4 Replies Latest reply: Aug 12, 2013 7:02 AM by jefferis RSS

    File loss issue - CSS

    jefferis Community Member
    jefferis Aug 10, 2013 10:02 PM

      I had an issue today that is very, very serious.    Apparently BC was having system issues with its US operations.  I did not know that. I was working on a CSS file and added only a few lines to a file and tried to save.   But an error came up saying the file could not be saved.  I didn't think anything of it until I reopened the file and found my entire CSS file was empty!!!!!

       

      Apparently BC should have a feature that disallows updates for all users when encountering system issues as a precaution. I know vBulletin has that when master files are updating...

       

      Apparently, the system issue and the attempt to save the document caused the entire file to be wiped clean.  Tech support is still working MANY hours later trying to restore the missing CSS file.   

       

      This is a Warning to ALL users to keep offsite backups of current pages before working on any, because APPARENTLY,  BC has no fail safe backup system.   We were just about to go live with this business site, but if that kind of reliability is anywhere near standard, we could be in a lot of trouble and lose a LOT of money, time and development labors.

       

      This is so serious that I will be hesitant to recommend BC in the future if there is no ability to restore files from their own server issues!

       

      If they can't, I may have to start restoring my design from SCRATCH after 4 weeks of development.  This is NOT good.

       

       

      Jeff


        • 1. Re: WARNING TO ALL USERS
          Liam Dilley CommunityMVP
          Liam Dilley Aug 10, 2013 10:02 PM (in response to jefferis)

          Hi Jeff,

          With anything from Media writers writing on their blog to coders - You work local!

          These things happen Jeff and it is not just this case where this will happen. Notice I do not say may - it will. Online this happens and it is something you need to be aware of.

           

          You can not get that file back and that could have occured from a browser issue or not. You need to view your site in your browser if you not reloaded the page view source and grab the css code. If not that you can view your cache on your machine and view the file again.

           

          Your normal coding operation should be using a coding software like Dreamweaver but there are many free and paid ones for Mac and PC. You need to use their built in SFTP or use with another SFTP peace of software and upload your work and keep local copies. You should also regular do backups of the files as well or use forms of version control software.

          This is rule 101 in web development Jeff and many of us learn the hardware, some of us are tought it. Sadly you just learnt the hard way, sorry to hear it. Not sure if BC can help you here and you need to make a ticket but be prepared to have that lost if you do not have a backup or cache.

          • 2. Re: File loss issue - CSS
            Florin Carlig Employee Hosts
            Florin Carlig Aug 12, 2013 5:01 AM (in response to jefferis)

            Hey Jeff,

             

            Our engineering team managed to restore the file - as mentioned also over the case you have opened within our support system.

             

            As Liam mentioned, it's always best to have a local copy of the site, so you can restore from it in case some problems happen.

             

            Kind regards,
            Florin

            • 3. Re: File loss issue - CSS
              Liam Dilley CommunityMVP
              Liam Dilley Aug 12, 2013 5:54 AM (in response to Florin Carlig)

              Jeff, that is pretty awesome from BC there, Thanks Florin.

              Florin it is worth noting and you will probably agree to this that....

               

              Jeff - This is not the norm so do not assume that if this happens again BC will be able to restore single or certain files.

              • 4. Re: File loss issue - CSS
                jefferis Community Member
                jefferis Aug 12, 2013 7:02 AM (in response to Florin Carlig)

                Thank you very much.  I had checked my local backup and it was 5 days old, which would have been a trouble and lost time/labor/income, but not totally unrecoverable.  I will only work from Dreamweaver from now on.   However, I posted this warning for others as much as myself because if people are trusting the cloud, as Adobe seems to be pushing everyone to!!,  there are risks.   I was assuming that Adobe was making backups of its hosting. I guess this is not the normal situation?   There seem to be frequent, if occasional, system wide errors.

                 

                That makes me wonder, what happens if they have serious error not just with the hosted files, but with the database?  As far as I can tell, there is no remote backup possible for the DB.  In MySQL, I regularly back up my client DB's.  Now we are trusting Adobe with information that cannot be backed up by us offsite... 

                 

                But I do thank you for the extra effort in my case.  I was just not expecting a system error on save to wipe out an entire file...  scary :-)