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Akeeba Backup for Joomla!

#8917 Cron setup properly (host verified) but still not running

Posted in ‘Akeeba Backup for Joomla! 4 & 5’
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Environment Information

Joomla! version
n/a
PHP version
n/a
Akeeba Backup version
n/a

Latest post by nicholas on Friday, 08 July 2011 15:14 CDT

user41634
Mandatory information about my setup:

Have I read the related troubleshooter articles above before posting (which pages?)? Yes
Have I searched the forum before posting? Yes
Have I read the documentation before posting (which pages?)? Yes - https://www.akeebabackup.com/documentation/akeeba-backup-documentation/automating-your-backup.html#frontend-backup
Joomla! version: 1.5.23
PHP version: 5.2.17
MySQL version: 5.0.92-community
Host: StormOnDemand
Akeeba Backup Professional version: 3.3.b1

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Please attach your Akeeba Backup log file in order for us to help you with any backup or restoration issue.

Description of my issue:

Hi,
First off - awesome component! I also like that new forum posts start off with the above mentioned questions.

Alright - so I've used Akeeba on pretty much all of our client sites and have always loved the flexibility of this component - so much so that we splurged for the PRO version (my issue doesn't relate to the PRO vs the CORE though, as one has the CORE installed and one has the PRO installed on the same type of server - same issue). Primarily, we have used Akeeba Backup on HostGator, but for our bigger clients, we have them setup on LiquidWeb and StormOnDemand (basically, StormOnDemand is LiquidWeb's cloud server). I've verified with the host on which CRON setup should work for me, but no matter what I do, the CRON is never actually run (I have the frequency set to once a day). StormOnDemand uses the same cPanel environment as HostGator - but I know it's never as simple as that. The issue is stumping me at the moment - so any suggestion you have would be really appreciated. I unfortunately don't have a log file to attach though since it never actually ran. The only thing I've had to do to the hosting environment is use suPHP, but I believe that's the only change that has been made. Thanks!

nicholas
Akeeba Staff
Manager
If the CRON job never runs at all and never produces any log or other output, it only means one thing: it's set up incorrectly.

The first thing I would look at is the path to the php binary. Is it correctly? Does it execute from an SSH terminal? The second thing to check is the path to the CRON script. Unless both of them are correct, nothing will happen when the CRON script runs.

If you are not using one of the CRON scripts (backup.php/altbackup.php) but the front-end backup method, check the following:
- Are using wget or curl? Maybe the one you want to use is not available on the server and you have to use the other one.
- Do you have the URL to the correct site?
- Check the secret word. Ideally, it should consists of only lowercase alpha and numeric characters. Check that the one you use in the URL and the one in Component Parameters match (case sensitive)
- Check that "Enable front-end and remote backups" is enabled in Component Configuration.

If that still doesn't help, check the scheduling part of the CRON job. Is it set up to run daily, or did you accidentally set it to run once a month or a year? (Don't tell anyone, but I've done that stupid mistake and only realised it the next day...)

I hope that helps!

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

user41634
Hi Nicholas,
Really appreciate the quick response. After a few back 'n forths with my hosting company, it looks like https://www.akeebabackup.com/documentation/akeeba-backup-documentation/native-cron-script.html (the cPanel way) did the trick! Thanks for the great support!

nicholas
Akeeba Staff
Manager
You're welcome! I am glad it's working now :)

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

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