Does Zen perform back ups and upgrades?

I have been having problems with Zen cart reverting files and databases to earlier, non-updated versions.

We make changes, upload the files and everything seems fine.

The next day the files are gone, back to default files with all the work disappeared!!! Worrying.

Although I believe it to be a server fault, my hosting company are having none of it, saying that Zen cart musthave errors in its scripts.

I have never EVER experianced this with Zen before, and have always found it to be (almost) faultless. At least this problem has never shown itself before.

I include correspondance from my hosts (ukhost4u)

Thank you for your email.

I have looked over this ticket and read over it in detail and im not sure why you are having this issue but its nothing that we can help you with. I personally feel that the issue must be down to Zend Cart itself as the only way this could be happening is if Zend Cart is restoring a database backup or updating the database which the script does from time to time.

I will though detail how its impossible to be an issue at our end:

1. The server updates all the content live (No copy of old content is kept)
2. Backups are held on a different part of the network but they are taken daily at 12am so if you made the changes before 12am they would be in our backup file anyway
3. This sounds very much like a hack or a code issue

As you will be well aware there is a lot of issues with Zend cart and this sounds very much like a bug, so I would suggest contacting them as we don't provide help with script issues.

I am sorry that you are having these issues BUT you will need to locate them with the people who developed the script which is having the issue as they will be the only people with any info on this bug.

If you still feel its something from this end though I can add a database and some conent and track it for a couple of days if you wish!
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This is the last email i sent them

The problems only show AFTER we have verified changes made.

I added three attributes to a product directly through phpMyAdmin.

After adding the data to the tables, I then verified that the changes were showing on the site. They were.

The next day the changes were still showing. All good.

This morning, the changes were showing, all good.

This afternoon when I checked back again, the database no longer had the attributes in it, therefore they were no longer showing on the site.

Our previous errors were of the same manner described here. The first time it happened, I had uploaded a new file (in php format) to the server, and everything changed as expected, but the next day the file was not the file I had uploaded, it was back to the default file included when Zen was installed.

I am becoming quite annoyed that you won't accept that there is a problem at your end. I wasn’t at work at all last week, so NO ONE ELSE could have uploaded anything or changed anything. It happens "on its own" so it seems.
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SO what do you chaps think is going on then?

I reckon UKHost4u dont actually know whats going on, and rather than admit they have a problem are blaming Zen cart.

Help me prove the swines wrong!

Zen Cart does not do any automatic updates or backups, you must do them manually.

Your hosting company is full of bull-hockey. :yes:

Sounds like they are having lots of issues and are having to install your backups,
how far back are the backups going, the past 24 hrs or farther

I suggest that after you upload some new files, take a screenshot of your FTP program opened to the directory the new files were uploaded to. Most FTP programs show the file date of last upload. A screenshot gives you evidence of what was. If any changes occur, take a new screenshot for comparison.

All of the back ups we found the hosts had performed were from the last 24 Hours, apart from the first time it happend, they went back a few days.

Annoying!

I kind of guessed that it couldn't have been Zen anyways, as i have never EVER seen zen cart delete files of its own accord (which it would have to be doing to remove the product images from the server)

After all of this, we havent noticed any problems overthe weekend, so it seems that UKHost4U have finally completed moving us to a new server.

unisupUK would like to say that anyone thinking of using UKhost4U should thik again! spend a bit more money and get better hosts!

Keep up the good work Zen!

our server is STILL reverting to older back ups, and the hosting company is still assuring us that its nothing to do with them, and that it is Zen cart.

Would it be possible for one of the mentors / zen team to post a reply to this, stating that Zen cart DOES NOT HAVE the capability to do as the hosts are accusing?

It would help my case a great deal, as im not getting anywhere with them, and im gonna lose my client if i cant sort it within the next 48 hours!

I put 24 new products on at the weekend, and last night i checked only to discover that they had all gone again!

Manys thanks

unisupUK

Incedently, the URL is https://www.hampersinexmoor.co.uk

IM not a Zen Cart team member but have been around awhile.

I can say that zen cart does NOT have any way of restoring a back up,
this is a function of the server.
Zen Cart by default dosnt even have a way to create a backup let alone restore one.

It sounds like they keep having to restore from a backup and Im guessing that there is an issue on their end that they want to keep quiet ( just a guess here but I would place $$$$$ on a security issue )

Well we think we have found the problem!

We experianced DNS problems a few weeks ago, and asked to be moved to a new server (from colo4.ukhost4u.com).

We got moved alright (to colo7.ukhost4u.com), but they left a copy on colo4 "for backup purposes..."

It would seem that there was a problem when they changed the name servers, and sometimes the URL was routed to the old server (colo4) and sometimes routed to the new server (colo7).

After explaining to them what we thought was wrong, we were again told that the problem was at our end, and to run ipconfig /flushdns.

Well, we did that, and now the site is completly unavailable!!!

Whats more, if you perform a whois on hampersinexmoor.co.uk, then put the two servers resolved into a browser window, you get some funny results for the second one (ns36.ukhost4u.com) , as if they have messed up their DNS and set up a site, https://www.askgodfrey.co.uk, and pointed it at their own name server!!!

im not sure, but after another whois on askgodfrey.co.uk i found the registrant to be some chap with DIY stores....

Looks to me like a human error thats effecting more than just me! (although they assure me ours is the only site with problems...)

My conclusion?

UKHost4U Arn't 4me!

Perhaps someone should start a thread which lists GOOD and RELIABLE hosts to host their Zen solution on!

Also, could someone recommend to me a host who can do the job without the fuss im getting at the moment!

Thank you all for the help you have given me, its been a long few days!

Please take a look at the Certified Hosts. Hosting link at the top of the page.

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