When restoring your site using Duplicator, you may encounter issues during the recovery installation process. This guide will walk you through common recovery scenarios and their solutions.

Restoring a Site After a Crash or Major Issue

If your site has crashed, been hacked, or is experiencing critical issues, you may need to restore it from a backup. Before proceeding, consider the cause of the issue to determine the best restoration method.

Solution 1: Recovery Point Restore

The Recovery Point Restore feature allows you to restore your site from a specific recovery point or URL link. This method is the easiest way to get your site back up and running: “Learn how to restore your site using a Recovery Point.”

Solution 2: Manual Restore

If you prefer to manually restore your site, follow these steps to ensure a clean installation:

1. Clean Out the Root Directory
   • Delete all existing files in your WordPress directory.
     • If unsure how to clean the root folder, contact your hosting provider for assistance.
   • (Optional but recommended): Back up your current files and database before proceeding.
2. Copy the Backup File
   • Upload the archive.zip/daf file and the installer.php file to the cleaned directory.
3. Run the Installer
   • Open a web browser and go to http://yoursite/installer.php
   • Follow the Installer instructions to complete the restoration.

Solution 3: Professional Restore

If your site has been compromised (e.g., due to being hacked) or if you are unsure about the best way to proceed, consider professional assistance before restoring a backup. In some cases, restoring a previous backup might not permanently fix the problem.

For example, if your site was hacked and the backup doesn’t include a security patch, restoring it could leave your site vulnerable to another attack. To prevent this, it’s crucial to identify and fix the root cause before restoring. Some options are to:

• Hire a professional WordPress developer to troubleshoot the issue.
• Use a malware cleanup service such as Wordfence to remove infections before restoring.

Handling Errors in Recovery Restore Mode

If you receive an error message while running the recovery restore mode, it may be due to server permissions, security plugins, or hosting restrictions.

Common Error Messages

Duplicator cannot set Recovery Point because on this Server it isn’t possible to execute PHP scripts in folder:
– /var/www/htdocs/wp-content/backups-dup-pro/recover

This error usually means that PHP script execution is blocked in the recovery folder. Below are some possible solutions.

Option 1: Server Permissions

Check if your server has the correct file permissions for executing scripts using this guide.

Option 2: Security Plugins

Some security plugins (e.g., iThemes Security, Sucuri, Wordfence) enforce rules that prevent PHP execution in wp-content. This can interfere with recovery mode.

• Check your security plugin settings and temporarily disable restrictions on PHP execution.
• Rename the .htaccess file in the wp-content directory to see if that resolves the issue.

Option 3: Host Admins

If you still cannot execute PHP scripts, contact your hosting provider for assistance.

If the issue cannot be resolved through your host, you can still use the standard installation methods.

Note: If you’re restoring a package in the same location where it was created, Duplicator will activate the backup restore installation by default, which works similarly to a recovery point.

That’s it! We hope that these solutions helped you resolve common recovery installation issues in Duplicator.

If you need a guide on how to perform a Classic Installation without installing WordPress first, check out our guide on how to do a Classic Installation.