Site Database Backup file is broken!

  • I had a website crash today, and went into my email to get the “Site Database Backup” zip file. I downloaded the zip file, and went to extract it and it says “Windows cannot complete the extraction. The Compressed (zipped) folder ‘file-location.zip’ is invalid’.

    What point is having a backup if the zip file doesn’t work?

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Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

  • Hi,

    What are you using to pen this? Have you tried opening this with a different zip app?

    There’s a .sql file in the backup zip.

    Thanks,

    Gerroald

    Recently, I was doing an audit on backups and we have our sites set to email is a backup every night.

    I tried opening it and I am also getting the same error as david.
    I’m using Windows 7 and Windows Explorer is trying to extract it, but gives the error. If I just double click the zip folder, it opens to show the contents but there are no contents.

    I had someone go back through and August 2014, they can see the SQL files, but starting after that, they all appear to be blank and give the invalid error.

    Oddly enough, I have a test site that I recently told to not only email me, but backup locally and when I look at the 2 backups it backed up locally, the file size is pretty hefty but again, downloading those files results in the same problem.

    Thread Starter david

    (@davidroose)

    My OS is Windows 8.1 Pro, and I have the full Microsoft Suite (Excel, Word, etc). When I go to extract the zip file, I get the error. I’m not sure what’s happening but it doesn’t work, also expressed by another person above.

    Has anyone tried opening\extracting the zip file using 7-zip or WinRAR ?

    The Windows explorer build-in zip extractor might be having problems with the zip file where other zip\unzip tools might not.

    dwinden

    I just installed 7zip and was able to open the zip file.
    Not sure why the Windows Explorer default program isn’t recognizing it.

    Suppose I should have tried that to begin with.

    Question – not being at all too familiar with SQL files, what does the SQL backup file contain? Is it just the database backup?

    @garyweldy

    Good to hear the zip file does function properly using 7zip.

    Yes, the SQL backup file just contains the database data.
    For a full website backup you’ll still need to backup the WP web files some other way.

    dwinden

    So, I need a better zip file extractor than windows. OK

    Aside from that though, the backup size is very small at 223K. When I go into cpanel and look at the SQL DB it’s 5.l M.

    This backup from iThemes Security looks like it’s not much of a backup. How do I get a real backup?

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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