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When a backup fails or ends with warnings

Updated

A backup ends with one of three results: Complete, With warnings or Failed. Here you read what the message means, where the reason is and what you can do.

The three results

Result In the list of backups Meaning
green
Complete 		green dot, type Full Every target has the complete backup. Nothing was left out.
yellow
With warnings 		yellow dot, type Full The backup counts as a good backup. Something did not go smoothly, for example a file could not be read.
red
Failed 		red dot, type Failed No target has the backup. What was already transferred, the plugin removes at the targets again.

A backup that you abort yourself is not an error: it appears with a grey dot in the list; the Type column says Aborted. The status tile of the Overview does not change because of it.

Step 1: Read the message

The result appears as a message below the main tile. A yellow or red message stays until you close it or begin a new action.

Red message after a failed backup with the error at the target

  1. Below the reason for the error are the failed target and the cause.
  2. The original message: Message from the target is the last answer of the target, that is the server, the service or the provider behind it; Message from cURL is the message of the transfer program cURL.
  3. Log opens the log of this backup.

The message is not translated. Credentials, folders, users and server names are masked in it. The message is also in the log, there with the numbers from cURL and from the target.

If the message is already closed

The result of the last backup is also in the status tile of the Overview page. In the list of backups, More …, then Log leads to the log.

Red status tile of the Overview: the last backup failed

  1. The last backup failed.
  2. Time, cause and the link to the log.
  3. Per target, the reason and the original message.
  4. The next step, matching the cause.
  5. Last good backup names time, size and target.
  6. Next attempt names the next run according to the schedule.

Step 2: Open the log

Click Log. The lines of the log are in English.

The Log dialog window with the lines of a backup with warnings

  1. The time in the time zone of the website.
  2. The level: INFO, WARNING or ERROR. After it is the message.
  3. The details of the message.
  4. A warning. The details name the entry that was not backed up, and the reason.

The log names every entry that was not backed up by its path inside the website, at most 50 per reason. Further ones it only counts. How you read the lines: Read the log.

Step 3: Fix the cause

The backup ended with warnings

Yellow message after a backup with warnings

  1. The message names the number and kind of the warnings.
  2. The link opens the log of this backup.
  3. The cross closes the message.
Kind Meaning What you can do
… not readable A file or a folder could not be read. On the server, check the permissions of the entry that the log names.
… vanished
… changed while being read 		The file was no longer there during the backup, or it changed while being read. Then the backup contains what was read. If it keeps hitting the same folder, exclude it: Define what gets backed up.
… unsupported The entry is not a file, not a folder and not a link. Nothing.
… target(s) failed One target does not have the backup, another has it complete. See “Error at a target”.
… database note(s) Notes from the export of the database. Read them in the log.

If a step breaks off three times at the same file, the plugin skips it, and the backup ends with warnings.

The backup failed

Message What you can do
No target is reachable. Before backing up, the plugin connects to every target. No connection could be established. On the Targets page, choose More … at the target, then Test connection.
A target is not usable. The target is disconnected or has no successful connection test. Test the connection or renew the credentials: Renew the credentials of a target. You connect a disconnected target in Google Drive or Dropbox on the Targets page with Connect again: Store backups in Google Drive, Store backups in Dropbox.
No target has the backup. The transfer failed. The line about the target names the reason.
Not enough free space. The plugin checks the space before it writes: in the work folder on the web server and at every target. The backup ends with this message if the work folder is not enough or if no target has enough space. Nothing is written then. Free up space there. If the space is insufficient at only one of several targets, the backup goes to the other targets and ends with warnings: see “Error at a target”.
A part failed verification twice.
Too many steps without progress. 		Start the backup again. If it fails again: Get help: support report, troubleshooting and diagnostics.
The database is not MySQL or MariaDB. The plugin cannot back up this database.

Error at a target

Message What you can do
The target cannot be reached. Check the server name and the port; the host of this website may block the port. Check the settings of the target and test the connection.
The target refused the login. Check user name and password. The plugin marks the target as Disconnected. Enter the credentials again.
Not enough free space there for a backup of this size. The plugin checked the space before writing and skipped this target. The line below names the need, the reserve and the free space: Needed: about … plus a reserve of …; free: …. Free up space at the target.
The target reports that there is no space left. Free up space at the target.
Sending the data failed. Possible causes: the connection was interrupted, or there is no space left at the target. Check the space at the target and start the backup again.

An error that may pass, the plugin tries up to three times, with a pause in between.

Step 4: Start the backup again

Once the cause is fixed, start the backup by hand: Create a backup right now. The status tile of the Overview judges the last finished backup.

Good to know

  • With On errors and warnings, the plugin sends an email after such a backup: Set up email notifications.
  • If the backup does not start, the page reports The backup could not be started: … with the reason. Show log opens the general log.

See also

On the command line

WP-CLI not set up yet? How to install WP-CLI.

With WP-CLI you see the state, test the target and start the backup again. If it fails, the command names the last messages, the state of every target and the reason, in English. For an error at a target, the original messages are below: after target: the message from the target, after cURL the number and the message from cURL.

# Show the state of the website, like the overview
wp cloneworx-backup status

# Show the backups with status and state per target
wp cloneworx-backup backup list

# Show the targets with ID and state
wp cloneworx-backup target list

# Test the connection of a target
wp cloneworx-backup target test sftp-1

# Run the backup plan again
wp cloneworx-backup plan run "Daily backup"

# Write all logs to one file
wp cloneworx-backup logs --to=/tmp/cloneworx-logs.tar

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