Removed my data entries by mistake...

[Brian Jester]

Hi,

What would be the best way to restore my data entries in the admin panel? I must have had all the checkboxes ticked and hit remove, when all I wanted to remove was just one of them. I do have backups but not sure which table to get the data entries back.

[Joe Can]

You can login to your hosting service provider and get the prior day's backup file.
For me, it as simple as a few clicks and works flawlessly.
Get a new hosting provider if they do not have daily backups.

Also, did you look in the Flynax trash can?

[Brian Jester]

1. I know, I had the trash can disabled, I just enabled it...This option is too late, but I have other backups, I just don't know the sql table to restore, I hate to restore the whole db for just on section, that's why I have two seperate mysql backups.
2. Does hostgator provide daily backups? I never tried that from the cpanel before. I usually do it manually.

Brian

You can login to your hosting service provider and get the prior day's backup file.
For me, it as simple as a few clicks and works flawlessly.
Get a new hosting provider if they do not have daily backups.

Also, did you look in the Flynax trash can?

[Joe Can]

2. Does hostgator provide daily backups? I never tried that from the cpanel before. I usually do it manually.Brian

A hosting company is worthless if it does not have state of the art auto daily backups.

There are usually two methods to access backups from hosting companies:

1. You call them and give them a date for them to upload the backup files for you.
2. There is an admin panel with a list of daily backups organized by dates that you click to upload the backup.

Usually, with both methods, you are given the choice to upload website files or databases or both website files and databases.

These companies have different policies for storing backup files:
- Some backup once a day
- Some back up twice a day
- Some only keep the backup files for 1 week
- Some only keep the backup files for 1 month
- Some will charge you extra to access their backup services

A long time ago, I had a hosting company that used the first method. I hated this method as you needed to chat with them every time. Once, I kept calling them as the backup was the wrong one. Finally, we figured out that they were only uploading the website files, not the database. This took much time waiting in line to speak with the hosting company.

I finally switched to Siteground who uses the second method. This method allows me to instantly upload website files and/or databases from the list of dates within a few moment's time.

I know it may be too late for you; but, for others, don't wait to find out if and how your hosting company manages backups.

I finally bit the bullet and switched over my websites to Siteground instead of using the first method.

For a small fee, Siteground even migrated my websites for me.

I thought I was smart for saving a few dollars; however, in the end, those save few dollars became a big headache.

[Joe Can]

Basically, Hostgator's backup policy is pretty worthless.

See here: https://www.hostgator.com/help/artic...rovide-backups

Below you will see the backup policies for Hostgator and Siteground.

I am not trying to promote Siteground; but, use it as an example of a company that has a better backup system:

........................Hostgator................. .........

HostGator Automatic Backup

HostGators automatic backup service runs once a week on a random day, and each run overwrites any previous backups. Only one week of backups is kept at a time. The terms of our backup policy vary depending on the type of hosting account.

HostGator backups are provided as a courtesy and are not guaranteed. Customers are responsible for their own backups and web content and should make their own backups for extra protection. For additional information, please refer to our Terms of Service.

Customers with critical business information or important data are STRONGLY encouraged to seek a third-party backup service such as CodeGuard to protect against any unforeseen circumstances. Such services provide a more fine-grained control over backup and restore operations, allowing the service to be tailored to specific requirements.

........................Siteground................ ..........

How often is my website backed up by SiteGround and how can I access the backup copy?

SiteGround keeps backups of customers’ Shared and Cloud hosting accounts daily for a period of up to 30 and 7 days accordingly.

Clients who have the Backup Service enabled can restore backups themselves from Site Tools > Security > Backups. Using this tool, all files/folders, MySQL databases and Emails might be restored to their previous state.

[Joe Can]

Here is a screenshot of my backup admin panel.

There are other hosting companies with better backup systems.

Maybe, others can share their plan's backup system.

[Brian Jester]

Joe,

I appreciate your answer as it provides me with information that I did not already know about hostgator. But that aside, I have all my tables saved as well as a complete 'master backup' one sql file, I also have all the files backed up. So I am sure I can restore the db file or something else, but I am asking if you know what table(s) or files I would need to restore to get back the data entries section in the admin panel.

Here is a screenshot of my backup admin panel.

There are other hosting companies with better backup systems.

Maybe, others can share their plan's backup system.

[Joe Can]

I would not feel comfortable restoring backup files using SQL files.

I definitely would consult with Flynax as I feel you might end up making things far worse.

Also, before doing ANYTHING, see if Hostgator allows for manual backups as their auto backups are not "guaranteed":

- "HostGator backups are provided as a courtesy and are not guaranteed."

[Brian Jester]

I agree 100% with consulting with Flynax first, they will have the best answers as always!

Regarding the manual backup, do you mean from the cPanel? I have done that many times. I usually do the following for my backup:

FTP Backup (Filezilla)
Mysql Backup from the terminal to get all tables (individually) and a single backup (all tables in one file)
Email & Filter backup (cPanel)
Full Backup that I could extract and upload manually (cPanel)
Full Backup that I could restore using the cPanel

I am not sure what you mean by manually, but those are what I keep in my website backup in case a problem arises such as this one regarding the data entries, I just don't know how to correct the problem. I didn't notice anything wrong, but I believe the data entries need to be put back for location settings and possibly other issues as well.

I would not feel comfortable restoring backup files using SQL files.

I definitely would consult with Flynax as I feel you might end up making things far worse.

Also, before doing ANYTHING, see if Hostgator allows for manual backups as their auto backups are not "guaranteed":

- "HostGator backups are provided as a courtesy and are not guaranteed."

[Joe Can]

My advice would be to contact HostGator support for backup support.

I reason I moved away from Cpanel was that their backup methods were not straightforward.

I do recall there were two ways to back up.

One method is what you mention.

I think you find the other method by entering "backup" on the search box at the top of the screen.

It is very hard to notice; but, the search box should be there.

Edit: Good point you make to not overlook that there are two backups to consider:

- Backup of website files
- Backup of databases