A while ago I used simple scripts to update this blog. I got a notice that my sites were out of date and I could run it to update all my sites, quickly and easily. A list popped up with all my Word Press installs and what version each one was currently at. Also the words “Upgrade Available” in blood red next to each install. While I should have paid more attention to what version each one said was installed, I didn’t. I think this is where I got myself in trouble. After my site broke, I went back and looked closer and found that you can change which version you have installed because what is listed can be wrong. After that I noticed that there was also an option for backing up the entire site before you upgrade as well as an option to restore it. But of course I didn’t do either and it was too late. This site was still up and running but I had problems behind the scenes. I couldn’t create, view or edit new posts. I also couldn’t view or edit previous posts. When I logged in as admin and went to posts, I would get a list of what I had, but if I tried to edit any of them or create a new post, I would just get a blank page. No where to type, none of the edit buttons, not even a publish button. I did figure out a way to to type a post into another program and copy and paste it into the quick post option. But I couldn’t add any links or use html or even preview my post. And after I did post it, I couldn’t edit it or anything.
By using myPHPadmin, I was able to figure out which SQL database belonged to this site. I backed it up and downloaded it. Then I reinstalled Word Press as a new install into the same directory it was installed to originally and over wrote that installation. Checked it and it was working but of course all the posts were gone. I kept my fingers crossed and imported the back up I made of my SQL database into the new one. And it worked. Everything was back and the site looked like it had. All my stats were back in my stats press plugin too. I had tried a test with using the Word Press backup that built into Word Press but it only imported the posts, it didn’t import any of my other settings.
