Not happy with support

Darth Unrivaled · #1 09-25-2006, 12:47 PM

Hi,

I'm not very happy with support from HG right now. This last week I've just had problems to no end. First my forums folder was disabled to 000 permissions. Reason given to me was because it was getting a high amount of http request and it was running the memory limit above 80%. This was resolved some what.

Then last night with out any kind of warning, my board and site start having problems. I soon learn that MySql stop working, even know in the Server status page it show it was working. I contact live support and they fix it for me.

All good here, now here is where things go messy. Moments later I still have mysql errors So I check my tables, maybe they where damage or something. Nope in fact many key tables where missing or showing "in use" over where it normally list total records, how much place they use and it it had been overheating.

I contact live support again. They look into it and tell me that they where disabled by a system admin. Because they where causing the MySql server problems. When I ask if they can be turn back on I'm told to email support about it. OK, so I did.

Then support sends me to a topic here on the board about a cpanel problem with a virus. I can't see where it has anything to do with me as I have no virus and everything with cpanel seems to work fine, I just want my tables unlocked so I can back them up and run my site. Its that to much to ask?

I ask support again to please unlock the tables. I wait over an hour. Finally I contact live support again, they tell me that its waiting for someone to look at it. Finally I get a reply back asking for my main domain name and a list of effect databases and tables. So I send this information back. Three hours go by, its now way into the night so I go to bed. I wake up and go off to work, some home and check my mail only to discover that nothing has been resolve. Only that support wants to know my main domain name again and tells me that a notice of this problem was sent and I just never got it.

So I send them a reply again with this information. Which leads me to write this post. I mean HG has been good to me, overall I have had almost 0 problem with them over the last year so. But this is just way to much. Lucky for me I was a t a moment of downtime and redesign on my site, but because of this it has put me from reopening my site and hours on hours behind of work as I don't want to mess with the MySql if its not working right.

All I want is for my site working. I pay HG for there services in hosting and I'm not getting that. The actions taken by the system admins who disable tables in my databases have taken down my site. I still have no real information to why they did this.

I am a loyal customer and all I want is to run my site and to know that my host will do everything they can to fix my issues when they come up and from HG's records can see, not to often do I need support. I mean am I asking to much here? I need answers and I need my problem resolved.

Ticket number #QDB-891184

Mutley · #2 09-25-2006, 02:38 PM

The support has gone from "Very Good" to "Fair" in the last month for me. The waiting times are a killer (especially after 10minutes they say e-mail support!) and problems are growing out from everywhere lately, it's becoming increasingly unreliable.

GPG · #3 09-25-2006, 03:27 PM

It's been driving me mad lately. In the early days (two years ago for me) everyone was falling over themselves to try to fix the tiniest problems, but now I feel as if they can't get rid of me fast enough and they are using stalling techniques to avoid dealing with the actual problem. I waited over two days for a solution to something a few months ago, because I made the mistake to say it was 'low' priority, meaning that it could wait a few hours.

First this this morning (UK time) I submitted a ticket marked 'high' priority about my email, because I'd been told I was reaching a critical limit, and I couldn't work out why the emails were still on the server in the first place. Instead of telling me how to delete them from the server, they just said I had too many and had to delete some. When I ask for advice, I expect them to explain how to solve the problem, not reiterate the warning that I told them about.

I've actually given up on that one, and told them I'd leave it for now, and that was about 4 hours ago and they've not close the case or anything. The reason I wanted them to leave it was because I have a problem with my forums, which is more important to me. Live chat told me I had to submit a ticket and when I said I'd rather discuss the problem 'live' because I'm fed up with questions being mis-answered and it taking so long to resolve it, they simply told me to ensure I was clear about what the problem was.

I did submit a ticket, and I'm still waiting, almost four hours later.

I stand corrected. I've just had a reply - if I can't fix it myself (already tried), then I have to pay for a restore. That was worth the wait.

PsiPro · #4 09-25-2006, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutley

The support has gone from "Very Good" to "Fair"

I have said this before only to be told the support is still very good by HG staff, thanks for listening.

Give them credit during the virus outbreak however, support lagged but there were bigger issues to be delt with then getting your tables back on line, like insuring the data on those tables was secure and no intruders were in the system.

Serra · #5 09-25-2006, 04:25 PM

I suspect that they are a little short on staff today. It was a LONG weekend.

I still find them to be the best support I can find. If anyone has better support, speak up because I've been unable to find any one better.

Mutley · #6 09-25-2006, 04:31 PM

I agree Serra, it still is very good and maybe I got too dependent on them, since they were so fast and useful I asked them about every little problem and started taking it for granted. Now I notice the changes more.

Darth Unrivaled · #7 09-25-2006, 04:49 PM

Its driving me nuts over a few hours I finally got a reply back from them telling me they had no records of any tables be disabled by any system admin. And they didn't have a clue what I was talking about when I said database tables. I mean please correct me if I'm wrong here, isn't that what they are called?? I mean you have the database, inside it you have the tables and inside them are the rows. Right?

Besides don't they keep everything (records) of what goes on between support and a customer under ticket ids? I'm sure they do so that the next tech can see what has been going on so they don't ask the same questions over and over.

But it seems in my case no records are being kept. MySql went down, live support told me it was not my fault the driver just went down (my tables where fine at this point). Right after it was fixed, moments later after having more problems I found that many of the tables in my databases (all of them just about) had tables that could not be access, couldn't be fixed or check. They only said "in use". Live support told me that a system admin had disable those tables because it was creating a problem for the mysql server. So I guess that's why it crashed in the first place or something?

Then when I ask for it to be turn back on I'm sent to email support. So I do and they have no clue what I'm talking about and still here it is after 2:30pm and I have no answers but more questions then ever. I mean I don't know if this was because of the cpanel issue or if my scripts are just to much for the server now. I dont' know. All I know is my site is offline because I use mysql for all my data and with out it I have no site. In my book that's a big deal but support seems to be taking their sweet time on this issue.

Darth Unrivaled · #8 09-25-2006, 07:11 PM

I'm sorry but why is my ticket's Priority low? I understand things are going on and you can't get to me right away but I don't see my databases tables being block from me as a low priority. My site is down if anything this is a high priority for me in any other case I could understand, but how hard is it to just simply undo whatever was done to my databases. As far as I know a system admin did it. If it was some sort of hacker or other cause I need to know.

Ticket #QDB-891184

Serra · #9 09-25-2006, 08:35 PM

For the millionth time. ALL SUPPORT TICKETS ARE LOW PRIORITY!!!! HG uses a FIFO system, not a priority system. All tickets are low by default and if you change it, the system will change it back.

Darth Unrivaled · #10 09-25-2006, 08:45 PM

I didn't know it could be changed as my other ticket was set on high.

In any event it appears that when mysql went down and they put it back up it was a lower version then what my tables where created using. But now none of my php scripts seem to work. PHP works but if any thing access my boards database it comes up blank or tries to download.

I don't visit these board to often and normally I don't have any issues with my account and it has been good to me so I don't fully know how the ticket system works.

PsiPro · #11 09-25-2006, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Unrivaled

PHP works but if any thing access my boards database it comes up blank or tries to download.

Will it download the PHP code or the HTML? If it is the PHP you should secure your directory using .htacess right away to prevent malicious users from getting username/pass to the databse and causing more problems.

Darth Unrivaled · #12 09-25-2006, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsiPro

Will it download the PHP code or the HTML? If it is the PHP you should secure your directory using .htacess right away to prevent malicious users from getting username/pass to the databse and causing more problems.

My coming soon page works (doesn't access mysql). But anything that has to access the mysql server gives a blank page. I download the file it sent me and it was just a blank page. The pages now show up blank. No html, nothing, just blank pages. Its almost like some thing in the header isn't calling right so the browser doesn't know what to do. My guess is either mysql isn't set up right or the version of php isn't right/set-up right.

All I know is last night mysql went down. Support got it back up but turns out they put up 4.0 insteed of what I had which was 4.1.2-standard or well whatever the version number is again. Now that they upgrade mysql back to where it should have been at now php isn't working with mysql or it could be something deeper. I don't know, just have to wait for support to email me back.

mreish · #13 09-26-2006, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Unrivaled

Hi,
Reason given to me was because it was getting a high amount of http request and it was running the memory limit above 80%.

You're lucky you even got a reason. I had stuff shut down on me with no notification at all. When asked I got some terse response (don't remember) and was left to hang.

Support here has gone from Good to Poor in the year or so that I've been with HG. *Correction: 2 years*

The list of things that have been going wrong grows longer each week it seems. The only reason I don't leave is ignorance on my part of how to move some of my sites with SSL certs to a new server.

Serra · #14 09-26-2006, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mreish

The list of things that have been going wrong grows longer each week it seems. The only reason I don't leave is ignorance on my part of how to move some of my sites with SSL certs to a new server.

That can be a HUGE pain. If you have the original email that you got with the certificate that has the key, you can move it, but only if it is going to the same type of server. Likely you will need a new CSR from the new host and have the certificate regenerated. It would be easier to just wait till they are all close to expiring and then move and buy new ones.

Darth Unrivaled · #15 09-27-2006, 10:14 PM

Well I hav eno clue what the problem was. Support had no clue most of the time what I was talking about and then out of the blue it magically start to work.

So I left it alone. However today I can't access my site it loads way to slow or not at all and just hangs. First I thought it was my net, but other sites load fine. I finally got into cpanel check my server status and both memory and swap are abover 90%.

I'm sorry mysite does not use that much resources and anything I have that has to run I have working hours apart and they happen late at night time on different days, I'm talking 2am here.

I've never seen the server status go the high. I was going to contact support but I'm sure they will just tell me my forums was making http request like last time. HostGator my be having server problems as it took me 20mins just to load the forums here up.

If thats not the case, being how this is the 2nd time it happen I dont know what they will do. Seems the server I'm on either can't handle my site no longer or has been packed full of sites. I read that lot of share hosting down fall is the host pack servers full.

I can't get a dedicated server as they cost to much and they don't offer instant back up. The next plan (final share plan) I can go is a bit on the high side and doesn't offer the much more vs the one below it. I don't want to change host, its to much work to do so. I dont under stand how my site work fine for months and now I have nothing but problems.

UPDATE
Just got back with Support, thank god it was just a network problem and not me.