Database problem when moving site

[krittleb]

We moved our live site to a new shopping cart platform and are trying to move our old AC site to a new host and database with a new URL so that our previous customers can access their order history.

We created a fresh install of the same AC version on the server and everything seemed to be working fine. I did go ahead and change a setting in the admin to use our custom theme but that is the only change I made before restoring the database.

When the database was restored, the site broke. I went ahead and manually entered the connection string in the files even though the connection shouldn't have changed. The manual entry did not help.

So, I added the custom error code to the web.config file to be able to view the error but I do not know how to make any sense of it.

I will paste it below and hopefully somebody will know what is broke and how to fix it.


Error Summary
HTTP Error 500.19 - Internal Server Error
The requested page cannot be accessed because the related configuration data for the page is invalid.
Detailed Error Information
Module IIS Web Core
Notification Unknown
Handler Not yet determined
Error Code 0x80070032
Config Error The configuration section 'configuration' cannot be read because it is missing a section declaration
Config File \\?\E:\web\hairbowcent\htdocs\web.config
Requested URL http://hairbowcenterlegacy.com:80/Error ... fault.aspx
Physical Path
Logon Method Not yet determined
Logon User Not yet determined
Config Source

160: </runtime>
161: <configuration>
162: <system.web>

[ForumsAdmin]

This looks like some configuration issue.

[krittleb]

You know what, when I was entering the information on the installation page, I used a different password for the admin than what was the final password we had set-up when we shut down the site. Could the different admin passwords be causing the problem? If so, how do I fix it?

[ForumsAdmin]

The error message does not seem to indicate it has anything to do with the passwords you chose for admin

Error Code 0x80070032
Config Error The configuration section 'configuration' cannot be read because it is missing a section declaration
Config File \\?\E:\web\hairbowcent\htdocs\web.config

[Katie]

This is some issue with your new host/server environment. Try to google the error message, or ask your host about it.

[krittleb]

I contacted our host company and they modified some files for us.

However, we are now receiving a different error message which I will paste here.

Cannot insert the value NULL into column 'UserId', table 'SQL2012_930800_hairbow.dbo.ac_Users'; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails.
The statement has been terminated.

[jmestep]

That sounds like the userid field in the ac_Users table lost the setting that it should be an identity field. That happens sometimes when you are copying tables. You will need to set it to an identity field in the database itself. There are probably other tables affected the same way.

[krittleb]

Unfortunately we are not able to access the database to be able to change those settings. We were told we have to install Microsoft Server Manager on our local machine, which we did, and continue to get a pre-handshake time out error and our server host company is not willing to help us figure out the cause. They just continue to tell us to make sure all of our firewalls and anti-virus are turned off, which they are.

SO, we have an additional account with another company that I am trying to attempt to install the site files on to see if we can get it up there instead. The files are uploaded but when I try to browse to the install/default.aspx page, I keep getting the runtime error message that says to turn the custom error attribute to "Off". I have done that, but it continues to bring up the same message even though it is set to off. Any ideas on why the web.config file is not getting read correctly? I am SO frustrated with this process!!

[ForumsAdmin]

Something has messed up during the transition from your old installation to the new installation. One thing is for sure, tracking what went wrong and getting it fixed in an already installed setup can be very frustrating. Sometimes it is better to just better to redo the whole process. If your old host is gracious enough, he should be able to restore your old site from the backup quite easily. Then can just restore it to a different domain or a subdomain of your main domain. You can run the site in test/demo mode till the time you are ready to provide it an updated license key for new domain.

Once you have the old site running, you can then have all the time to do the transition from an expensive host to a less expensive one. Taking your old site completely off before the new one was restored was not a good idea.

[krittleb]

Yes, I agree. Our old host only kept our site up and had it accessible by its IP address through the end of that month and then terminated it. We asked if they could help us move the database to a new cheaper host but they want us to commit to a 5 hour development block which will cost us around $750. So, I have been struggling with this for a couple of weeks instead and am about to pull out my hair and customers are mad...

I guess I can try deleting all the site files again and giving it another whirl.

[compunerdy]

Is there a possibility that there can be a DB checker/repair tool? One that could check to make sure all keys, constraints, identity, etc are correct? I ran into a similar problem when I moved my DB recently and some tool to help correct or at least identify issues like this would be nice.

[krittleb]

Drat. I just deleted all the files and re-uploaded them all again. This time I am getting a straight-up 404 error when browsing to install/default.aspx. I uploaded an image file to the same folder to test and am able to view it just fine so can only assume it is a problem reading the default.aspx file. I read that it could be caused by problems with permissions on the folder. I have gone around and around with the host company and they flat out refuse to give full permissions as it is a shared server and would affect other client's folder permissions, too.

I am attaching a screen shot of the folder permissions. Please let me know if this is the cause of the 404 and if there is any work-around.

[krittleb]

Is there a possibility that there can be a DB checker/repair tool? One that could check to make sure all keys, constraints, identity, etc are correct? I ran into a similar problem when I moved my DB recently and some tool to help correct or at least identify issues like this would be nice.

I second that!!! I really think that I could get my first attempt at moving the site to work if I just had some way to find out what all needs fixed. It is so frustrating because I was actually able to get the software installed with that company, the default home page appears to be displaying correctly, and I can access the admin log-in page. However, the first road-block is that when you enter your log-in information and hit enter or click the submit button, absolutely nothing happens as it appears something with the log-in process is not set-up correctly in the database any longer. But, I have no way of figuring out what... If we can't log-in to the admin and customers can't access their accounts, it is worthless.

[AbleMods]

Did you ever get your site working at the new hosting location?

[krittleb]

Nope. They say that they will try to erase the database and restore it again for us, but they need to know the settings that need to be made. When they restored it last time, the primary keys, constraints, and identity column settings were not retained even though they should have been included in the backup file.

So, I don't know if there is something they are supposed to set before restoring the database or if they need to do something with the database file. I really don't know what to tell them...

[compunerdy]

I know just enough to get me into trouble with databases but is there a way to use the AC install files to create a new DB and then just copy the table data only from the backup to the new database?

[Katie]

You should first install the software using a new blank database and use the new installation files that match your original. There is a FAQ at the help site that explains the process, and I assume you've been following those instructions.

Once the new installation is running, your host can restore the SQL backup. This is easy and straightforward, and your host should be quite capable of doing it. If not, I would find a new host. There are lots of resources on the internet on how to do this. Here is one -

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 77429.aspx

Your host can either restore over top the new database, or create a new one. If he/she creates a new one, then you can go to the Configure > Security > Database page and put in the new connection string (db name, username, password).

When the restored database is working, you can complete the final step and copy over all of your custom files and data. This is explained in detail on our FAQ. Here is a link -

http://help.ablecommerce.com/faqs/ablec ... ation_.htm

Good Luck,
Katie

[Katie]

Here is a post from one of our partners. It should be helpful as well -

viewtopic.php?f=47&t=7849