FTP Problems after drive replacement

[xairbusdriver]

Just got my mini back from an almost complete hardware replacement. Basically, everything except the aluminum box was replaced; new motherboard, HD, power supply! Fortunately, Apple Care covered it all! Came back with 10.12 installed, now back to 10.14.6. Migrations Assistant used a CarbonCopyCloner backup drive as the source and things are now working normally...
    Except for WC.

Any and all suggestions/tricks/aid most welcome!

Theoretically, the FTP settings in WC should have worked except for changing the password.
I transferred my sites to a different hosting company, so FTP password changed.
The User Name is the same.
The URL (path/directory) is the same.
However, the FTP test continues to fail: "FTP: curl: (56) response reading failed". The Console shows two additional codes:

Code: [Select]

Aux. FTP: FTP ERROR (666) - Unknown FTP error.
Aux. FTP: FTP ERROR 911: Could not upload (null)Note: I have disabled 'normal' FTP Upload, so "Aux. FTP" is the only one running.

Repair Attempts:
1. Created a specific FTP account at the hosting service with specific User Name, Password and Path:
    [(my primary domain) mailscamalert.com/public_html/subDomainName/mid-southweather.com (the sub-domain) ].
EDIT:
    Host support says the path should be /home/name/public_html/mid-southweather.com
    I agree that both domain's files are below public_html, so that path above is incorrect.
    Creating an FTP account with that directory does show there are ~115 MB of
    data/files there but I think this is actually the path for cPanel. It still does not work in
    WC because, to my mind, it does not point to any actual web server.
2. Used cPanel user name & password, with same path as above.

Results:
1. No change, new FTP Test error is "6 - Couldn't resolve host" error codes
2. No change, same error codes
    However, CyberDuck accesses both the main & sub-domain flies.

WC is sending Admin alerts as normal as well as custom graphs/gauges/movies/banners/CWOP/WU/etc. The com.trixology.weathercat.plist has the last FTP user name and path tried today. I don't know where it stores the FTP password.

I expect to receive a 1 TB SSD by the end of the week. When I have that installed, I plan on making it the boot drive and may as well make a clean install of WC 3.1. I'm hoping I can replace most of the .plist files, one at a time, from the current install to save all the details (especially CustomWebUploads.plist)!

[elagache]

. . . .  things are now working normally...
    Except for WC.

. . . . .

Theoretically, the FTP settings in WC should have worked except for changing the password.
I transferred my sites to a different hosting company, so FTP password changed.
The User Name is the same.
. . . . .
2. Used cPanel user name & password, with same path as above.
. . . .

You might have the same problem I ran into when my WeatherCat web hosting was moved over to a cpanel based LINUX.

Your comments are a bit confusing, but in cpanel the FTP user names aren't the same as for a standard UNIX installation.  When I tried to get WeatherCat started after the migration I also got login errors.  My old WeatherCat FTP user was wcuserupload.  Under cpanel the WeatherCat user becomes something resembling a email address at your domain name - wcuserupload@canebas.org in my case.  Anyone who has been using UNIX as it originally ran on server hardware should realize that this is violating the UNIX naming convention, but apparently cpanel has "improved" on the FTP management process.

You might have already figured this out, but it took me a few days and some unpleasant calls to tech support before this minor detail was explained to me.

Do let us know what you discover.

Cheers, Edouard 

[xairbusdriver]

I admit to being and often causing confusion! Guilty as charged!

While the transfer included re-creating the standard FTP account, it uses the same password as cPanel. I first tried simply changing the WC settings to that password. Didn't work.

That's the main reason I decided to establish an FTP account specifically for WC and point it directly to the weather web site. That was when I saw the email-like naming convention! Thanks for explaining what that is all about! Next message exchange, I'll ask if they use Linux. Actually, I thought that had become the common OS used by hosting companies.

I also see one of my 'pet peeves' in labeling the same thing differently on different sites. Their form has a "Log In" field which is actually (I think!) a "User name". It is gets the "@domainNane.TLD" added to it. So, the list of FTP Accounts shows "WC_FTP@mid-southweather.com" instead of what I entered: "WC_FTP". Apple, I think, added to the creation of this weirdness when they created the "Apple ID". It always seemed to me they were wanting a password when they asked for that, instead of what is really my user name!

At any rate, I should probably just delete this thread as I think the real problem is getting the concept of a third-party, non-FTP app using FTP for uploading stuff is beyond the level of support I'm currently working with.

I think you'll need to use your Admin Super Powers to delete a thread. If/when I get this straightened out, I might add some comments to some much older threads concerning FTP problems.

[Blicj11]

All hosting services with which I have some familiarity, allow one to choose whether to use Linux or Windows as the hosting OS. Linux is usually less expensive and so it is the go to choice. I am currently using Linux and have just been informed I would need to change to Windows to take advantage of the new option in WeatherCat for FTPS. 😡

[xairbusdriver]

I am currently using Linux and have just been informed I would need to change to Windows to take advantage of the new option in WeatherCat for FTPS.

Does that involve more use of the "\" key?!

Just received a message from Namecheap Support:

Please note that the internal settings used for the FTP account creation are not quite the same as the details used for the connection. Specifically, the path /public_html/mid-southweather.com can be used from within your File Manager to open this exact folder, but it will not work if you use it as an FTP server.

In my ignorance, I assume that this is why the path they keep telling me to use doesn't work in WC.

I'll check the link they also provided, but I'm betting I have already been there...
EDIT: Yes, this explains how to set up Cyberduck, which I have already done. This is not part of my problem.

They closed with:

In case you are still facing difficulties with the FTP connection when using these details, please be ure to let us know. Also, we would be grateful if you could share the screenshots of the error message you see from your side and of the settings you use for the connection.

I've already done that, of course...

EDIT: Here is part of a reply I just sent to Namecheap:

If we cannot figure out how to get this working with Namecheap, I will simply find another hosting company. My use of this app is more important to me than using Namecheap.

I am very discouraged and still feel this thread is mostly a waste of trixology web space. I have asked Edouard to delete it.

[xairbusdriver]

I think I may have found the problem. I have been updating a spreadsheet by testing every combination of the three items that can be entered in the "Edit FTP Details" dialog. About 2/3rds through that I decided to RE-enable FTP Uploading thinking that could show more than the single error in that dialog.

Indeed, Console not only shows additional error codes, but it shows the Path that is being used. That path is somewhat confusing:
I have entered four different FTP url's:

• ftp://home/xairbus2/public_html/mid-southweather.com/
• ftp://xairbus2/public_html/mid-southweather.com/
• ftp://public_html/mid-southweather.com/
• ftp://mid-southweather.com/

In my opinion, the first one would always fail. It does, but so do all the others.

What surprised me is that Console is showing a completely different and identical FTP url, regardless of what I use in the testing dialog. It is constantly showing "mailscamalert.com.mid-southweather.com"!!

I have also discovered that if one ever clicks the "OK" button in the testing dialog, that is what it stores as the 'correct' info, whether it actually works or not. That is logical; if the user says "OK", that what he wants to use!! I am going to click a user name/password/url as OK and see if Console starts reporting that when the FTP failures are reported. Done at 16:13 UTC.

Namecheap shows mailscamalert.com" as my "Main Domain". I will see if they can swap the two domains, that mailscamalert.com is a static, old domain which I have actually been thinking of dropping/killing.

[xairbusdriver]

Is there a way to disable the "Aux. FTP" access attempts by WeatherCat?

I found I had been "blocked" from my own FTP accounts at Namecheap. After much 'chatting' with "Support" I learned they had blocked me because of too many failed access attempts. They must have also blocked any notifications to me?

I have disabled regular FTP Uploading in the Custom Web Page section of the prefs. But Console is still reporting FTP access attempts with "Aux. FTP". I find no mention of "Aux.FTP" in the manual that came with WC v. 3.10.

I'm sure Quitting WC would stop even Aux. FTP, but it would also stop all data input!

[Blicj11]

I am not 100% certain, but I think if you go to Preferences | On-Line | Custom Web | Additional Files and delete what you have there, you will eliminate the call for Aux FTP. Aux FTP is telling WC to process some files more frequently than the time frame you have selected in Main. If your Main time frame is good enough, you don't need Aux FTP.

[xairbusdriver]

Thanks, Blicj11! That makes sense, even to me! Easy enough to keep that list handy until I can get FTP to work, again.

[WCDev]

The banner generator also uploads via that one (and possibly the Wunderground webcam - I don't have the code in front of me at the moment to confirm)

Cheers,
Stu.

[xairbusdriver]

No problem. Those can both be disabled for a while. I'm in the middle of my own server changes, so that will affect both the all the three items needed for the FTP access, anyway

You are correct about the Banner. Last item in the window: "FTP To Custom Web:" ... unchecked.

PS: Hope your server changes are fast and easy!!

[xairbusdriver]

Just an update for any who care:

After a very productive TeamViewer session with CrocWeb Support, things are back to 99.5% of normal*. I very highly recommend CrocWeb for anyone looking for a great (NON-EIG) hosting company!! The CrocWeb folks are extremely hard working and efficient, even with emailing. They are the one who suggested using TeamView (computer/screen sharing). That app gave them more than my text explanations of what WC needed and they could see exactly the response of the app. If any of those folks have weather hardware and use a Mac, hopefully, Stu will garner another customer!

BTW, I had a two year old, 40% off coupon for hosting at CrocWeb. In discussions before purchasing, I asked if that coupon was still valid. They said, actually, I could use a 60% coupon!! Unfortunately, they would not let me use both coupons at the same time...

* The last 0.5% is some very specialized data for pilots, who should be getting it straight from NOAA, anyway. It was more of a learning experience in building something with PHP. Of course, I failed to adequately remark what most of the code does. I now have lots of stuff to keep me busy for the next few years!

[elagache]

Dear X-Air and WeatherCat problem solvers,

Thanks for the update and glad to hear that finally are more or less back in operation!   

Cheers, Edouard 

[xairbusdriver]

Back to 100% now, just needed to edit the path in a front job! Now, where is that 3.1.1 download...

[Blicj11]

I love it when a WeatherCatter solves a problem.