I suppose you already noticed it, the second server is already down for a day now.
The server was already very unstable but became completely useless after the new hardware was added. The Operating System didn't want to start properly just like the network services and some kernel problems. The technicians were working on it till a few hours ago but couldn't get it functioning again.
A week ago somebody managed to exploit the tempory directory on the server. This shouldn't have done much harm to the server, but maybe they managed to remove a few important files or change a few essential parts of the OS making it so unstable. However, I'm not sure whether this caused the problem or not.
Anyway, the server needs an OS reload.
-This will take a lot of time, hopefully not longer than 1 day.
-Data recovery is not guaranteed. If we get all data back it will take some time to restore it and it isn't easy either to restore all the users, permissions, files, ftp accesses, virtual hosts, ...
I know that saying that I'm terribly sorry isn't enough in this case - but it is all I can do.
I'll try to keep you updated about what happens but I don't have much information about it myself as I don't have physical access to the server and I can't login to it if the OS isn't even functioning like it should.
I think the important thing is that at least everyone will know what is going on now, and that there's not a lot anyone can do at this stage except to wait.
We can only hope that the data will be recovered.
And if not, can you connect to the same account or will you have too request for a new one?
Well... it's good to hear what happens to the server... i first thought that it just was another downtime (this morning i could just enter my site 
) So, we just have to hope that the server can be fixed, and that a data recovery is possible...
@ Bondings, i hope these problems don't keep you off your work (a few days ago i heard that you had exams or something like that) so, 1st. finish your exams, and then think about the server (i can wait 
) What is done is done, there is no way back. Hopefully we can get the data back especially the databases..... if not, there is going to be plenty of work ahead for more than one even more for those who are not use to make a backup like me! 
i made a back up, of all my files... but that was quite long ago...so, the back-up isn't of all my files...
Now i lost: 3 websites, 4 databases, Precious Scripts, some pictures, and some other stuff...
So, i hope they can recover all the files 
Don't they keep backups of files hosted on their server? I always thought that was commonplace... | Marston wrote: |
| Don't they keep backups of files hosted on their server? I always thought that was commonplace... |
There are but like Bondings said files might not be able to be recovered which also includes back-ups
[fingers xx crossed] | Hanpusu-kun wrote: |
We can only hope that the data will be recovered.
And if not, can you connect to the same account or will you have too request for a new one? |
The details of all requests are stored in the database on this server. However, this is the data of the latest request, changed subdomains aren't recorded yet. So new requests shouldn't be needed, I hope. Only a lot of 'please change my subdomain' requests.
I hope most people do have a backup/copy of most important files or can easily regenerate them. This is always useful, not only for server crashes/data loss.
But normally the data should still be available or at least partly put back So this really would be a worst-case scenario.
Loathing in Fear, yes I have exams and other important stuff to do at the moment. That's why I'm skipping a lot of things lately on the forum and won't be able to post in most forums in the next few days.
Marston, we don't have a backup of the whole server, unfortunately. I don't really believe in keeping backups on the same server as most of the time both the backup and data are lost at the same time. Off-site backups are quite expensive and I can't afford them at the moment. If we ever get much bigger with more servers, then I might consider getting a server especially for the backups.
But again, I don't know how things will turn out but most likely most settings/files/databases will be restored like they were before the crash. | Quote: |
| A week ago somebody managed to exploit the tempory directory on the server. |
Does that mean someone hacked into it? Why would someone do that?@ Bondings
Firstly, thanks for the update, especially your honesty. Secondly, as Loathing in Fear said, concentrate on your exams as a priority. I don't think any of us who are affected are happy with the situation, but that is the price we pay for free hosting. Please keep us informed though of the progress.
With all the recent problems, I was going to backup my databases this morning, only to find the server down. Hopefully you will be able to get the data back, if not it's not the end of the world. Fortunately, most of my site is now functioning as I am hosting it on my PC at home until the server comes back online.
Keep up the good work, and fear not, we still have faith in Frihost. Still the best Free Web Hosting by far!
Thanks for informing, I hope it will be fixed soon. I miss my mail 
@ bondings
Concentrate on your Exams, in my opinion, exams are more important than the server, and about the files... I don't really mind about all the stuff, i just have to code some pages and upload some pages i saved on my computer... I am more worried about my databases... there was some "Important" data on my forums...
P.S. It's great that we won't have to request a new account! | Yjaxygames wrote: |
| Quote: | | A week ago somebody managed to exploit the tempory directory on the server. |
Does that mean someone hacked into it? Why would someone do that? |
Just for fun in the case of a kid trying to show off what he learned on the internet. (example vulnerabilities are all over the internet) Or in other cases to use the server for ddos attacks, spamming, phishing and other abuse. Or a combination of the above.
By the way, every day there are several people trying to log in to the server (ssh) by using random passwords. They just try it out on a random ip till that server blocks them and then move to another one.
And free hosts are known to attract the most hackers.
The tmp directory wasn't properly secured (or not enough) and someone managed to install a script in it. When I discovered it, it wasn't used (didn't work I think) so normally it shouldn't have done any harm at all. At least that was what I thought.
However, the server already crashed a few times without a clear reason in the previous months, so the crash might have had another cause.There are words for people who do things like that; but I don't think we are allowed to use them on these forums!
is this why my request for hosting has taken forever (I requested sometime yesterday) to get accepted? If so, when will you be able to accept more frihost webmasters?
I'm sorry, I've tried to be patient, but I'm so excited about frihost!
Last edited by xoxmeholly on Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
Please Please at least please recover the data. I am seriously wanting them. If data cann't be recovered Can we recover the *.tar.gz backup files????
| xoxmeholly wrote: |
is this why my request for hosting has taken forever (I requested sometime yesterday) to get accepted? If so, when will you be able to accept more frihost webmasters?
I'm sorry, I've tried to be patient, but I'm so excited about frihost! |
Until the server is back up and running, I can't imagine Frihost will be able to take on any new users. There are a lot of existing users without a service at the momeny, and I imaging Bondings will be prioritising existing users first.Just like bondings said, he isnt sure if the data he has can be recovered, but i think that you can recover your own .tar.gz files
@xoxmeholly, i think your hosting will be accepted, when the server is up again so you have to wait for a little while, in the meantime you can try and get your point count up its always handy if you have some spare points left dear bondings, maybe you could help me.
please tell me that the second server after this is gonna be as stable as the first server. otherwise i wish you give me an account in the first server when some account in the first server is banned or deleted.
Thanks for all, i hope you could fix everything, and the two servers work great
| eugenioclrc wrote: |
dear bondings, maybe you could help me.
please tell me that the second server after this is gonna be as stable as the first server. otherwise i wish you give me an account in the first server when some account in the first server is banned or deleted.
Thanks for all, i hope you could fix everything, and the two servers work great |
I'm sure Bondings wants the second server to be 100% reliable. He can't guarentee that, so please don't ask! Noone could forsee these problems; but they are being sorted so be happy with that, or get your wallet out and pay for hosting!I hope data is ok 
Kind of funny that this all happens a few days after I get my account. I trust that things will get better, though!
all i can say in a time like this is thank you Bondings and frihost staff for always keeping us informed of all goings on. I could never picture this being any better. it really speaks for this site and its hosting how dedicated everyone is. most places wouldnt update on the problem at hand even if they mentioned the problem at all....
keep up the great work
| saiyeek wrote: |
| Please Please at least please recover the data. I am seriously wanting them. If data cann't be recovered Can we recover the *.tar.gz backup files???? |
Most likely the data will still be there and not errased. However, if it wouldn't be there, then sure the backup files of DirectAdmin (if you still have them on your computer) will restore most important things, if not all.
The current hard drive shouldn't be touched at all and the data is still on it, but unfortunately the datacenter is famous about formatting other hard drives by mistake during a reload. But that won't happen on our server, I hope.Why don't you try an advanced IP blocking system, that is updated every day from a long list of proxies, tor, and others... and there's even a TOR blacklist(to block some TOR's): http://proxy.org/tor_blacklist.txt | Bondings wrote: |
| saiyeek wrote: | | Please Please at least please recover the data. I am seriously wanting them. If data cann't be recovered Can we recover the *.tar.gz backup files???? |
Most likely the data will still be there and not errased. However, if it wouldn't be there, then sure the backup files of DirectAdmin (if you still have them on your computer) will restore most important things, if not all.
The current hard drive shouldn't be touched at all and the data is still on it, but unfortunately the datacenter is famous about formatting other hard drives by mistake during a reload. But that won't happen on our server, I hope. |
Thank You!
but I don't have downloaded the backup file though. I hope you will restore directadmin backup file. | Atomo64 wrote: |
| Why don't you try an advanced IP blocking system, that is updated every day from a long list of proxies, tor, and others... and there's even a TOR blacklist(to block some TOR's): http://proxy.org/tor_blacklist.txt |
We do have a lot of protection programs and ip blocking systems on the server. They certainly don't stop all malicious users. And there were already problems since november (a server shouldn't crash without a clear reason and certainly not often), so it is not necessarily because of abuse.Thanks for all the info Bondings.
Sorry to hear some a**h**e actually hacked into the server, it's a strange world we live in.
I was wondering what was going on and you've been really helpful explaining it all in this forum.
I have my site backed up on my PC so no big deal. Just maybe have to re-do the SQL stuff, but I don't have to much in there luckily.
Good luck with your exams and I hope all this works out OK for everyone.
Cheers.
Arrgh...
Thanks for the update though.
Hopefully everything turns out well for the server.
And hopefully you can concentrate on exams, Bondings. Not happy jan !
i was telling all my friends to look at my site, and they are all like 'it doesnt work'
why did this have to happen. grrrr.
i know its not your fault. but jeez.
Thanks for the update FRIHOST staff, thats what the customers love most. When theres a problem we need to be informed of, like other site host providers I've been to there server crashes and there just sitting there saying "oooo". So ya thanks again for the update.
We really appreciate it...
i second the notion of thanking you guys (bondings) for keeping us all informed on what is going on. the worst thing about these scenarios usually is not being informed. so cheers!
I saw the notice that said, "new accounts not applicable until Mid February." I applied yesterday, before the notice was up. Will I get my account pretty soon, or will I have to wait until Mid February?
That's a bad news. Can't be helped though.
I was actually thinking of backing up my files yesterday when I found that my site was inaccessible. lol I shouldn't have waited for so long... but oh well. 
A good time to view YouFail.org Well thats a relief, I thought my web account has been removed for some reason I could not explain. Well I wish you the best of luck on restoring the problem. It doesnt matter if you cant restore all my files since I have them in a disk. But I just hope that my account wont dissapear. Thats the only thing I fear.
well although it's bad news we are indeed grateful for the knowing about this. please keep us updated on the server!! 
Yeah, thanks for the heads up. Too bad about the problems. Hoepfully, it will get better after OS reload.
Have you figured out the cause of it yet?
I just hope the data isn't lost, I didn't back up my forums . Well still thanks for the hardware upgrade, I'm sure everything will be 100% stable in a few days. Thanks for keeping us informed. It's nice to feel that you care about all us freeloaders
Personally, I really hope you feel free to focus on your exams. I don't imagine you'd be able to be much help to anyone if you ended up messing up your life over this, and then resenting us, and the whole frihost project because of it. Yeah it sucks, but keep it in perspective. We'll survive.
I hope it all works out, and soon.
But, again, thanks for all your hard work, and for keeping us in the loop. Well... just hope that the data aren't lost.
Thanks anyway for keeping us inform. Help to let things go smoothly.
Bon courage !
Oh no! I hope I don't have to start from scratch again!
How do we find out which server we are on?
How old is bondings, just wondering...anyone know?
Nope
But I do have to say
Server 2 being down = pissing JJ off!
I understand there is nothing you can really do but I am just pissed off and had to say it.
Server 2 is failing so bad and I really need entertanment.
And it is also hard to create a surprise for someone when the server is down.
| root wrote: |
| How old is bondings, just wondering...anyone know? |
I have no idea, but I'd recommend not asking. Some people take offence at it. I know when I was a minor that I didn't want to give that out to hundreds of strangers. I do wonder if I'm one of the older Frihosters, lol. It seems that most of the folks around here are in their teens. I'll be 21 tomorrow 
| Bondings wrote: |
| I'll try to keep you updated about what happens but I don't have much information about it myself as I don't have physical access to the server and I can't login to it if the OS isn't even functioning like it should. |
Why you not buy your own server. Hardwares are not much expencive now. Make assembled your own server, make your own datacentre.My website seems to be working fine though, and its on server 2... does that mean the problem is fixed or am i missing something?
this seems like a really cool system. I am a little confused though on how everything works. My first post, trying to obtain a site. | root wrote: |
| How old is bondings, just wondering...anyone know? |
Secret .
He won't tell you, I won't tell you, no one will tell you.
@ Bondings
Well.. | n0obie4life wrote: |
| root wrote: | | How old is bondings, just wondering...anyone know? |
Secret .
He won't tell you, I won't tell you, no one will tell you.
@ Bondings
Well.. |
He is in University. Thus He must be 21-26.Maybe. Anyway, quit guessing his age, this topic was made for discussing about this bad news.
it's 8:29 and it's always down. sniff.
ps: I suppose bonding is at www.ulb.ac.be unniversity.
a+++[/url] Well it doesnt really matter to me because my website doesnt really have that much on it but still it is a bit annoying because i was going to save what i did on my computer but the server was down but my friends might be annoyed with me when my website doesnt actually work. I honestly don't think that Bonding's age or what exams he is taking has anything to do with the fact tat server 2 is down! Let's get back on point!
The issue is that server 2 is down because some pain-in-the-neck hacker planted a scary script in the server's temporary directory and caused it to crash the server's OS. Bondings is probably trying every thig in his power to get it fixed BUT HE SHOULD PUT HIS EXAMS FIRST!!!
Bondings: Good Luck! if he is a ulb, in worst case , he finish today (i finish myself since once week)
Well, this sucks. But goodluck for ur exams Bondings. I never guessed you'd be this young. Talk about a young entrepreneur....
Earlier today, or was it yesterday, I tried pulling up my site and it came up but without the CSS....
It freaked me out but I knew we were having trouble. I was nice seeing how smooth and usable my site was being properly programed though.
And hey Bondings, just to help you on your exams.... with all these wishes for "luck"...
Screw your exams up good!!! Catch a cold and sleep in, forget a pensile and have a big brain freeze and sit behing the guy that farts when he's nervous.
On the way into class cut off some idiot and give him the bird before you realize it's your profesor....
Hope that helps.
Last edited by horseatingweeds on Fri Feb 03, 2006 10:01 am; edited 1 time in total Let me state a few points clear.
1. Stop guessing Bondings's age, even if you got it correct, we will NOT tell you a single thing.
2. Stop guessing Bondings's university, we will not tell you anything either.
The next person who..does that..will..die.
Pfft, if you really want to know when he's exams are over, just check Bondings World 
for bongins world , any adress???
| Yjaxygames wrote: |
| Does that mean someone hacked into it? Why would someone do that? |
People do stupid things, some people enjoy other peoples misery.Take your time but please dont loose any webiste data. Loosing data is blasphamy. Even for a free host. I can afford downtime, but if the database is lost I dont have any way to restore one of my blogs. I am already fretting. And please unban my IP [removed] . I ahve to use a proxy to access frihost forums right now.
| elekis wrote: |
| for bongins world , any adress??? |
http://bondings-world.frihost.net
@shabda,
I removed that IP address within your post for safety reasons, I already messaged Bondings to unban your IP if possible.It's the 3rd february. Can we have a mail when the problem will be resolved to start all our work?
| wumingsden wrote: |
| Marston wrote: | | Don't they keep backups of files hosted on their server? I always thought that was commonplace... |
There are but like Bondings said files might not be able to be recovered which also includes back-ups
[fingers xx crossed] |
Wumingsden,
This is a little strange don’t you think. If a backup is made to tape/disk array the intention is to use it again after a disaster. I would think that if backup is implemented in a correct way this should be the case even if the “crash” is that fatal to the system.
Can anybody state what kind of backup is been made from the systems and why the files should not be recoverable anymore? | n0obie4life wrote: |
Let me state a few points clear.
1. Stop guessing Bondings's age, even if you got it correct, we will NOT tell you a single thing.
2. Stop guessing Bondings's university, we will not tell you anything either. |
I agree, but does that apply to me too? 
| mj_loc_nl wrote: |
| Can anybody state what kind of backup is been made from the systems and why the files should not be recoverable anymore? |
Nobody has said that the files won't be recoverd. The thing is that there is a high probability of so. I guess bondings doesn't want to create false expectatives but if everything goes straight we will get the data back. cross your fingers! | hack_man_ wrote: |
| n0obie4life wrote: | Let me state a few points clear.
1. Stop guessing Bondings's age, even if you got it correct, we will NOT tell you a single thing.
2. Stop guessing Bondings's university, we will not tell you anything either. |
I agree, but does that apply to me too? |
I'm not a minor (pretty obvious if you know I'm in university) and that's all you need to know. I don't think it would be a good idea for a minor to start a free host, certainy not something as big as Frihost.
Alja, the data is still on the hard drive, there is just a chance of it being errased. It's also not easy to transfer all accounts as it not only includes the files, but also permissions, settings, virtual hosts and that kind of stuff. But normally it should all be back like it used to be in a few days.What OS are you reloading anyway? Win Server? Linux? Which linux?
Cheer..... 
I hope it will be fine soon. Linux obviously. Which free web host use win anyway?
I just want to congratulate you for the excellent service you provide. Your sincerity in dealing with the problem only adds positive points to your profile. I couldn't yet set up my page for a variety of reasons, but if I had lost any data because of the crash I would have not the right to complain. Everybody knows about how important is to keep one's own backup. I actually don't have a backup of my start (starter?) page, which is not really important. I'm just concerned about the first PM I got from a moderator (can't remmember his name) confirming my acceptance to Frihost and with important information on my account. Sometimes I forget how to log in Direct Admin and I have to open that PM to find the way. I'm sure you'll be able to resend me the information if the PM can't be recovered.
I hope you have an easy time restoring server 2, but if anybody gets stressed out for that, please read my post NO MORE BONDINGS, PLEASE.
Good luck!
| shabda wrote: |
| Linux obviously. Which free web host use win anyway? |
Yes, I know that... DUH! When I said 'Win' I meant to type 'which', it was probably my lack of sleep kicking in again. 
But I mean... Which Linux? Debian? RedHat? Which?hi all,
what about the account requests not handled yet ? is this affected with the server crash ?
thanks for the info.
| LostOverThere wrote: |
People do stupid things, some people enjoy other peoples misery. |
Right, But I think it was most likely some 12 year old kid who learned how to write a nasty script, and wanted to try it out. Also kind of coincidental, Today is supposed to be the day of the "Blackworm" virus (releases itself on the 3rd of each month).
But most likely, some little hax0r who wanted to be able to tell his friends "yeah, I brought down a big server."Ouch. Sorry to hear that server 2 is down. Even if data loss occurs, users can simply re-upload their data, right? Or will it eat all account info, as well?
-Aquastrike
Thanks for the honest reply, I am very impressed with your way
| Bondings wrote: |
But normally it should all be back like it used to be in a few days. |
So the server will be back within some days. How much more time. Its already 2 days and it is very long time. I am really tensed because visitors of my site is finding it fake or..... | Quote: |
| So the server will be back within some days. How much more time. Its already 2 days and it is very long time..... |
Agree, It is frustraiting but at least we have some information about it.
I hope data is ok | saiyeek wrote: |
| Bondings wrote: |
But normally it should all be back like it used to be in a few days. |
So the server will be back within some days. How much more time. Its already 2 days and it is very long time. I am really tensed because visitors of my site is finding it fake or..... |
I didn't get any response back yet and the server is still not reachable/pingable.
I was hoping for less than 24 hours (the techs first tried to get the OS functioning again and that's not included) but I guess it will be a bit more. They normally do it within less than 48 hours (in the case of data recovery, formatting is only 24 hours). So the server (not the accounts) might be ready in a few hours or only tomorrow. The accounts will also take a few hours to days, depending on how hard it is to put them back. | admin wrote: |
| I was hoping for less than 24 hours. |
I guess is better to hope the techs work during weekends otherwise see you next week.i want to say thanks to admin for his answer who make me a little happy for our hosting. I hope only that we don't lost anything on server and contents of our databases.
| nam_siddharth wrote: |
| Bondings wrote: | | I'll try to keep you updated about what happens but I don't have much information about it myself as I don't have physical access to the server and I can't login to it if the OS isn't even functioning like it should. |
Why you not buy your own server. Hardwares are not much expencive now. Make assembled your own server, make your own datacentre. |
It's not just the hardware, it's the connection that's expensive as well. And maintainance, installing and securing, etc.Well for the people that are complaining, frihost has until now been, and still is the best there is on the net! Lucky for me i have not had much time to do anything major with my hosting! So this could be a welcomed fresh start! I first noticed something was wrong when i tried accessing my mail, and kept getting "NETWORK ERROR"??? But im glad its not as bad as a fire or something! BE STRONG!
espero que lo arreglen pronto, necesiito mi pagina para el domingo,
I hope you fix it the problem very soon. I will need it on sunday
Well, hope everyone get's their data back. I personally back mine up but it would be a pain for everyone if anyones data got deleted.
Good luck with the server.
Is this why I havent been accepted for free hosting yet?
| Gates wrote: |
| Is this why I havent been accepted for free hosting yet? |
*New requests won't be accepted till mid february.*emails that were sent to the accounts during the time couldnt be delivered and senders got errors right?
Yes phx777.
Anyway, I hope the server will come up soon. I dont mind loosing the data. I can re-setup again. No Biggy. I just hope you guys wont have that much trouble getting it up and running again.
GOOD Luck! Any updates?? Anyways I will keep praying.
| maclui wrote: |
| Any updates?? Anyways I will keep praying. |
It's looks like it's going to be at least another day. Maybe more, especially it is hitting the weekend. Hope for all the best. From the viewpoint of a person who hosts here, as well as using professional hosting for an e-commerce site for a living, it is nice to see our support here is better then my pro service.
Thank you for letting us know not only the problem but your intended solution...it puts my mind at ease and reduces the amount of tech calls on your end im sure.
So i'm guessing that frihost its self is hosted on its own private server?? Also guys be patient, Invisionfree.com had somthing like this happen to them, there techs said 48 hours or less also but it took em about a week to fix it.... Remember these techs usualy have hundreds of other servers to maintain and some they catagorize as more important im sure.
Wow Man.. Thanks you that you noticed us.. I had no idea whatr's going on.. now I realize all the point.
man, thank you for all you doing for us, that you do all this and spent money for us, you trully good man.
I hope that all be fine, and all the servers will back.
this is a bad thing to happen but all what we need that to restore all data without big loss ,,and this may warn us to back up our sites data ,,,
For me it will be a hard lesson to learn as I never made a backup ...
I know that more efforts are doing at this time to maintain and recover the harm that affect the server ... so as a family I say ..thank you 4 your honesty and clear updated news
| phx777 wrote: |
| emails that were sent to the accounts during the time couldnt be delivered and senders got errors right? |
It depends when exactly the sending servers removes them. Most of them are removed after a few days. The server was up for half an hour yesterday if i'm not mistaken. So it shouldn't be too bad as long as it's back up soon.
| Quote: |
| But I mean... Which Linux? Debian? RedHat? Which? |
CentOS 3 (redhat distro) for both the servers. I ordered the same for the reload to make sure everything is compatible. It is supposed to be one of the most stable linux versions.
| Quote: |
| So i'm guessing that frihost its self is hosted on its own private server? |
Yes, we have 2 servers for Frihost. This one with cPanel and the second server with DirectAdmin which is currently down.
I still didn't get any updates, but the techs really should be working 24/7, even during the weekends/christmas. And currently it's still friday afternoon in Texas.How could it possible that the server down is?
Lame Hackers????
Plz let everybody know when the server online!!!
where as most are a little unhappy at what has happened, I am happy enough, I will explain.
I part own a fairly active forum for American car owners, last year it got hacked and the guy that looks after it was busy at work, he tried to fix it in his spare time but ended up having to clear the lot and reinstall everything and due to commitments he hadn't got a back up that was usable thus we lost all post etc and due to him being busy it took about a week before it was running again.
when this happened I decided to try to run a forum myself to see if I could have fixed it quicker as I have plenty of free time. I joined frihost, got my space and install a forum, let a few friends post and kept back-ups. now the server has totaled with possible less of data I will now get a chance to attempt to rebuild it and see if I can.
I'm sorry for those that have lost stuff but for myself the disaster is a bonus, just goes to show that it wasn't a total disaster. I was able to connect to the server, so at least a part of the OS is installed and working. Unfortunately they changed the password, so I have no further information about it. They most likely also still have to install the control panel and thoroughly test it before I get access to it.
I suppose the server will be up within the next 12 hours. I won't be able to login before anyway. I will then have to transfer all the data to the new hard drive (if it's still there) and I have no idea how long that will take. I hope a few hours in order for all websites to be fully working in 24 hours.
Well, thats certainly some good news:D
If there will be loss of data it's not that bad for me, I made backup like... 10 posts ago ;D But I didn't do full site backup so I will have to setup some things manually, well... It won't take more than a hour.
Anyway, it's not what I wanted to write about - I'm quite new on frihost and I moved beetwen free hosts few times, it's first one where I see that someone is doing something to keep service working, even though I got in at bad time I know I'll stay with you _really_ long.
Well, one post done, I'm back to studying for my exams;p
Bondings is doing exams too so, good luck to both of you...
Well... It's great to hear that bondings could connect the server! This means that the techs are doing a good job, and that some parts have already been installed but the best thing is that, if the old hard-drive is still there, "allmost" all the data should be there ...
Anyways... Frihost is doing a great job! It's even better than tons of payd hosting-services i know! And the hosting support is great! So, i don't really mind that the server is down for a few days... Frihost will still be THE host for me | byt wrote: |
where as most are a little unhappy at what has happened, I am happy enough, I will explain.
I part own a fairly active forum for American car owners, last year it got hacked and the guy that looks after it was busy at work, he tried to fix it in his spare time but ended up having to clear the lot and reinstall everything and due to commitments he hadn't got a back up that was usable thus we lost all post etc and due to him being busy it took about a week before it was running again.
when this happened I decided to try to run a forum myself to see if I could have fixed it quicker as I have plenty of free time. I joined frihost, got my space and install a forum, let a few friends post and kept back-ups. now the server has totaled with possible less of data I will now get a chance to attempt to rebuild it and see if I can.
I'm sorry for those that have lost stuff but for myself the disaster is a bonus, just goes to show that it wasn't a total disaster. |
It actually isn't bad for me neither. I also have exams and with the server going down it has helped me concentrate and easily finish my coursework so in a way I'm kind of grateful that it has gone down. What I'm not grateful about is the fact that there is a possibilty that I've lost my files, the only thing i'm really fussed about are my databases so all of us are hoping that this is worst-case senario. | Quote: |
| It's even better than tons of payd hosting-services i know! |
Heh, a comparison chart I was working on, but forgot to finish: http://users.tpg.com.au/dan15/hosts.html Thats a shame, i hope noone loses their sites...or more importantly a college thesis. However i doubt anyone would put that much faith into a free service.
This does not effect me however, since my webpage uses frontpage and everything that I have made is backed up on my harddrive just waiting to be uploaded once again. While this downtime is lasting longer than I expected i cant complain beacuse this is a free host 
it is the first step towards the good news ...
I hope everything will be ok and good luck 4 all of us
thank you
| phx777 wrote: |
| emails that were sent to the accounts during the time couldnt be delivered and senders got errors right? |
I applied for an account a day before the whole crash thing. I think that I should get an account, but that doesn't mean that I will. I'd really like to get my account, since I applied for it before the crash.
Last edited by xoxmeholly on Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:22 am; edited 1 time in total | xoxmeholly wrote: |
| phx777 wrote: | | emails that were sent to the accounts during the time couldnt be delivered and senders got errors right? |
I applied for an account a day before the whole crash thing. I think that I should get an account, but that doesn't mean that I will. I'd really like to get my account, since I applied for it before the crash.[/i] |
Too bad you won't know until the middle of February. | Marston wrote: |
| xoxmeholly wrote: | | phx777 wrote: | | emails that were sent to the accounts during the time couldnt be delivered and senders got errors right? |
I applied for an account a day before the whole crash thing. I think that I should get an account, but that doesn't mean that I will. I'd really like to get my account, since I applied for it before the crash. |
Too bad you won't know until the middle of February. |
I meant that I hoped that I would get an account, because I applied before the notice.
Last edited by xoxmeholly on Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:24 am; edited 1 time in totalI am glad that everyone is greatful and realize that this is a FREE service we are getting. I would hate to read posts that are angry at the owners. I have not been on this server for too long... maybe about 2 months. But i must say... you guys are amazing. Keep up the good work.
Heh, there may be a good side to this. While I was learning how to admin the phpBB I installed, I muffed up a couple of things. Not bad just not the way I would have liked it to come out.
Now, if it isn't restored I can start out from scratch again. I am using my frih.net domain as my online portfolio right now. I need it to be online today, people are trying to look at it right now. is there any way that I could get some server one space and an auto redirect from my old domain?
Or would that be harder than just waiting for the server to be up again?
This is literally the worst time for my site to be down.
I have it saved on my pc, I would just need a ftp to upload to.
Thanks.
Trick
Thanks for the updates bondings, hopefully this will be the end of server 2 problems!
I've been searching for a free host for years and none seem to satisfy me. I've used geocities, freewebs, prohost and many many more until I bothered to look at freewebspace.net and I found Frihost. I never thought that I would find such a good free host. If I knew I wouldn't have wasted my time searching for free hosts. Anyway, I hope Bondings will excel in his exams and that server 2 will be up soon.
All the best!
100% true. The only thing you are getting with them and not here right now is a server. But I think someone said this also happend to server 1 for a little bit. So lets hope to get the server up A.S.A.P.
Good luck bondings. lets hope that this is the only problem for server 2. Sorry to hear this news!
I'm a new member here and I already enjoyed the friendly environment and great services. I haven't setup my site here yet but I found this incident a great lesson to make sure to backup my files in the future in a regular basis
Good Luck all What if everything goes wrong in this server and never starts up again??' Will all the accounts be lost or will you find another server and transfer them, will you be able to keep the same number of accounts you had or the ones in server 1 only?? I am getting a little paranoic. I hope it is just a temporary hard time.
err....bangala, where are you from?
It should be only temporary... The FriHost servers aren't just in any data centre, they're in the Savvis datacentre (a well known, reliable data centre). Hopefully, they'll figure something out.
i just hope that no data will be loss. Where is the server base? Bondings said it is in Texas? is that right?
Bondings!
Its quite unfortunate to read about the crash of server2. Anyways... we are still happy with your service. Please concentrate on your exams first. And then set the server right. I hope everyone can understand your position and maintain patience too.
Gud luck.
hope it doesn't too long for you to revert back to normal.
all the best.looking forward.
good luck fixing this bondings...thanks for your hard work and concern, considering we're not paying for this service.
if I may ask, what does the hardware look like for server 2?
for people from server1, ready, set, back up! | dragonflame wrote: |
| if I may ask, what does the hardware look like for server 2? |
The hardwares really look ugly. They are just squre boxes..etc.Hello Staff, i think it's really nice to get informed. Although we might not be able to recover the files, we are very grateful for this awesome hosting service. Keep up good work!
i never thought setting up a server would take that long im gonna have to set one up sooon, hope mines not gonna take long | NuniPio wrote: |
| i never thought setting up a server would take that long im gonna have to set one up sooon, hope mines not gonna take long |
Setting server up dont usually take that long. Although configurations is time consuming especially when you have a lot of configurations that need to be added.I hope it's coming along well
Last edited by WebSiteGuru on Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:55 pm; edited 2 times in total | xoxmeholly wrote: |
| phx777 wrote: | | emails that were sent to the accounts during the time couldnt be delivered and senders got errors right? |
I applied for an account a day before the whole crash thing. I think that I should get an account, but that doesn't mean that I will. I'd really like to get my account, since I applied for it before the crash. |
im talking about emails that i should recieve on my email accounts on the 2 domains that i run on the frihosts mail server me@mydomain.com, not about mails sent to frihost admins | phx777 wrote: |
| xoxmeholly wrote: | | phx777 wrote: | | emails that were sent to the accounts during the time couldnt be delivered and senders got errors right? |
I applied for an account a day before the whole crash thing. I think that I should get an account, but that doesn't mean that I will. I'd really like to get my account, since I applied for it before the crash. |
im talking about emails that i should recieve on my email accounts on the 2 domains that i run on the frihosts mail server me@mydomain.com, not about mails sent to frihost admins |
Alot of that will depend on the configuration of the mail servers that the mail was sent through, ie how long will they keep retrying to send mail before they return an error. Given the amount of time the server's been down for I wouldn't hold your breath about getting any mail sent during this period.hey bondings, nice of you to keep us updated its not often that free hosts keep the users informed about the happenings. and concentrate on your exams well. hopefully things will be fixed soon and you will not have to waste much time on getting the server ready Well, I hope that Bondings can make server 2 work as fast has he can.
And I hope that ther'll be no lose of data!
when you estimate the server 2 is gonna be working ????
Eugenio
Hey you guys! Please stop writting in this post.
When one see new post in Announcement forum, he thinks, there is new information for server 2, but finds nothing but only spams.
Please any body lock this post for all other than moderators and admins.
| nam_siddharth wrote: |
Hey you guys! Please stop writting in this post.
When one see new post in Announcement forum, he thinks, there is new information for server 2, but finds nothing but only spams.
Please any body lock this post for all other than moderators and admins. |
!!Yes, sir!! 1 there will maybe be a new tread for that(it just wise to do)
2 check after your ftp works (if it does, then will there maybe also be news about it)
3 now im gonna do like all the others
i just hope they fix the server, i dont got any backups except my sites, as i save on the disk and then upload (so why should i make backups)
anyway,i and the rest of the clan will suvive, i got a exsame to think on and a verry bussy week. so the updates a allreddy delayed
I just got the following message from the support. The hard disk isn't able to be accessed and hence the data cannot be retrieved.
| Quote: |
| We had a thorough investigation on your issue. It appears that the second hard-drive has failed catastrophically. We have tested the drive in another machine to eliminate the possibility of the fault being in a drive controller/HBA and with a brand-new cable, to eliminate the possibility of the cable being damaged (an unluckily placed intermittent open can cause a drive to disappear). At this time, it does not appear that data recovery is possible from this drive, and will have to be done from any backups you may have taken. |
Yet again, my apologies for everything that happened. I hope most of you made backups of all important files.
We will now start recreating all accounts starting with people with the most posts. I hope to get all accounts recreated by tomorrow or a bit later. The server has completely new hardware including a new hard disk. Everything should be working fine, just without all files/databases.
I really don't know what to say. It's a sad day for frihost/all of us. one word:
*GASP*
but oh well, thanks for the update Bondings! We really appreciate your update and continuous patience with all us FriHosters. And that goes to all the Mods and Admins too. Thanks all! ^^
Have to start once again! It's even worse if you don't get back to study for your exams! So! Get back to work, and let the other staff do the accounts
Well... It's great to hear that the server is almost up again and, don't feel sorry, it's not your fault | Loathing in Fear wrote: |
It's even worse if you don't get back to study for your exams! So! Get back to work, and let the other staff do the accounts
Well... It's great to hear that the server is almost up again and, don't feel sorry, it's not your fault |
My exams are fortunately finished today and the server is already up and running. I also just created your account.
I really don't know what to say about the data loss. I'll try to make a backup system of at least once a week for the future, but those things really aren't cheap and my budget isn't big.Ah, well. Starting from scratch can be good sometimes...
(I'm crying on the inside.)
although i am relatively new here and with the whole loading of data on to the server and what not im sad to here about what happend with the server. good news is that soon everyone will b able to get to work on their pages and getting things back to normal.
and thank you Bondings for keeping all of us informed especially during the time of your exams
Thanks for the Update bondings although I hoped that it wouldn't come to this, never mind, i guess i could do with a fresh start
how long do you think it will be before you get to the pending accounts? 
How will I know when my account is up and I can dump my backup to the server?
@Tony The Tiger: There will be update on forum, don't you think? Just check here on current server state:D | Zach Ownz wrote: |
| how long do you think it will be before you get to the pending accounts? |
MID-FEBRUARY! (for the third damn time...) | Bondings wrote: |
I just got the following message from the support. The hard disk isn't able to be accessed and hence the data cannot be retrieved.
|
*Echoing NO...NO...NOOOOOO*
Oh well, I guess I'll just start over. I think I have most of the pages, but the databases are gone.
I needed an excuse to transfer to my server anyway. Oh well, now to tell my users...oh well, starting over can be good. Good thing I dumped my databases recently.
thank got i made a backup on 26 of januari
now i hope the database is also in it
but anyway thank got, that saves me a lot of work
staff: keep going on, u are doing a great think. this is somethink u can do anythink about.
Good thing my website sucked and wasn't fully functional yet I not too worried about starting over, but like I said before the site had not fully rolled out as of yet I think I hate loosing my wordpress site the most but you live you learn, I will be backing up my "important" data more often now.
Bondings, glad to hear (though surely not as much as you are) that your exams are finished; hopefully you did well. Fortunately I have only trivial studies currently (ENG102 & C++).
Nice to hear the server is on its way, I am sure I am not the only user who has been going through DTs. Looking forward to a new era on FriHost. And look at it this way; this could be simply getting the bad stuff of 2006 out of the way early!
Ez Hello,
Since I am new here and only had my hosting account 2 days before the crash, does it mean I have to reapply? I read something about the people with the most posts (which I don't think I am one of them)
I must say that after reading this whole thread, I am amazed at how informed we were all kept about this, and how many people complained with angry remarks. This is a free host, stop crying.
Thanks for everything.
No, you don't have to re-request your hosting, bondings has started with re-adding the accounts at the top of the list (the poeple with the most posts) and he will end with the last person on the list (the last person that received hosting, before the server crashed)
Will there be a memorial service held?
Oh yea, bondings, thanks for re-adding my account so fast, but i have one problem...
I can't acces DirectAdmin, if I type my LoginName and my PassWord, and i click on "Login", the page just refreshes, it doesn't say that my password is wrong or anything like that...
damn damn damn damn damn damn damn....
I guess i must really be the stupidest guy here for not making a backup. Bye bye user accounts, the tutorials i`ve written which kept me awake till 6 in the morning, bye bye forum posts... oh well.. life sucks and we all are going to die anyway
P.S. Loathing pretty please don`t reply to my post.. i`ve noticed you have a tendency to really spam this thread so please... hold off any temptation you may have IUUUPPIII!
Thanks Bondings and all the team who repaired the problem.
You guys ROCK!
| Loathing in Fear wrote: |
Oh yea, bondings, thanks for re-adding my account so fast, but i have one problem...
I can't acces DirectAdmin, if I type my LoginName and my PassWord, and i click on "Login", the page just refreshes, it doesn't say that my password is wrong or anything like that... |
I actually received an email saying that my password was reset and it gave my new password. | Loathing in Fear wrote: |
| No, you don't have to re-request your hosting, bondings has started with re-adding the accounts at the top of the list (the poeple with the most posts) and he will end with the last person on the list (the last person that received hosting, before the server crashed) |
Thanks for the info. I'm glad to have found a new home for my site.Good job guys, no problem about the data loss, those of us that back up regularly arent affected, and anyone else... well, you should have backed up | raver wrote: |
| really spam this thread |
?! lol... why should i spam this thread? I also lost tons of important stuff, becouse i also forgot to make a back-up, thats why i really wan't to know what has happened to the server, and if i get my precious files back or not...
so... you are not the only one who is stupid
*whoops... i replied...*
EDIT: ok... i posted a lot... but that doesn't mean that I'm a spammer...
This is really the end of the world. I backup my files 2 months ago. There were a lot of new post, new content, new members during these 2 months.
What to do? I can't say anything, I can't expect too much on a free web host. So, admin, do we get anything in return due to the lost of data? Increase of webspace or increase of bandwidth?Well, My site wasn't complete and I have a full copy of all files on my computer.
My only problem is not being able to work on it or advertise it till this server problem is over.
Does FriHost have paid accounts?
I'm gonna have to look into that. If they do and it is more stable it would be worth it.
I am quite ok but not totally because i had made nearly every page when the server crashed and i had 2 tutorials on aswell and my news page, and all that work on frames, its just too much to handle i should of made a back i am so stupid now if all my data is lost i have to restart. oh and by the way i didnt think the server could crash so i didnt make a backup but i always say oh well and get on with it because whats the point in fussing over what has happened when you can just start the job again then get it done and then do what you have learned from the last server crash. I learned to always make a backup just incase my data is lost which i hope has not been. Roflcopter, this evening my main HD crashed with all my documents on it! I had some of the important backed up... guess where
There's nothing I can do anymore (lab recovery costs at least 400 euro) so oh well | Bondings wrote: |
I just got the following message from the support. The hard disk isn't able to be accessed and hence the data cannot be retrieved.
| Quote: | | We had a thorough investigation on your issue. It appears that the second hard-drive has failed catastrophically. We have tested the drive in another machine to eliminate the possibility of the fault being in a drive controller/HBA and with a brand-new cable, to eliminate the possibility of the cable being damaged (an unluckily placed intermittent open can cause a drive to disappear). At this time, it does not appear that data recovery is possible from this drive, and will have to be done from any backups you may have taken. |
Yet again, my apologies for everything that happened. I hope most of you made backups of all important files.
We will now start recreating all accounts starting with people with the most posts. I hope to get all accounts recreated by tomorrow or a bit later. The server has completely new hardware including a new hard disk. Everything should be working fine, just without all files/databases.
I really don't know what to say. It's a sad day for frihost/all of us. |
Cheers Bondings.
I have all but my databases. Just reinstalling phpBB from scratch!
[mental note]Make regular backups in future[/mental note]
Thanks for keeping us informed of the progress, really appreciate it![bitching]
Even if you are a free host, loosing data is just too damn unprofessional. I can live up with a downtime, but then to see 10s of hours of hardwork going down the drain. It sucks.
Yeah really you get what you pay for, but then frihost too has some commitment towards its clients. Yes I refer to me as client, coz each time I am logging to the forums I am paying to frihost. If my points became negative, I wont expect bondings to keep my account.
Do you have any idea how many pages you just lost? http://www.google.co.in/search?q=site%3Afrih.net&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
Results 1 - 10 of about 17,700 from frih.net 18000pages of pure content.
So Why am I not moving to another host yet?
Oops, I dont have any content to move. Anyway even if I move my webhosting, I cant leave this forum. Frihost rocks, at least there.
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