All of sudden, my email.db, links.db, linksid.txt, modified.db, url.db as well as some other data files are 0 bytes in size. Most probably that predicament is related to my host company, but I'd just like to know what could be the reason for that loss of data or if anyone has experienced similar problems. Is there any way to recover those data files? Sigh...

Too large size of your database files...This has happened to me many times in the past...My hosting company deletes flat files (.db and .txt) that exceed 1.0 Mgs.

Regards,

Eliot Lee

Actually I am still waiting for my host's reply. My links.db for instance was only about 500k in size...
Anyhow, how could I use the files in my backup directory to restore the lost data?

Much obliged for your answer, Eliot! Did you reach an agreement with your provider by upgrading your account or so?

Oops, sorry for my premature question, I understood how to use the backup files in order to retrieve data.

[whine]
What I am actually unable to understand is why providers simply delete files without prior warning or notice,
that's very unprofessional and embarassing...
[/whine]

Search the forums!

Not really...I've been carefully to keep my flat files small before I upgrade my scripts to MySQL and mod_perl.

Regards,


Eliot Lee

Read your hosting company's TOU (Terms of Use) or AOU (Agreement of Use). And hosting companies can basically do whatever they want...yet it would be nice to send out notifications before deleting files.

Regards,

Eliot Lee

I have graduated from law school, so studying terms and agreement was the first thing I did.

Anyhow, I am considering to change my hosting company, since I haven't got any support from them so far. I checked your host, they appear to be quite serious and dedicated.

Up to this week I figured that a flat file of 500kb in size is still small...
Anyhow, thanks for your replies, Eliot, I appreciate your support very much!

You're welcome.

Regards,

Eliot Lee