Honey, I Deleted My Database!

I got the scare of my life a couple of weeks ago when I accidentally deleted the database of this blog. I was cleaning up my databases, deleting those ones associated with failed ventures when I realized that one of those I deleted actually contained the tables belonging to this site. Essentially there were two blogs sharing the same database so when I uninstalled the other blog, the entire database was removed as well. Imagine my surprise when I opened this blog and got a ‘Error Establishing A Connection To The Database’ instead. I was wringing my hands for a few minutes before I accepted the fact that what’s lost is lost and no need to cry about it.

I searched everywhere for a solution on how to restore or recover the mysql database that i accidentally deleted but the information I gathered wasn’t very encouraging. There were curt replies that said, well if you didn’t do your backup, then there’s no way that you’re able to recover your database. Of course my heart sank upon reading those replies because as much as I would like to have up to date back-ups, I just don’t have the time nor the patience to do such things. Big mistake on my part. The only backup I had was the one I did 6 months ago and that was really almost unacceptable. It meant 6 months worth of worthless posts just went down the internet drain.

As a last ditch effort, I contacted my hosting provider if there’s anyway that the database I deleted could still be recovered. I was hoping that they have a server trash somewhere that catches all those deleted things. You know just like in a regular PC. Unfortunately they don’t have one of those. They had something better though– server backups. Which meant they have a backup of the database I deleted. Holy mother of Moses that was an early christmas present for me.

So for those bloggers out there who are as stupidly curious as myself who like to play around with mysql databases here are a couple of tips based on my almost fatal, but painful mistake nevertheless.

1. Backup! Don’t be like me. Back up regularly! Hosting providers usually have a backup tool in your Cpanel. Make use of that one.

2. For WordPress users, there’s also a wordpress plugin that does automatic backups. I haven’t tried that one so I can’t really discuss it at length.

3. If you’re looking for a hosting provider, you might make regular server backups as a consideration. This is a bit of a stretch for shared hosting though as there are like thousands of websites being hosted in a single server. But still it’s worth asking for.

4. If you manage to accidentally delete your database and you don’t have any back-up, check with your hosting provider helpdesk, they just might have a backup stored somewhere. Like in my case. Otherwise, my heartfelt condolences.  You may also check some high quality database hosting providers available online.

5. Re-read #1. It could mean the life of your website.

Happy Thanksgiving!