Support

Please check your server's error logs to see what the real PHP error is. Most likely, the problem is that your server is using a very old PHP version (4.x, 5.0 or 5.1) which is not supported by the Akeeba Backup Installer script, but I'd really want to see the server's error log file to tell you beyond any doubt what it is.

If you are in a great pressure of time, please ask me for the manual restoration procedure.

The restore point feature has nothing to do with full site backup restoration, it only restores one specific extensions (e.g. a specific component) and requires access to the back-end of your site. I assume that what you meant is that you are used the Akeeba eXtract Wizard to extract the backup and upload the files to your host. If this is not the case, you have done something wrong and these are the steps you have to follow:
- Download the backup archive locally.
- Use Akeeba eXtract Wizard to extract the backup archive locally.
- Upload all missing files to your host.
- Upload all of the contents of the installation directory to the installation directory on your host.
- Visit the restoration page, e.g. http://www.therollerskate.com/installation/index.php
You should normally be able to restore your site now.

All right, now I am perfectly sure that you are doing something very wrong. You are not trying to restore a full site backup archive, you are trying to restore a System Restore Point (SRP) archive. However, System Restore Point archives can not be restored using Kickstart. They can only be restored through the site's back-end, from the Administer Backup Files > Restore Points page. The difference is that an SRP archive contains ONLY the files for a specific extension and a "sql" directory with this extension's database table dump. A full site backup archive contains a complete copy of your site's files and an installation directory which contains both the restoration script (ABI - Akeeba Backup Installer), as well as your entire site database's dump in installation/sql. By extracting an SRP backup on top of a normal full site backup you have made a Frankestein situation which can't possibly work.

You have to use a full site backup archive, extract it, upload all files to your site and continue from there.

Yikes! That sucks big time :( For the next time, follow my advice: take regular backups, at least once before and after you make a significant change on your site; keep three copies of the archives in an off-server location (your PC, a flash disk and DropBox is an excellent combo); test your backups often, at least after every time you upgrade software on your site, by making a test restoration on a local server. Following these three simple steps ensures that you will never be left without a full, working backup, which is paramount for your sanity.

Regarding the database backups, you can use them, yes. I assume you're talking about .sql files, right? In this case, you can install Joomla!, install the extensions you had on your site then use phpMyAdmin to "Import" (that's how phpMyAdmin calls restoring a SQL file) those SQL files to your database. This should at least salvage your site's content, albeit not the images (images are stored as files).

Hi!

It's a very bad idea to restore a Joomla! 1.6 database dump on a Joomla! 1.7 site. Things will break. It's best to restore on a Joomla! 1.6 site, then use either Admin Tools Core 2.1.10 or Joomla!'s own updater (Extensions > Manage > Update) to perform a one-click upgrade to Joomla! 1.7. Either of these will take care of the database changes for you.

Regarding using DropBox, here are your options:
1. Do it manually, which can be a pain in the rear
2. Use my free Remote CLI script. The upside is that it's free and once you get it configured, it can automatically run a backup and download it wherever you want as long as your computer is turned on. The downside is that, depending on your experience, it can be a little challenging to set up (it only works on the command line) and does require your computer to be turned on to run the backup.
3. You can use Akeeba Remote Control. It's free, but it's not supported any more. You have a 75% chance of getting it to work on your site. If you are on the unlucky 25%, it may not be able to run a backup, or fail to download it. For most small-ish sites (backing up to approximately 100Mb or less) it works very well.
4. Spend 40 Euros to buy Akeeba Backup Professional. It allows you to upload your backup archive automatically to DropBox and provides three different ways to automate your backup using server-side CRON jobs. Obviously, that's the best solution as your site takes care of its own backup and all you have to do is to turn on your computer so that the desktop DropBox application syncs and downloads the backup archive to your computer.

So, basically, it is all possible and it comes down to choosing between spending your time or spending your money.