Help Us, Help You!
In my post “How To Backup WordPress Correctly” I recommended two totally free backup plugins that can help protect you from disaster.
While actually not perfect, their free and easy to use status means that backups actually get done unlike many of the other systems that people tend to drag their feet over and its usually is plenty to get them back up to speed quickly in the case of an emergency.
One of these plugins, the WordPress Backup by BTE has generated some complaints due to occasionally producing a white screen effect (a common plugin error) that while scary is harmless once the situation is fixed. (No data loss occurs).
While this plugin can be found in the wordpress repository here, its official homepage over at BTE is here.
On this page you will find a note (in THREE places) from the author that says:
“If you get a blank screen please modify the permissions of the bte-wb backup folder to be 755 (switch the permissions from 777 to 755 or visa versa)”
While the default answer to get out of most white screen (aka: WSOD, white screen of doom/death) errors is to simply go in by ftp, into the wp-contents/plugins folder and remove an offensive plugin… since you’re going to be connected by FTP/File Manager anyways, adjusting this folder’s permission should be your first line of response when addressing this plugin error.
“How To Use FTP For Blogging with WordPress” is a full-length training webinar recording I did on explaining FTP, how it works and how to use it for a number of things bloggers often need to do. If you’re uncomfortable with using FTP, I suggest watching it (more than once if necessary).
Here are two screenshots from within FileZilla (an FTP client) just to give you a visual so that you know you are in the right place.
First connect by FTP, then navigate in your public_html folder (sometimes called root, html, or simply / ) to the wp-content folder for the affected blog. Inside the wp-content folder you will find the bte-wp backup folder.
Right click the folder and select “File Permissions“
One you click that, it will open the file permissions dialog box as seen below. If the permission number currently says 755, change it to 777… or visa versa.
I suggest putting a check in the box that says “Recurse into subdirectories” (also know as apply to subdirectories) just as a good measure.
Click “OK” to save, then go to your blog’s front page and refresh and see if that solved it.
If it did not… come back and revert the change. For example if the setting was 755 and you changed it to 777, then change it back to 755.
Click “OK” to save, then go to your blog’s front page and refresh and see if that solved it.
Actually, I suggest trying to change it back, and seeing if that “breaks” it again, because if it would stay working getting back to 755 would be a good improvement to your site security.
If in the rare instance that this does NOT solve the problem…. navigate into your wp-content/plugins folder, find the “wordpress backup” folder and delete it. THAT is a guaranteed fix although not actually a solution.
What If That Doesn’t Work…
I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with and talking with Kevin, the developer/author on this plugin pretty extensively about this issue.
The problem both he and I have arrived at is that neither of us suffer from this bug and we need full admin access (wordpress, hosting, ftp) to do any troubleshooting.
In the case that you have a blog that the above solution does not solve your problem and you are willing to help out the wordpress community with your assistance and would allow us to troubleshoot this bug on your blog and hopefully get it working for you (for free) and can provide us with full access… then PLEASE let us know.
Kevin’s got a quality reputation with a number of plugins and I have no doubt we can sort this out working together but we need your help.
That said, please be sure you HAVE tested the solution above as it solves the problem in majority of cases and is not something we can/will check for you unless you’d like to open a support ticket for support time.
Summary
The steps above should easily get you back up and going if you find yourself run amiss with this bug. I am available to help out with support time should you get into a bind and not be able to sort it out yourself (or have the time) however the steps involved are something you should be capable of doing on your own if you’ve taken the time to watch the FTP training.
If you have a blog that is still jammed after changing permissions and you have to remove the plugin manually, if you would allow us to troubleshoot on your site please let me know and I’ll be in contact via email to get details.
Heres To Your Success,
Kimberly
PS: While you are connected by FTP, it would be a good time to get rid of the annoying .htaccess error which, while relatively harmless, will improve your site security especially if you find you’re having to use a 777 setting to get the plugin working. Post on how to do this coming soon, details are on the plugins official page already though.
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Don’t u think there are other better plugins like iDrive backup, Wp Time Machine (which are free & offer more options as well.)
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