corrupt BackUp file?

[JSlime]

Hello everyone,

i hope you all are having a good evening, I've just got a quick question...

Whenever l BackUp my site from the cpanel, and then try to "unzip" the file(s) on my computer, l get an error message that says: the file you're attempting to unzip is corrupt.

and needless to say, it doesn't unzip properly. Only about 10% of my sites actual files unzip...

any idea what could be wrong with the picture here?
Thanks, in advance

~JSlime

[Connie]

I can't tell you about your problem, but I will offer a little advice. Don't trust CP for
backup files for your website.

Here is my backup plan. Every file on my website is also on another server in
addition to being on my PC.

I know this is not what you wanted to hear. Perhaps someone
who uses the CP backup can be more enlightening.

To me you are responsible for backups. Don't trust CP and don't trust Jag
for Backups. I have been a client for a long time, but the bottom line is
that I'm responsible for backups. Thats MHO.  

[JSlime]

Hmmm... that doesn't sound to good.. heh

Okay so, here's my question.
What's the best way to back my site up, onto my PC?
Is going threw and physically saving each file individually, one at a time, my only option? Or is there some type of script that l can upload to my site to do this? I just want to find the quickest way to possibly do this.

Thanks for your time, as well as your response!!

~JSlime

[Jacksdad]

tar cfv - * | gzip > site.tar.gz
this will tar all your directories and then gzip them.
For you to run this, you need to have enough free space to do this on jaguar.



I have a conjob that will:

backup mysql database structure,
tar and gzip everything I have on jaguarpc in all my directories and the ftp those files off of jaquar to another storage location I have.

[Vin DSL]

Well, for one thing, HTTP transfers are inherently flakey. For another, those aren't ZIP files. They are GZ TAR files. GNU zip uses a different algorithm than 'normal' ZIP files. Contrary to what the name implies, GNU zip is not compatible with many ZIP tools. Utilities like WINZIP handle supposedly GZ TAR files, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it...

Having said that, I use cPanel all the time to backup my site and have never had a problem yet. What compression utility are you using? I'm a WinRAR fan...

http://www.winrar-rog.com/

[jason]

WinZip should handle the tar-gzip file fine (I've never had a problem with it myself). I have, however, seen the CP backups fail.

You can also do something similar to what Jacksdad suggested but make a standard "Windows" zip file instead of a tar-gzip with

zip -r backup.zip .

--Jason

[Vin DSL]

Originally posted by jason
WinZip should handle the tar-gzip file fine (I've never had a problem with it myself). I have, however, seen the CP backups fail....

Bah! Windows weenies are notoriously hard to break of bad habits, and this proves it. My all-time worst app award goes to WINZIP, which by default puts itself on the top of all Windows context menues, thus ranking itself of equal importance to 'Open Office' documents, et cetera. What a joke!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’ve launched WINZIP as an app once in the last 5 years. WinRAR rules and WINZIP drools...

WinRAR Awards: http://www.win-rar.com/index.php?aid...7dd0d0f7c30f25

[G.Bloke]

Originally posted by Vin DSL
My all-time worst app award goes to WINZIP, which by default puts itself on the top of all Windows context menues, thus ranking itself of equal importance to 'Open Office' documents, et cetera. What a joke!

Actually that made me chuckle. I've got both WinZip and WinRAR installed. WinRAR has positioned itself above WinZIP! And there are two other apps above that, my text editor and my anti-virus.

[Connie]

Originally posted by Vin DSL
Bah! Windows weenies are notoriously hard to break of bad habits, and this proves it. My all-time worst app award goes to WINZIP, which by default puts itself on the top of all Windows context menues, thus ranking itself of equal importance to 'Open Office' documents, et cetera. What a joke!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’ve launched WINZIP as an app once in the last 5 years. WinRAR rules and WINZIP drools...

WinRAR Awards: http://www.win-rar.com/index.php?aid...7dd0d0f7c30f25

I have used WinRAR myself. Actually before WINZIP. I chose WINZIP because
it meets my needs and was easier for me to use. I'm not the power user
you are. I try programs and choose the one thats the easiest for me to use
that will do what I need done. WinRAR is a good app but for my needs it is an overkill.
   

[JSlime]

Originally posted by jason
WinZip should handle the tar-gzip file fine (I've never had a problem with it myself). I have, however, seen the CP backups fail.

You can also do something similar to what Jacksdad suggested but make a standard "Windows" zip file instead of a tar-gzip with

zip -r backup.zip .

--Jason

Well l downloaded winrar, and got the same results...

"corrupt archive"

Could it be a script that l have on my site, that's making this happen?

~JSlime

[Jacksdad]

So, You downloadin the backup from the CP or from a script that backs up for site?.

If you are using CP to D/l the backup, I would say no, to a script causing that issue.

[Vin DSL]

My best guess is that the files are getting corrupted doing the transfer from JagPC to your local machine, not by cPanel or GNU zip...

Once again, HTTP transfers are unreliable. Since you are using a good compression tool now, the finger points to the transfer process.

If it was me, I would simply shell into my account using WinSCP and do a mirror image of the entire web site to my local hard drive, preserving the file/directory structure. Then I would use phpMyAdmin to do a dump of the sql db to my local hard drive.

You could also do the same thing using your favorite FTP client and phpMyAdmin. I suggest WS_FTP Pro:

http://www.ipswitch.com/Products/WS_FTP/

[JSlime]

Originally posted by Jacksdad
So, You downloadin the backup from the CP or from a script that backs up for site?.

If you are using CP to D/l the backup, I would say no, to a script causing that issue.

No l'm downloading the backup from the CPanel...

Now like l said, l get that error when l try to uncompress it on my computer, l don't know what would happen if l tried to "restore" my site, with the file l'd downloaded... l'm to afraid to try.

~JSlime

[Vin DSL]

LoL! We posted at the same time --- read the message above...

[gakenny]

Hello,

Because this file is generated by CPANEL, it is likely that it includes other data that is specific to CPANEL. I have seen the error you mention but I do believe that you are able to navigate the archive and see the files.

Correct me if I am wrong!

Cheers,

Gary