Recently uploaded a backup admin folder now admin section is missing

[Robert Thomas Kirby]

I recently re-uploaded my admin folder to my server from a working backup because installing Image Handler caused my Admin section to disappear. I never made any changes to the database so I would assume that re-uploading a backup admin directory should work fine.

I set the permissions to the configure file to 444 and still when I go to my Admin URL I get a blank page. When I check the source code the only thing that shows is "1"

Do I need to re-install zencart from scratch??

Any suggestions of what can fix this is greatly appreciated!

Regards,
RK

[swguy]

If you're getting a blank page, you need to follow the instructions for blank page debugging here:

http://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?124

If the logs you see are unclear, you can post them here for advice. Remember to edit out the exact URL of your admin page.

[RodG]

Do I need to re-install zencart from scratch??

As long as you have backups of a known good installation, then a complete re-install of ZenCart is never necessary.
This is the entire point of making backups in the 1st place.

The only times a complete re-install would ever be needed is when working with a new experimental site, where it is sometimes necessary to (re)start with a clean slate, especially prior to packaging a new module before public distribution. It is only on rare occasions that I'd ever recommend a complete re-install is in order, and that is generally limited to sites that haven't yet gone live and got messed up during the development.

In ALL other cases, you should do your utmost to restore from backups where and when possible (or better yet, debug the actual problems).

A common scenario is that folk with very little data to be retained will often opt to perform a re-install and re-key their data (where possible), often with the (correct) impression that this may be faster than learning how to recover from a backup. The problem here is that at some point in time the amount of data to be re-keyed will eventually become so time consuming as to not be practical. This is also the time where there is so much data involved that it doesn't pay to 'experiment' with backup recovery methods, leaving the store owner in a very precarious position.

In contrast, if store owners took advantage of the (inevitable) early problems and learned the recovery techniques *before* it becomes 'critical', they'll find things much less stressful in the longer term.

What I'm actually trying to tell you here is that instead of even considering a re-install, you should take advantage of this time to learn/practice recovery methods. This current setback could well be the key to saving you a lot of headaches in the future.

Cheers
Rod