Vbulletin database error but i can still access database via phpMyAdmin, wat's wrong?

[asiaphoto]

Hi everyone,

i have a technical error that's been bothering me.

I encounter Vbulletin database error with my two forums now and then
( http://www.asiaphoto.com/forum.php - running VB4.0.1 )
( http://www.photographybeijing.com - running v3.8.4 )

such database errors go like

Database error
The database has encountered a problem.
Please try the following:

* Load the page again by clicking the Refresh button in your web browser.
* Open the www.asiaphoto.com home page, then try to open another page.
* Click the Back button to try another link.

The www.asiaphoto.com forum technical staff have been notified of the error, though you may contact them if the problem persists.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

i have a couple of joomla websites also running on databases and they encounter similar database errors too.

right now, both the forums and the joomla websites have been down for the past 90 minutes.


Yet ironically, i can access the databases via PhpMyAdmin where i can still read the data plus do backups.

Anyone has any idea what's wrong?

i'm using Mediatemple for webhosting.

--------------- Added [DATE]1265985013[/DATE] at [TIME]1265985013[/TIME] ---------------

Just to update....

the access to PhpMyAdmin is also intermittent.

I lost connection when my forum database backup is about 3/4 downloaded

then i got logged out of PhyMyAdmin...

and when i try to log in again, i get a

#2013 - Lost connection to MySQL server during query


btw, my forum databases have been down for the past 100 minutes but the static html pages are still accessible...