These are the most common questions that have come through our support channels. We offer this FAQ so that issues can be solved via troubleshooting.
You can also learn how to upload your website, setup emails and various other topics in the Tutorials & Help Guides section.
SCRIPTS & DATABASES
| When I try to create a new database, it tells me the database already exists, even though it doesn't appear on the list. |
|
You may have tried to create a database with the same name as an existing database on the server. You can still create another database, but name it differently. |
| What server do I connect the mySQL database to? |
| localhost External access to
mySQL is disabled by default as a security measure. |
| What is the full server path for my website? |
|
It depends which server you are on, so try both if one doesn't work: /home/httpd/vhosts/yourdomain.com/httpdocs/
Replace "yourdomain.com"
with your actual domain name. |
| What is the path for perl? |
|
#! /usr/bin/perl |
| What is the path for PEAR libraries? |
|
/usr/lib/php/PEAR or /usr/share/pear |
| What is the path for python? |
|
/usr/bin/python |
| What is the path for Image Magick? |
|
/usr/bin/ # convert |
| Why is the time on the server incorrect? |
|
Due to the fact that we have clients from all around the world and in different time zones, we do not set the time on the server. Please adjust the time displayed in your scripts to compensate for the time difference. |
| For OBDC connections, what is the [DBQ] File Path? |
|
For Windows web hosting when adding an Access .database, the [DBQ] File Path is: d:\inetpub\vhosts\yourdomain.com\httpdocs\ where you must replace 'yourdomain.com' with your domain name. eg, d:\inetpub\vhosts\valuehosting.com.au\httpdocs\database.mdb |
| For OBDC connections, what is the SQL Server? |
|
[Driver] = SQL Server [Server] = 65.98.59.10 (or check the DNS section within Plesk) Connect to the ASP.Net Enterprise Manager via http://mssql.yourdomain.com/app/default.aspx Note: replace 'yourdomain.com' with your actual domain name. |
| How Can I Enable Parent Paths on the Windows Server? |
|
You can also enable parent path for your domain via the Plesk control panel.
Hosting --> Web Directories --> Preferences --> Application settings Or Please refer to the Plesk website for step-by-step instructions. |
| How Do I Backup MySQL Databases? |
|
Login to the Plesk Control
Panel. Click on Home > Databases > database name Now click on DB Webadmin - this will pop up a new window. Make sure pop ups are not blocked. You should now be in PHPmyAdmin. Click on the database name on the left-hand side (usually the first line). The right-hand screen should update. At the top on the right hand screen, click on Export. Under 'Structure' we recommend you tick 'Add Drop Table'. Under 'Data' , we recommend untick 'Complete Inserts' and untick 'Extended Inserts'. Leave everything else as is. Then tick 'Save as File' and click Go. |
| I am on Windows server, and cant send mail through website forms |
|
You need to authenticate SMTP
mail using an existing mailbox already setup on your domain
name. Please see
this example. |
| How do I set folder permissions on the Windows server? |
|
Open Plesk control panel >> FileManager >> httpdocs >> images >> click the lock button on the far right side. Grant the write permissions for Plesk IIS User (IUSR_username) and Plesk IIS WP User (IWPD_xx(username)). Make sure you have ticked "Allow inheritable" |
| How do I setup email accounts? |
|
Log into the Administration Control Panel 1) Click on 'MAIL' and enter a new mail name (eg, for david@yourdomain.com, enter 'david' in the box). Then click 'ADD'. 2) There are several options. 2a) For a POP box (eg, to check email through Outlook), tick 'mailbox' and enter a password twice. 2b) To redirect this email address to an existing email address, tick 'redirect' and enter the email address you want to receive the redirected emails. 2c) A mailgroup is a 'multiple redirection' where you can enter several email addresses that you want to receive a copy of the email sent to this account. 3) Click 'UPDATE'. |
| I can't see the login to webmail. |
|
NOTE: Do NOT put in www. |
| The time shown in Webmail is incorrect! How do I fix it? |
| Due to the fact that we have clients from all around the world and in different time zones, we do not set the time on the server. Within Webmail, goto Options >> Personal Information |
| I think I setup my mail accounts correctly, but I can't login to webmail. |
| Log into the Administration Control Panel, click on MAIL, and make sure you have TICKED the 'mailbox' item. |
| I
think I setup my mail accounts correctly, but Outlook says: a) There was a problem logging onto your mail server. Your username or password was rejected. |
|
1) In the Administration Control Panel, make sure you ticked the 'mailbox' box. 2) First make sure your password is correct. 3) Make sure your username or Account Name is the full email address (eg, david@yourdomain.com). 4) Make sure your incoming/outgoing mail server is 'mail.yourdomain.com' Check the spelling of your domain name. |
| b) Socket not found. |
| Check your internet is still connected! Or, call your ISP to see what the problem is. |
| I get bounced emails stating "that domain isn't in my list of allowed rcpthosts (#5.7.1)". |
|
This is an error caused by a strange combination of your ISP's mail server rules & your email program settings.
Fix
procedure in Outlook as follows:
Tools
-> E-mail accounts.. -> View or change/properties...
-> Servers
1) If you are using your domain name as
the outgoing mail server, change it to your ISP's outgoing
mail server.
If you are using your ISP's mail server for outgoing mail, change it to your domain's outgoing mail server. 2) Check the box next to "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication" and select one of the three options:
a)
Use the same settings as my incoming mail server
If
there are still problems, click to Advanced.
for
'outgoing', click 'This server requires authentication'.
In
Outlook Express:
b)
Provide mail server logon name and password
c)
Logon to incoming mail server before sending (This is the
default behaviour in Outlook Express!!)
Click on
OK, then Test Account Settings... to verify everything is
working OK.
|
| I'm told my mailbox is full! What should I do? |
|
1) Setup your email program to download your emails off the server. See Outlook Tutorial. Also under the Account Properties >> Advanced in Outlook, make sure 'Leave a copy of messages on server' is NOT ticked. 2)
Login to Webmail and check if there are emails in your Inbox.
eg, http://webmail.yourdomain.com/ 3)
Make sure you 'purge' the trash in webmail. |
| I'm using Eudora, and it cannot receive emails. |
|
In your mailbox properties, select "Never" in the 'Secure Sockets when Sending/Receiving' section. |
| The Mailserver is being blocked by an anti-spam list. Why am I listed as a spammer ? |
|
Just like most people connected to the internet, we hate spammers and spam mail. Unfortunately, the way that spam block lists are managed, it is virtually impossible to remove yourself from a spam list, even when you have done absolutely nothing wrong. Please note that these spam blocks are completely beyond our control. Blockers such as Spamcop and SPEWS block a range of IP addresses and unfortunately our server may be within the range, even though our server is not to blame. There is nothing we can do except wait until the block is removed, which can be anywhere within a few days upto a month. |
| I can receive emails, but cannot send. Help! |
|
Some Internet Service Providers ("ISP" eg, Bigpond, Optus etc) require you to send emails through their own mailserver, and not through an external mailserver such as ours. This is not a problem and your emails will still be received and sent correctly. Please change the outgoing mailserver in your email program to your ISP's outgoing mailserver. If you are not sure what it is, please contact your ISP. However, if you feel you have to use our server to send mail, you would first need to make sure your ISP is not blocking port 25. Then in your email program, select to send mail using Authentication, and enter your username/password in the fields. |
| When downloading emails in Outlook, it gets stuck and does not finish? |
|
Sounds like you have been sent a dodgy email that confuses Outlook. Please login to your mailbox via Webmail. Look for any emails
from "Unknown"
with a date of "December
31st, 1969" or 31/12/69 |
| I received a bounced email I didnt send coming from my own domain! How? Why? |
|
These emails are caused by spammers using your domain as the "reply to" address in their emails. This does not mean your computer or website is infected or insecure. Please ignore and delete them and NEVER open any unknown attachments. The spammer finds your email addresses and website via search engines or other people who have you in their addressbook. They will try send emails from common email addresses at your domain, such as admin, webmaster, security, info, etc The spammer masks your domains email address to fool the receiver into thinking its legitimate. This is commonly called "spoofing". Unfortunately, there is not much we can do since the spammer is originating on an external server. Please note that they are not targeting you specifically. The spammer would be doing this for literally thousands of domains across the internet. They usually stop after a few days and move onto the next victim. The best remedy is patience.
|
| I received a virus through my website. Does your system scan for viruses? |
|
Do not open any unknown email attachments. Please scan your system often using an anti-virus program. We recommend AVG, available here.
Please
ensure your virus scanner is always up-to-date.
|
CONTROL PANEL
| On the control panel I get a "!" icon, which reckons I've exceeded disk or traffic limits. |
| We sometimes set the traffic allowance to Zero, which means Unlimited. If we did set a fixed limit within our system, it will cut off your website once that limit is reached, which we don't want to happen. We still keep an eye on your traffic usage, but you can ignore the "!" in the control panel. |
| I can't get to the control panel. My browser says "Access denied to system or Page Not Found". |
|
2) Disable, or modify your Firewall program settings to enable access to port 8443. 3) Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) block access to some ports. Please make sure your ISP is not blocking port 8443. 4) Try access the control
panel using a different browser. |
| I can't login to the control panel. It says 'Login incorrect!' |
|
Second, you must login with
your domain name. DO NOT enter www. |
| I can't login to the control panel. It says 'Unable to establish Session: There is another session under such name' |
| Whoops! You forgot to log out of the Control Panel the last time you visited. You can either: 1) Wait 20 minutes for the session to timeout (do not attempt to login again within this 20 minutes) 2) In the URL, replace the 'login.php3' or 'login_up.php3' with 'logout.php3' |
| I can't login to the control panel. I receive "Data Decryption Error". |
|
This is a problem with
Macintosh Internet Explorer 5+
Mac IE 5 has a buggy implementation of SSLv3. Many Mac users are moving away from Internet Explorer and are using the Apple software called Safari. We highly recommend using this browser to access our control panel and for general Internet browsing on a Mac. [Click Here to Download Safari] |
| My browser says "Invalid security certificate". What does this mean? |
If you receive an error such as "invalid security certificate", this is nothing to worry about. It has no impact on your website security or server security. Please "Accept" the warning, or "Continue to Website" or "Add an Exception". |
WEBSITE
| NOTE: You must use an FTP program to upload via FTP. You
cannot upload your website in most versions of Internet Explorer! |
| I've uploaded my website, but still see the Placeholder page "This is the placeholder for domain..." |
You can FTP into your account,
and delete the placeholder file, which is named 'index.html' |
| I visit my website, but it says 'Forbidden'? |
| You must upload your entry page (the first page that visitors will see) as either index.html or index.htm Make sure you have uploaded it to the 'httpdocs' folder! |
| I've updated my website, but still see the old version. What's going on? |
Things to try: And of course, make sure you
actually DID upload the file! Make sure it's in the correct
directory/folder. |
| Why can't I see my website statistics? |
| Webalizer is typically set to run once every 24 hours. The statistics will only run once you have a few visitors to your website. Also make sure you are viewing it from https:// (as opposed to http://) |
| In my website statistics, what do all the terms mean? |
| All the terms are explained on the Webalizer website. Click Here to find out more. |
| My images are broken, or don't show up! |
| Firstly, check to see whether they are uploaded to our server and are in the correct directory/folder. Second, check the spelling and case (upper or lower) of the filename. Our server is case-sensitive. |
| Dreamweaver just hangs when I try connect via FTP |
| Make sure you enter the host directory as "httpdocs" |
FRONTPAGE
| NOTE: Although FrontPage is a very popular authoring tool for
beginners, it can be very problematic!! Click here for a Frontpage tutorial. We highly recommend uploading your website via FTP. Click here for FTP tutorial. |
| When trying to publish web, it says 'Frontpage Extensions are not installed'. |
Check your frontpage settings
to make sure you are uploading to the correct address. |
| When viewing my website, my Script / Form / Hit Counter doesn't work. |
| Check the HTML source of your webpage. It might be referencing files on your local computer, such as C:/ You must configure the script to work online. |


