Well that was impeccable timing wasn't it? I just got off the plane in Marseille with no laptop or Internet connection when the massages of panic started coming thick and fast, typical eh? :cry: .
I think that John has pretty much explained the situation so I don't have an awful lot to add, except a
very big thank you to the other mods for keeping everyone informed and getting members back up and running ASAP whilst I was away. Also, thanks to Jaws for holding his hand up straight away and telling me what happened, if he hadn't owned up so quickly (as many might not have) I would have ended up waisting countless hours trying to trace what happened and that would have made matters considerably worse.
What was a resolvable cock-up became somewhat more of a nightmare when I found out that the ISP had not been clearing the file locks on the database before the backup started each night, thus rendering it useless :rant: . Pretty bloody poor bearing in mind that I pay ?50 per month for that service!
OK, they have refunded me all my 50 quids since I started using them, but I'd rather have the data
:bang: .
Here is a quick summary of where we are:
1. I have no way of restoring PMs I'm afraid - sorry.
2. Pretty much everything else can be put right (post count, date joined, user status etc), however this is a manual process and so any help you can give us by making requests and being a little patient would be most appreciated.
3. I do have a copy of the central database. This means that I can compare my copy of the database with the current one and thereby create a list of all missing members. I will then email everyone on that list, informing them of the problem and what they need to do to put it right. That way no one should be left in the dark and you never know, we might even prompt a few lost soles back to the club
.
4. Using the same technique, I will get a list of all the Sponsors that were deleted. I'll then have to manually go through each record and correct their renewal date to the date that I have on my copy of the database. This will make sure that no one reverts to "Registered User" prematurely at the end of the month when the automatic renewal routines are run.
So basically, we will soon be back to where we were, or as close as I can get. I'm sure that you can all see that Jaws was mortified that he made the error and I hope that everyone can accept his apology as graciously as it was offered. If anyone has any other issues regarding this problem, please feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to resolve them ASAP.
Keep smilin' :-: