So it appears that the database containing everything I’ve written and linked for the past few years (amazing how time flies) is corrupted, an unfortunately common occurrence in Moveable Type Berkeley DB installations. I can export my posts just fine, but cannot import them into a fresh install on a new server. I also cannot upgrade my existing Berkeley DB to MySQL, which would be my choice on this and the new host for the same corrupted reason.
I’ve checked the file and frankly things look good in the export. I can see the entries where an import halted and even after copying and pasting the next entry (yes creating a duplicate) things still eventually crap out again. I’ve done this quite a few times and been forced to reinstall MT on the new host too many times in order to maintain my permalinks for each entry. I’ve got to keep things the same if at all possible moving forward or risk some serious google linkage.
I’m stuck for now… Hoping eventually some helpful sole reads this or even replies to my calls for help on the MT support boards. I actually paid for MT so perhaps the staff at Six Apart can kick in some assistance. This sucks.
This isn’t by far the easiest solution, but it may help:
Break that import file into manageable chunks. If you post a lot, those might be month-long chunks, or if less often, perhaps quarterly chunks. Put them in your import folder one at a time and run the import function. See if it craps out on these smaller files.
I know that when I tried to import my entire weblog when I moved servers, there were timeout settings that caused problems. I had to break mine into quarterly chunks to make things go smoothly.
Let me know how it works! If there’s any other help I can give you, I’m certainly willing–I may not work for Six Apart, but I like to help. And I’m sure I’ve been as frustrated as anyone with Movable Type.
🙂
Thanks for the recommendation, but I’ve actually done that and even removed suspected posts, replacing them with duplicates so the db would be consistent for the time being.
Lately I’ve been deleting and trying to rebuild but that is failing as well.