then go to tab on the top
XML export > File Compression = GZip

original video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNE1gK5ukac&feature=youtu.be

I thought writing out the instructions would be helpful because having to listen to a video as sometimes its not feasible where you are working.

I’m glad it’s working for everyone ?? And great point Canadianllama, thanks for writing it down for those that can’t take advantage of videos in our environments.

Thanks Daniel for creating such a great plugin!

Thanks for sharing this solution! Works for me too! ??

I did flywebguy`s fix but still receive this error:

[??-???-???? ??:??:??] 1099 folders to backup. [??-???-???? ??:??:??] 1. Trying to create a WordPress export to XML file … [??-???-???? ??:??:??] ERROR: Could not generate a WordPress export file. [??-???-???? ??:??:??] Restart will be executed now. [??-???-???? ??:??:??] 2. Trying to create a WordPress export to XML file … [??-???-???? ??:??:??] Check WP Export file … [??-???-???? ??:??:??] WP Export file is a valid WXR file. [??-???-???? ??:??:??] Compressing file … [??-???-???? ??:??:??] Compressing done. [??-???-???? ??:??:??] Added XML export “Omid-e-Toraby.wordpress.????-??-??.xml.gz” with 186.75 kB to backup file list. [??-???-???? ??:??:??] Restart will be executed now.