Unable to Connect to Database

Most dynamic sites store information in a database. Webonizer sites store all information in a MySQL database which is usually kept on the same server where your domain is hosted. If Webonizer is unable to connect to your database, you will see a page that says “Unable to Connect to the Database” on every page of your site.

The most common reason that you will see this message is that MySQL has stopped running on your server. Often this is a temporary situation. Your server administrator may sometimes turn MySQL off to run maintenance utilities. In such circumstances, your site will likely return shortly.

If your site does not return within a few minutes, you may want to contact the host of your server and tell them that MySQL is not working for your domain.

If MySQL is running, then this error can occur for other reasons, which are listed below:

1) Your Database User has been deleted. If this is the case, you will need to recreate your database user with the same username and password that existed when you first installed Webonizer. Use your domain control panel (not part of Webonizer itself) to administer this or contact your server administrator.

2) Your Database User password has changed. If this is the case, you will need to reset your database user password to the same as it was when you installed Webonizer.

Other database errors that can occur to make your site stop working which are more severe.

1) Your database has been corrupted. Sometimes tables in a database become corrupt. This is a rare occurrence but is known to happen. If this is the case, you should open a MySQL administration utility for your domain (phpMyAdmin or MySQL Administrator) and check the tables of your database for corruption.

2) Your database has been deleted. If your database has been deleted, all of your information (including user accounts, articles, pages and other information) are permanently missing. This can usually only happen via control panels inside your domain's control panels or your host administrative tools. Contact your host immediately if your database is deleted and you did not authorize the deletion. Your host may have backups of the database.

A good practice is to backup your database frequently so that potential losses can be minimized.

More in the MySQL and Webonizer Series