compress the backup as it's made:

mysqldump --opt -u_____ -p database | gzip -9 > /var/backups/blablabla.sql.gz

note: I have a small database (80mb or so), don't know if this will work on large databases or not

is there anywya to grab half or even quarter of the database at a time?

This is a very good syntax. Thanks for this. It's working very nice and quickly. :)

-Fish

I have been using:
/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqldump --opt -u____ -p____ forums | gzip > /home/mysqldumps/backup/forums.sql
for a while now and it seems to work fine although I haven't had to restore from it.
What does the -9 switch do?

How do I expand my max_allowed_packet for mysql? I'm trying to restore my backup.sql on my local machine but I got an error saying that a line #: Got a packet bigger than 'max_allowed_packet'.

Thanks in advance!

mysqldump: Got error: 1044: Access denied for user: 'o0oKARo0X@localhost' to database 'o0oKARo0X' when using LOCK TABLES

What´s that error?

looks like a permissions problem. Make sure 'o0oKARo0X@localhost' is in your grant table

Yes it is but I can?t solve it, it?s getting very annoying :(

You may not have permission to use certain SQL commands with that username, give it access to everything (ALL) if you are unsure on what commands you need.

237: Got a packet bigger than 'max_allowed_packet'
How can I fix it?