Update wiped everything in admin panel

I recently updated to version 1.5.3 after an extended downtime of my shop. I had no issues with the update itself, but when I logged back into the admin panel everything was wiped. No product pages, no view counters, no contacts, nothing. I can't figure out if this was because I renamed my admin folder or if it's related to something else, but I'm going crazy trying to restore my product listings.
Can anyone offer an idea on how to do that without restoring the pre-update backup?

Thanks!

Any error log files in your /logs folder?

The only log files with a time stamp for today are the install logs. There's a database connection error in there, but it might be because I typed the database password in incorrectly the first time I tried to upgrade.

These are in the /logs directory of your Zencart installation?

After fiddling with the files some more, I think the issue is that I installed a completely new storefront over the old one instead of upgrading. Is there any way to downgrade to a prior backup, get the catalog back, and then re-upgrade? There were several hundred products listed in the catalog and I can't stomach the idea of having to redo every single one of them.

Products are contained in the database and not in files. Have you pointed your new installation to the old database or copied the old database to the new installation?

The answer which stevesh is trying to lead you down to is yes the database can be restored from an older backup and then the database can be upgraded without changing the files that have been installed. The thing is that steve is trying to make this as easy as possible for you. Technically if the typical upgrade instructions were followed, then perhaps your database is still fully intact but not being referenced by your curent store setup. Yes, it could also be that the store database was overwritten, but good thing you have a database backup to restore if that ends up being the case.

Thank you both so much for your help. Before I try to do a full backup, how can I check to see if the database is being referenced? I'm afraid it's been quite a while since I had to do this and I'm rusty. Again though, I really appreciate all your help thus far.

Miyabella:

Thank you both so much for your help. Before I try to do a full backup, how can I check to see if the database is being referenced? I'm afraid it's been quite a while since I had to do this and I'm rusty. Again though, I really appreciate all your help thus far.

The configure.php file found in each includes/ and YOUR_SECRET_ADMIN/includes has database information in it.

Hmm, how to explain clearly something I fully understand but have not been able to clearly explain in the recent past...

A number of approaches come to mind: how was the update performed? Did you have to create a new database in phpmyadmin or your cpanel? Did you reference or change anything in the configure.php files as part of providing database information to support your upgrade?

While still suggested to make a backup of your data now, ideally you still have a backup from the past that is a little handier.