Forum will not back up

[MTGDarkness]

Up until recently, I have been backing up to a file on the server, downloading it, and then deleting it. But all of a sudden, this stopped working. It keeps on getting stuck at vBulletin_pollsvoted and won't continue. :( What could be the problem?

[BSMedia]

Its probably timng out especially if you have a lot of data in the pollsvoted table.

Backing up that way isn't recommended and you should consider learning how to backup via SSH or mysqlhotcopy to prevent having incomplete backups or corrupt ones should the time ever come and you need one.

[Lynne]

From the manual:
Backing Up The Database via SSH/Telnet (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/../docs/html/maintenance_ssh_backup) or
Backing Up The Database via phpMyAdmin (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/../docs/html/maintenance_phpmyadmin_backup)

Restoring The Database via SSH/Telnet (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/../docs/html/maintenance_ssh_restore) or
Restoring The Database via phpMyAdmin (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/../docs/html/maintenance_phpmyadmin_restore)

If you don't have shell access, some people have also reported success with these scripts:
MySQLDumper (http://www.mysqldumper.de/en/index.php)
MySQLHotxcopy (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134821&highlight=mysqlhotcopy)
Bigdump (http://www.ozerov.de/bigdump.php)

[MTGDarkness]

I'm pretty sure my host doesn't allow SSH access. What's MySQLHotCopy?

[Lynne]

They are different applications to do backups. Talk to your host and see what they may have available for you to use to do a mysql backup.

[MTGDarkness]

Okay, thanks.