I dread upgrading Wordpress.
I’ve been putting off upgrading my Wordpress for ages. Every time I post something I see the ‘Update’ message, so tonight I decided I’d better do it. I use the ‘Automatic Upgrade’ plug-in that makes it a breeze. Well usually it makes it a breeze.
I carefully followed all the instructions at each stage. All of you who run Wordpress blogs know how stressful upgrading can be. It backed up my database, it deactivated the plugins, it upgraded and it was all going without a hitch. Once it had run it’s course it said it was about to activate all the plugins again. Great! It was all done and I could breath easy again.
Well I wasn’t going to breath easy for a while yet. It froze up in maintenance mode and I couldn’t get into my blog. Never mind there was a contact button for just such problems. I clicked it and was directed to a ‘404 This page does not exist’ page. Brilliant! Now what? I searched until I found a forum, and it appears I was not the only one to have this problem. I finally replaced the ‘index php’ with the backed up file and managed to get back into my blog. I then had to re-activate all the plugins manually.
I’m finally running the latest Wordpress version but dread upgrading it the next time. Have any of you had this problem, or is it just me?
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Jaffer
| 6 August 2009 at 22:30
Oh that automatic upgrade hasn’t worked for me since version 2.7 was out ! I still upgrade it using my way. All you need to take care of are the “wp-config.php” file which contains your database settings and the “wp-content” folder which contains yout theme, content, pictures etc.
I wrote this pice last year [ http://maniaravings.com/blog/how-to-upgrade-a-wordpress-installation/ ] and I thought it was made redudant in the last six months.
But looks like it’s coming in handy again !
Jaffer´s last blog ..Monday for meeting… tuesday for talking…
Barb - WillThink4Wine
| 6 August 2009 at 22:40
Oh, yes! I’ve had them! It completely ate the cat’s blog a little over a year ago during an automatic upgrade! The backup was corrupted and I couldn’t ever get it back. Now I’m back to WP, but “.com”, not “.org”. No more self-hosting for me! I had gone back to blogger for a bit over a year before I got tired of all the blogger issues. Half of my visitors had problems seeing my photos unless I had them on Flikr, and I hated the small photos uploading them in blogger. There were more issues, but why beat a dead horse? Both my blog and the cat’s blog have been back on WP since April and May, and I do not miss blogger at all OR Wordpress self-hosted blogs.
Barb – WillThink4Wine´s last blog ..My SisterDear, the Nana
Jaffer
| 6 August 2009 at 22:44
Oh yes, the Corrupt database incident ! I am still very bitter about it ! It ‘ate’ many of my memorable posts. They are still in the database but and I am still to afraid to touch anything !
Jaffer´s last blog ..Monday for meeting… tuesday for talking…
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids
| 6 August 2009 at 22:49
I don’t do wordpress, but automatic updates on ANYTHING are a pain.
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids´s last blog ..Tricky Thursday – can you spot the real kitty?
Black Cat
| 6 August 2009 at 22:51
I’m still on Blogger coz despite its foibles I kinda feel comfortable with it when it isn’t acting up! It seems most (if not all!) blogging platforms have their idiosyncrasies, which is very frustrating, but then I suppose their servers get a bit overloaded at times with us wordy lot, heh heh!
Black Cat´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday, with words!
AndiKnott
| 6 August 2009 at 22:52
Wordpress… errrrm… you’ve seen my website… i’m still trying to figure wordpress out, let alone upgrade it! Eeeeeeeek!!! And of course if it’s something I do not know, I try to avoid it like the plague instead of trying to learn it! Oh well! Babs if you were closer I’d come over to get a crash course on Wordpress!
AndiKnott´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
Black Cat
| 6 August 2009 at 22:54
P.S. Meant to say that I love the “tearing the hair out” illustration!
Black Cat´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday, with words!
beetle
| 6 August 2009 at 23:07
Jaffer: I remember reading that post, and it blowing my mind, but I’ll take another look – bearing in mind I’m a Mac girl
Barb: Yes I remember the problems you had, and I don’t blame you for not self hosting. I self host because I like to use the space for other stuff too
Sniffle: I will look at the manual way next time I think – with Jaffer’s help
Black Cat: I think you are right. All blogging platforms have their problems. It’s like that old saying “Which is your poison?”
Don’t tell anyone but that doodle has been used before, and it was to do with Wordpress that time too!
AndiKnott: Hello there! Welcome to my comments. If you lived closer I would be happy to help out any way I could. I shall take another look at your blog now
Jeff
| 7 August 2009 at 3:29
I’m way to chicken (and lazy) to move off of Blogger. For awhile when Blogger was “growing” there were all kinds of problems but now it has settled down quite nicely. I doubt I’ll ever move off of it now.
Jeff´s last blog ..I’m taking it as a good sign!
Ruth
| 7 August 2009 at 10:56
UGH. I do admire the Wordpress templates. But I agree with Jeff, I’m happy with Blogger. I changed my template A LOT since I started.
I’m glad you figured it out!
Michelle Gartner
| 7 August 2009 at 13:27
I don’t do my upgrades I let my husband do mine. The last update broke these really neat menus my husband made on two of my blogs. One is at vintagecharmcollector.com – the menu at top is supposed to move. After the upgrade- the pictures of charms were stuck shut. It took him two weeks to fix it. I have had all sorts of problems at my main blog One of a Kind too, like after an upgrade all the side widgets disappearing!!!
If I was on my own upgrading- I would be really, really scared!
JD at I Do Things
| 7 August 2009 at 15:35
(starts sweating and breathing shallowly)
Oh, God. I don’t wanna! At least you got thru it OK, right, except for one bump that you figured out THANK GOD and now I know what to do if that happens to me. Which it will, of course.
I wish I had the nerve to do it Jaffer’s way. Sheesh! I wish I had the nerve to do it at all!
Sue
| 7 August 2009 at 17:24
I dread messing around with my blog period. I usually end up crying. I won a WordPress blog in a contest, paid free for a year and I couldn’t figure it out so I let it expire.
Sue´s last blog ..Is that the one when she stabs him in the neck with a pen?
beetle
| 7 August 2009 at 19:21
Jeff: You know, I don’t blame you. I sometimes wish I had stayed with Blogger, though I love the freedom to do what I want, when I want. I just have to remember – back up, back up, BACK UP
Ruth: I must admit to sometimes being envious of the simplicity of Blogger. I just found it had certain limitations.
Michelle: Oh how I wish I had someone who could do it all for me
It seems that Wordpress is a bit like the ‘Windows’ platform and being a Mac girl, it’s all foreign to me.
JD: I will investigate Jaffers way before upgrading again. When you know how, these things are easy peasy. It’s knowing how that’s the hard bit
Sue: I must admit it was hard for me to learn Wordpress, and I still only know the basics. It’s so long since I first set this blog up that I can’t remember how I did it now!
Swubird
| 8 August 2009 at 0:47
Babs:
Stories like this make my blood run cold. How do you do it? And furthermore, why would you stay with a blog that’s so much trouble? The headaches, the sorrow, the hard work. With Blogger being so stupidly easy, I can’t understand why so many people use Wordpress. Does it have advantages I don’t know about?
Happy trails.
Swubird´s last blog ..AN OFFER I COULDN’T BELIEVE
Shinade aka Jackie
| 8 August 2009 at 10:34
Oh dear,
this sounds just awful!! I would be pulling my hair out too. I am scared of Wordpress. I am glad you got it up and running and didn’t lose any data!
Happy weekend!
Jackie:-)
p.s. The medicine the DR. gave me for my back has helped the excruciating pain but I can’t get to sleep!
Shinade aka Jackie´s last blog ..A Berry Abstract: Transfomation From Realism to A Hint Of Impressionism
John J Savo
| 8 August 2009 at 14:33
Since upgrading to 2.7, I have had absolutely no problems with the auto upgrade. My hosting provider is GoDaddy. Maybe that’s why?
John J Savo´s last blog ..Patch
beetle
| 8 August 2009 at 15:31
Swubird: Don’t even ask me that! I can’t for the life of me remember the advantages, though I know there were when I changed
Yes, I have learned not to get too stressed when things go wrong. It doesn’t fix the problems
Sorry about your back – AND the not getting any sleep! Hope it’s better soon.
John: I was also fine when upgrading to 2.7. It was when I upgraded to the latest version (2.8.3) that it happened. It wasn’t a bad glitch though and, I think, the fault of the plugin and not Wordpress.
Maureen
| 8 August 2009 at 20:07
I doubt I will ever make the switch from Blogger. I have been able to tweak my templates to my heart’s delight, and (knock on wood) other than a few hiccups which all platforms have, have been very happy with Blogger. I just can’t understand why they have to make Wordpress so damn confusing.
Glad to see you’re back though. I was trying your site the other day and got the 40 error… which made me worry!
Maureen´s last blog ..House Call
beetle
| 8 August 2009 at 21:25
Maureen: You have done wonders with the design of your blog, but then you are very clever. I have no idea why Wordpress is so easily corrupted, but fortunately I was only down for about ten minutes this time
LadyBanana
| 8 August 2009 at 22:22
Sounds too much hassle to me, I’m relieved I’m on Blogger when I read such tales!
LadyBanana´s last blog ..Dead… [Flickr]
Jay
| 9 August 2009 at 0:42
I regret to inform you that I’m still running the old version and have no plans to upgrade.
I know, I know. I really should do it, but I just So. Hate. Upgrading. Something always goes wrong, or I lose stuff. Too stressful. :p
meleah rebeccah
| 9 August 2009 at 18:58
I cant even begin to handle upgrading wordpress. thankfully my best friend of 20 years does all that for me!
Kat
| 9 August 2009 at 22:15
I have the Angels Weekly on wordpress, and haven’t done the latest update, because like you, everytime I upgrade, the whole site crashes!!!
I’m scared to death to upgrade this time!! So it will stay the way it is, unless they come up with an easier way to upgrade.
My personal blogs are on blogger, and I haven’t had many problems there, except for my own foolishness in not backing up before clicking select a new template button….lol
That one forced me to start from scratch, and I learned my lesson.
Take care Babs!
Kat
Kat´s last blog ..Safe Sunday – A Great Post
beetle
| 10 August 2009 at 2:52
LadyBanana: It is a responsibility but it’s worth it just to keep private photos private. You keep of all of your uploaded files on your own server space.
Jay: I suppose it doesn’t matter if you choose not to upgrade. It’s only a problem if you want to use a plugin that isn’t compatible. It’s just my personality, to keep things as up to date as possible
Meleah: You are so fortunate to have somebody to do it for you. I wish I had a techie whiz kid to do mine
Kat: I think I went the Wordpress route because I have had my own web sites and server space for a number of years. I didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t in control of my private files with Blogger.
Mrs. Mecomber
| 20 August 2009 at 23:53
Ouch! You have had your share of blog problems. I haven’t ever had any problems upgrading (I used the same Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin before WP 2.7 made it all so easy). One of the keys is, I think, disabling all plugins before doing the upgrade.
Mrs. Mecomber´s last blog ..Dumping Blogger for Wordpress
beetle
| 21 August 2009 at 0:14
Mrs Morcomber: My problems have been down to either my inexperience or my host, which I am now changing. Hopefully it will be smoother sailing from now.