• All my webpages were just migrated from one service provider to another. The support staff of the new provider migrated everything from the old server for me. The migration went well and everything was working fine on the weblog yesterday, some minor hiccups soon resolved.

    Then yesterday evening I couldn’t get into the weblog. I get this error:

    Error establishing a database connection

    This either means that the username and password information in your wp-config.php file is incorrect or we can’t contact the database server at localhost. This could mean your host’s database server is down.

    Are you sure you have the correct username and password?
    Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname?
    Are you sure that the database server is running?
    If you’re unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host.
    ——————————-

    This made no sense to me as the weblog had been operating without problems all day on the new server. Nothing had changed, and I hadn’t done anything to the config file. So I got in touch with the support people at the new server, and I sent them the wp-config.php file mentioned in the error message.

    This is what I got back:

    What did you edit / change since we migrated this account?

    This database: rosina_wrdp3
    This username: rosina_wrdp3

    Does not exist.

    Please can you check at [your old service provider]?

    I’m at a complete loss. I didn’t change anything in wordpress beyond writing posts and tweaking the css file. How in the heck did the database suddenly sprout wrong database names? And wouldn’t it be possible to just change the database names in that config file? Wouldn’t everything work then?

    My old server account is closed, so there’s no help to be had there.

    So, can I just change the config file so that it’s using the correct server names? Would this not work? The hosting people seem to think it’s more complicated than that.

    My WP weblog is my primary business presence, so this really hurts. Any help would be much appreciated.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Did you register a different domain name at your new host or where you just using the same domain name for the old and new host. If that’s the case most likely your were still accessing your old host’s copy of wordpress.

    Yes changing the wp-config file is really simple. Just follow these directions. Quick word of warning DON’T use word to edit your wp-config file use notepad, and make sure there are NO spaces, or carriage returns after the last line of the file.

    Thread Starter storyfirst

    (@storyfirst)

    Jeremy — thank you, I didn’t realize that I was still accessing the old host’s copy. I did change the name servers, but maybe this slipped inbetween the cracks.

    I’ve got a professonal looking at it now, and she’s got my backup files. So I’m crossing my fingers and thinking good thoughts.

    The “files” are replaceable – most of the time.
    I hope your host or whoever did the ‘migration’ backed up the database, too. That’s where all your content is (was).
    Otherwise…

    You should definitely work for the gossip magazines. That’s the most creative title i’ve ever seen. 🙂

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • The topic ‘Trouble. Emergency. Mutating config file; how to stop it before it eats all.’ is closed to new replies.