Data Recovery - Pages tab

The "Pages" tab allows the board administrator to repair subtopic lists on pages. Missing subtopics can be added back, and bad subtopics (such as links to non-existent pages links from a subtopic page to itself) can be removed.

Before you do this, make sure it's not a tree problem. If you see folder icons in a subtopic list with the name of the thread, number of posts, number of pages, and last poster all blank, the problem may be with your board's tree. Reindexing the board is much safer than running page data recovery, and it is strongly suggested that you first attempt to reindex the board (through the Tree tab) and then regenerate the board through Appearance Manager.

Specific Page Recovery

This option allows a specific page to be rebuilt. If a page is found to be missing any of its child threads, these child threads are replaced onto their parent page. The input boxes take a topic number and a page number (which can be seen as the directory name and the name of the HTML file in the URL used for any page).

When recovery is complete, recovered threads will not be listed by name until the board is reindexed (through the Tree tab) and the affected topics are regenerated through Appearance Manager.

Continue Interrupted Operation

If the board was cut off in the middle of moving pages or attachments from one topic to another, there may be a link that appears in this section. If you see a link, click it so that the move operation can be completed.

Page Rebuild and Cleanup

NOTE: This option is hidden from the page, because the operation is potentially dangerous, and people running it without reading the instructions were causing damage on their boards. If you believe you need to use the option described here, after reading the instructions, add the line rebuild_and_cleanup=1 to your discus.conf file to make the option appear.

This is a comprehensive data recovery operation that attempts to fix all problems that may occur with pages. Running this operation on a pristine board can cause damage, because nearly every page on the board is operated upon. Because many pages will be operated upon, you should make a full backup of your board before using this option.

The problems addressed by this operation include:

• Broken links (links to threads that do not exist) -- note that this does not check links to external web sites

• Bad links -- links from a page that list itself or a parent thread as a child. (A page cannot be its own child.)

• Bad parent numbers -- a page that lists the incorrect page as its parent.

• Duplicated page numbers -- two pages with the same "unique" page number in different topics.

• Missing threads -- a list of threads that does not include all child pages.

To make this operation most effective, it is suggested that the board be reindexed and placed into "maintenance mode" before performing this operation. Therefore, leave the "Reindex Board First" and "Maintenance Mode" boxes checked. When you are finished, remember to go to Options Manager and turn off maintenance mode.

There have been only a handful of cases where this operation was necessary. DiscusWare recommends that you run this option only if instructed to do so by DiscusWare's support staff.