My Web Host Changed Servers..Now My Site Is Deleted?? What Should I Do????

21 replies
A few days ago I went to visited my website and it was redirecting to my Webhosting homepage
I thought what on earth is going on here
So I try to log into my cpanel on the 13 Of february

This was the message i saw

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

URGENT NOTICE: Backup all data / files / email BEFORE 9 Feb 2013
URGENT: Do this now or before 9 February 2013 otherwise you will lose all of your data!

******************************

If you haven't yet switched to the new server network and systems you will need to do so by 9th February 2013.

You may continue to use your existing hosting & email facilities however - AFTER 9 FEBRUARY 2013, ALL FILES, CODE, MYSQL, EMAIL AND ALL DATA ON THE OLD SERVERS/SYSTEMS WILL BE PERMANENTLY DELETED & NOT IN SERVICE.

This upgrade is free of charge for all existing customers.


Begin your free upgrade here:

Performing a full backup of your files, MySQL databases and email and all of your important data

Step 1. Login to your old (existing) control panel and perform these back ups. To do this please click here. If you have created any mail boxes in your hosting package these will also need to be backed up using "POP3". EMAIL BACKUPS USING IMAP WILL NOT WORK.

Step 2. To ensure all records are current you will need to re-register with us. Do this free of charge by clicking here.

Step 3. Once you have registered with our new network please login to your account and open a support ticket advising us of your domain name(s) that you have existing hosting packages for.

These will then be cross checked against your existing hosting facilities with us and allocated to your new registration with us. After verification of this you will receive an email/ticket update confirming your upgrade and new server and login details.

Step 4. Upload your files and backups to the new servers and re-create your email accounts/boxes.

Step 5. DO NOT COMPLETE THIS STEP IF YOU HAVE NOT YET COMPLETED STEP 4. Once you have completed step 4 above, change your domain name(s) to point to the new nameservers as follows:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
So i tried to log into my "old cpanel"
Because they they changed servers a message appeared
Invalid username or password
To log-in please enter your domain name and password

I know for a fact the username and password is correct as its store by a software i have.... anyway i press the Forgotten your password? link
Enter in my domain name and email address
Message showed
Sorry, your email address could not be found. Please contact support.
Please enter your contact email address and domain name so that we can send you a password reset message.

Seems like they changed servers they now have no records of my domain name or email address
So i went to create a new account as they advise in step 3

And I have contacted this hosting company for 4 Day In A Row With No Response

So a few months ago i create a "full backup" well thats what it said

So i tried to restore my website on my current web host turns out the backup is incomplete

They is Extremely Frustrating I contacted them 4 days in a row with no response.. (yes there web hosting was extremely Cheap price.. It was my first website i bought this hosting about 2 years ago i paid upfront for 5 years) but they could not care less....

I spent hundreds of hours on this website now all my efforts have just gone to waste.......

What would you do if you were in this situation????

Your web host decides they are going to change servers and give you less than 2 weeks notice... (mind you i got No Notice i only found out when my domain was redirecting to their homepage)

Its sad i had to come to this forum and complain about my Hosting company but i have no choice.. I feel like i am talking to a brick wall and they could not careless


So What would you do if you were in this situation??

How on earth can a company just say backup all your files or all your data will be lost.......


Someone please reply............................................. ..........
#changed #deleted #host #hosting #hosting company #serversnow #site #web #web site #website
  • Profile picture of the author aaaa33030
    You should switch to a better web hosting company.
    When a web host switch servers all of the data should be maintained therefore your web host does not know what they are doing.
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    • Profile picture of the author ebookzz
      Yes i am with a better web hosting company but this web host was just for my first website i created
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    • Originally Posted by aaaa33030 View Post

      You should switch to a better web hosting company.
      When a web host switch servers all of the data should be maintained therefore your web host does not know what they are doing.

      Yeah. My web hosting company just switched servers yet it didn't have any effect on my site as far I as know. All my date are still there in one piece.


      I suggest Hostgator, Bluehost, or Host The Name if you're thinking on moving to another webhost. They can help you transfer.


      EDIT: Oh you have a better host now, huh? Good for you! Stick it with.


      Cheers.
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      • Profile picture of the author ebookzz
        Originally Posted by Alfonso_Montenegro View Post

        Yeah. My web hosting company just switched servers yet it didn't have any effect on my site as far I as know. All my date are still there in one piece.


        I suggest Hostgator, Bluehost, or Host The Name if you're thinking on moving to another webhost. They can help you transfer.


        EDIT: Oh you have a better host now, huh? Good for you! Stick it with.


        Cheers.
        Yes i have a better host i am with hostgator for nearly 2 years (This thread has nothing to do with hostgator there support is excellent)
        This thread is just about my first website i created with a different web host
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      • Profile picture of the author micksss
        Originally Posted by Alfonso_Montenegro View Post

        Yeah. My web hosting company just switched servers yet it didn't have any effect on my site as far I as know. All my date are still there in one piece.

        I suggest Hostgator, Bluehost, or Host The Name if you're thinking on moving to another webhost. They can help you transfer.

        EDIT: Oh you have a better host now, huh? Good for you! Stick it with.
        Cheers.
        You mentioned Host The Name as a suggestion. I have to disagree with your advice on going with them as the OP would go through the same BS. I tried them out a couple of years ago and had major issues when they switched the server I was on.. Downtime for over a week so if left them...and things are still a mess over there today.
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        • Profile picture of the author ebookzz
          What would you do if you were placed in this situation??

          What if you had a site making $100 a day than suddenly its deleted due to your web host changing server..

          What would you do????????????
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          • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
            Originally Posted by ebookzz View Post

            What would you do if you were placed in this situation??

            What if you had a site making $100 a day than suddenly its deleted due to your web host changing server..

            What would you do????????????
            First, you should ALWAYS keep local backups. Even as a web host owner myself that has invested thousands in disaster recovery & backup solutions for our customers, it's still recommend to keep your own backups just in case.

            Second, did you do the steps I had given you for extracting the cPanel backup you did have?

            Third - stop using cheap, junk providers. A simple google search found the host:

            Google search: URGENT NOTICE: Backup all data / files / email BEFORE 9 Feb 2013

            Announcements - The Kerb

            Hosting | Web Servers | Domain Name Registration | Website Design | - The Kerb

            I mean really, what type of service do you expect from a company who's main service is 84 cents a month? Still don't understand why the cheaper the service is the more people expect. You could have been using one of their more expensive plans, but what do you really expect from a company selling for literally pennies on the dollar?

            My advice: Move on.

            Here's what their TOS says:

            7.2 THE KERB carries out data backups for use by THE KERB in the event of systems failure. THE KERB do not provide data restoration facilities for individual customers. Even though every effort is made to ensure data is backed up correctly THE KERB accepts no responsibility for data loss or corruption.
            7.3 It is the responsibility of the customer to maintain an up to date backup of all of their "material", data and email that they may access through their services with us.
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          • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
            Banned
            Originally Posted by ebookzz View Post

            What would you do if you were placed in this situation??

            What if you had a site making $100 a day than suddenly its deleted due to your web host changing server..

            What would you do????????????

            You really have only one option. Recreate it through the Google cache copies and get cracking on it before Google delists it.

            Don't buy cheap hosting
            Make backups of your sites
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            • Profile picture of the author Mary Davis
              Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

              You really have only one option. Recreate it through the Google cache copies and get cracking on it before Google delists it.

              Don't buy cheap hosting
              Make backups of your sites

              Sage advice as always, Suzanne
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            • Profile picture of the author ebookzz
              Great Advise!!
              I will never put myself in this situation ever again..
              As i was saying before this hosting was only for 1 of my sites i had...
              I finally got them to create a backup (Which cost me Money)
              Than i just uploaded it to my hostgator server
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  • Profile picture of the author jeffreyhuan
    If your web host does not keep a backup copy of your website, then unfortunately there is no way you can get it back.

    Next time you should choose those reputable web hosting providers like HostGator as your whole business depends on it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    I have hosting accounts at three different hosting companies. Each one of them has changed servers for my sites, and they took care of it. I did not need to do a thing.

    The guys you were hosting with sound like they wanted you to move your site.

    Step 4. Upload your files and backups to the new servers and re-create your email accounts/boxes.
    I think that is odd, but you did mention they are cheap.

    If the site is gone, and you don't have a backup, there may not be anythng you can do about it other than to rebuild the site.

    However, if you can find it on the wayback machine, you can at least copy your posts and pages.

    Did you miss downloading the database(s) when making the backup? Did you make a backup months ago and try testing the backup to see if it would work?

    So this does not happen to you in the future, it might be time to invest in a good backup software like Backup Buddy or WP Twin, then you can create a backup once a week with little effort. A WP site takes a little more effort to backup than does a static HTML site.

    :-Don
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    • Profile picture of the author radhika
      I feel ya That is one ridiculous hosting company who asks the client to backup and restore his site while THEY are moving the servers?

      What you can do depends on how important your site is for you. If it is important to be online, you need to start rebuilding it - WITH SAME URLs. So you won't lose your ranking.

      .
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    • Profile picture of the author ebookzz
      Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

      I have hosting accounts at three different hosting companies. Each one of them has changed servers for my sites, and they took care of it. I did not need to do a thing.

      The guys you were hosting with sound like they wanted you to move your site.



      I think that is odd, but you did mention they are cheap.

      If the site is gone, and you don't have a backup, there may not be anythng you can do about it other than to rebuild the site.

      However, if you can find it on the wayback machine, you can at least copy your posts and pages.

      Did you miss downloading the database(s) when making the backup? Did you make a backup months ago and try testing the backup to see if it would work?

      So this does not happen to you in the future, it might be time to invest in a good backup software like Backup Buddy or WP Twin, then you can create a backup once a week with little effort. A WP site takes a little more effort to backup than does a static HTML site.

      :-Don
      Yes i uploaded the backup to my current webhost and they advised me The entire wp-admin directory is missing, and there isn't a database backup file that has been included either
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      • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
        Originally Posted by ebookzz View Post

        Yes i uploaded the backup to my current webhost and they advised me The entire wp-admin directory is missing, and there isn't a database backup file that has been included either
        you can get around the wp-admin directory being missing - those are mainly just core files that you can get from a new Wordpress download. If the sql backup is not there, then there will be no data for the site.

        Is this a cPanel backup?
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        • Profile picture of the author ebookzz
          Originally Posted by Kingfish85 View Post

          you can get around the wp-admin directory being missing - those are mainly just core files that you can get from a new Wordpress download. If the sql backup is not there, then there will be no data for the site.

          Is this a cPanel backup?
          I uploaded the backup file to Hostgator (This thread has nothing to do with hostgator)
          I contacted hostgator to ask them to restore this website they said The entire wp-admin directory is missing, and there isn't a database backup file that has been included either

          Is this a cPanel backup?
          I created this so called "full backup" in cpanel a few months ago
          There was just a button Create Full backup

          I am kinda kicking myself now as when i created that backup i uploaded it to hostgator as i was going to add this website to my current hostgator account but never got around to doing it
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          • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
            Originally Posted by ebookzz View Post

            I uploaded the backup file to Hostgator (This thread has nothing to do with hostgator)
            I contacted hostgator to ask them to restore this website they said The entire wp-admin directory is missing, and there isn't a database backup file that has been included either

            Is this a cPanel backup?
            I created this so called "full backup" in cpanel a few months ago
            There was just a button Create Full backup

            I am kinda kicking myself now as when i created that backup i uploaded it to hostgator as i was going to add this website to my current hostgator account but never got around to doing it
            Extract that tar.gz backup you have > then extract the homedir.tar file inside of that backup. Then go into the homedir directory, then go into sql. Your sql database will be in there.

            It's possible it may not be there if they had size restrictions on the backup job. However, if the company wasn't competent enough to at least keep some sort a main backup, I doubt there was a size restriction on it.
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    • Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post


      Did you miss downloading the database(s) when making the backup? Did you make a backup months ago and try testing the backup to see if it would work?

      So this does not happen to you in the future, it might be time to invest in a good backup software like Backup Buddy or WP Twin, then you can create a backup once a week with little effort.

      I download a backup for my WP blog everyday. This is SO important! You never know when technical issues will arise so it's smart to download a backup once a day, preferably before you sleep at night.
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  • Profile picture of the author colinph970
    use the experience as a learning point. Choose a good hosting company such as Hostgator, backup regularly and completely - for Wordpress this means database and site content.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    It's one of the reasons not to use really cheap and unknown hosts. I consider Hostgator's plans to be cheap, but that would not have happened with Hostgator. If they moved to another server, you probably wouldn't even have noticed much. They would have moved the files themselves.

    It is always wise to make a downloadable backup and download the files to your hard drive. Easily done with cpanel. Just go into the domain folder and select all files and choose Compress and make a zip file. Download it. Then go to phpMyadmin and export the database and keep the copy on your hard drive. It's then easy peasy to reinstall your site to a new server.

    Or if you're the plugin type, Duplicator (free) is amazing. But I'm afraid it's too late for any of those. The site is gone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mary Davis
    A few lessons to be learned here:

    1. Cheap hosting usually isn't in the long run.
    2. Back your sites up on a weekly basis.
    3. Check out the "Duplicator" plugin -- that lets you backup, copy, & clone.

    Here is a link (not affiliate): WordPress › Duplicator « WordPress Plugins
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