Core Admin menu items go missing after upgrade

[David Henry]

I'm not sure when it happened, somewhere between update 3.6.4 and 3.7.3 a sql script didn't run and lots of sites ended up with missing Admin Menu items like Contacts, Update Joomla etc.

I have a few sites that this has happened to, I have gone through a few fixes on github but nothing has worked. (https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/is ... -316430252).

What I'd like to know is if an official fix for this is in the making, like clicking FIX in the database or an update that corrects the issue.

Anyone any ideas?

[DaveOzric]

I just fixed one of my sites. Certainly was from an upgrade from 3.7.x to 3.7.3.

The menu items in the database got changed and I needed to change them back using phpMyAdmin.

2017-07-24_091156.jpg

[DaveOzric]

I went to abcd_menu in the database table and changed it from "menu" to "main" and refreshed the site and they were back.

You should just be able to double click the menutype field where it says "menu" and then replace it with "main" then click off it and it will update. No need to use the edit function. At least it worked for me.

[David Henry]

Thanks DaveOzric,

I've tried that but no joy. I can see the menu items in the menu manager but Joomla admin doesn't pick them up. I've also rebuilt the menu items.

[David Henry]

under #__menu_types there is no menu but I think that's normal.

[DaveOzric]

These are the threads I used. Perhaps you need some additional changes. I compared my site to a working site to see.

viewtopic.php?f=624&t=809012
viewtopic.php?f=708&t=950841

[David Henry]

Thanks again, I had already tried the suggestions on both but no joy.

Back to my original question, is there a plan to fix this issue en masse in a future update?

[sozzled]

I had already tried the suggestions on both but no joy.

Meaning what? I'm not sure I understand what you've done, what you've tried and what was the outcome.

You've asked if there's a plan to fix "the issue"—I'm not sure what the "issue" is, precisely—in a future update (and I'm not quite sure what a "future update" is supposed to fix). So, let's review what we're discussing in order to establish a plan.

I'm not sure when it happened, somewhere between update 3.6.4 and 3.7.3 a sql script didn't run and lots of sites ended up with missing Admin Menu items like Contacts, Update Joomla etc.

I agree that somewhere, and at some time, the database tables changed during the course of migrating from J! 3.6 and J! 3.7; I don't think there's any dispute there. There may be differences of opinion about whether one (or more) SQL scripts "didn't run" (or didn't run to completion) but we can probably agree that if these things occurred then they would have left websites in a bit of a mess.

Aside from whether some people's backend menus may now be in a mess (or not)—as the OP stated, he has "a few sites that this has happened to—there's a clear implication that the reason why backend menus are in that mess lies in the database tables.

Therefore, when we offer our suggestions to look into the database (and, in particular, the _menus table), this would seem to be a logical first place to look. It's entirely consistent with the OP's thesis that something caused missing "admin menu items like Contacts, Update Joomla etc.", isn't it?

So, when someone else offers his own ideas—two forum topics that address this very point about looking at the database for a resolution of the issue—and the feedback we get is "I already tried those suggestions without success"—this kind of defeats the notion that the problem lies with the menu items themselves, doesn't it?

And, supposing the problem does lie with the the _menus table, how would some en masse "fix" in some "future update" address the matter? We're open to suggestions about how that might be done but I haven't seen any discussion that puts meat on the bones of ideas as to the way(s) to achieve it.

BTW this "missing admin menus" problem occurred in a couple of my own J! websites sometime between J! 3.5 and J! 3.7 and I resolved the problem using the techniques in viewtopic.php?f=624&t=809012 and viewtopic.php?f=708&t=950841. Sometimes these things happen (like tripping over your shoelaces and grazing an elbow); c'est la vie.

[David Henry]

Thanks Sozzled, I really appreciate your input, I've been reading your solutions for a while now,

Sozzled wrote:a plan to fix "the issue"—I'm not sure what the "issue" is, precisely—in a future update (and I'm not quite sure what a "future update" is supposed to fix).

because I don't really know why the menu was changed in the first place, I don't really understand why it broke and across so many sites. I guess what I was looking for was a magic pill that would fix all sites, but realistically that's not going to happen

David Henry wrote:
I had already tried the suggestions on both but no joy.

Sozzled wrote:Meaning what? I'm not sure I understand what you've done, what you've tried and what was the outcome.

The first post I came across was yours for someone who lost the redirect link, you suggest making sure the component_id in #__menu matches the id of the component in the Extensions Manager. In my case it does.
viewtopic.php?f=708&t=950841#p3476194

The second post I came across (and a few others) say that changing #__menu table so that anything listed under menutype column that is menu can be changed to main and this will fix the issue after refreshing. This is also DaveOzric suggestion above so I tried it again...just in case I missed something but it didn't work (though I really appreciate that the suggestion will work for many others).
viewtopic.php?f=624&t=809012#p3478147

I then tried updating the sql manually using the update sql below, but I don't think this made any difference as I was already on version 3.7.3.
https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/bl ... -01-17.sql

Then, when I came across alikon's fix on github I tried running:

Code: Select all

UPDATE '#___menu' SET 'menutype' = 'main' WHERE 'menutype' = 'menu' AND 'client_id' = 1

But if I'm honest, I didn't see any change, bare in mind I'd already changed the from menu to main and also, I'm now out of my comfort zone. Also, all my sites are 3.7.3 so I'm not sure these fixes make any difference.
https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/pull/16577

I've also tried wojsmol suggestion here (I'm Jane Blonde):
https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/issues/15719
With this I think I got the furthest but I still don't have a fix for this issue and I'm now worried that I'm doing more damage than good.

Now don't really know where to turn, which is why I posted here in the first place, to see if there is a magic wand that will fix this issue. Again, any help you can give on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

[DaveOzric]

Stab in the dark, does uploading a update package of the version you're on help? No idea if this is any help. Not all my sites have this problem with the upgrade.

[David Henry]

Thanks DaveOzric, yes I didn't mention that I've tried uploading the latest update plus updating through the admin (yes, /administrator/index.php?option=com_joomlaupdate still works, just isn't linked).

Only one of my sites didn't have the issue, when I look at the database it's just the same as the ones with the issue. The thing is, the site without the issue is the site that hasn't been updated religiously each time an update was released.

I've seen some posts reference Akeeba but I'm not sure I understood the issue, do you use backup or tools?

[DaveOzric]

I backup with a server component during upgrades using Installatron. I also back up my VPS each week automatically.

However, the site that I am having issues with is on SiteGround not my hosting and I used their upgrade method via the cPanel.

Not much help again.

[David Henry]

would it be fair to say that SiteGround update via FTP? If so this is the only link I can find, it looks like if the admin update is successful then there is no issue... I don't have proof of this only experience as I generally update via FTP

[DaveOzric]

No idea. I used the built in SiteGround Joomla updater which is possibly Softaculous. I did not do any FTP upgrades.

[David Henry]

ah ok, did you get any errors like Index failed or Refresh Manifest Cache failed?

[DaveOzric]

No I did not see any issues.

[sozzled]

Thanks, @David Henry. I have a better understanding of what you've attempted. I'm still a little puzzled by this:

I can see the menu items in the menu manager but Joomla admin doesn't pick them up.

I'm not sure what that means. It sounds like you see them but you don't see them. Can you explain what you mean, please?

Typically, when I use the Joomla Menu Manager and I attempt to view "menu items" for the Administrator, I get "No Matching Results" (because I haven't added any menu items to the backend). Is that what you're describing?

[David Henry]

Hi Sozzled, I think you could be onto something, I see them all there, they are marked as being in Menu (but there is no Menu). See here:



What's interesting about this is that Banners is not included, and it's the only core item that's actually in the menu:


I have the spl here https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/fi ... 8/dev2.zip, there doesn't seem to be a diffrerence between Banners and Contacts.

[sozzled]

These items should not be in "menu" (as @DaveOzric wrote about 17 messages ago); they should be in "main".

You know what would clear the air? Let's see a dump of the _menu table records from phpMyAdmin. That would probably tell us what we need to know.

[David Henry]

I've shared the MySQL dump, you'll see that all are main not Menu which I don't know where that's coming from.

https://codeshare.io/arqxJE

[sozzled]

Thanks, David. Could you please double-check one other thing, please:

Go to Global Configuration » Server » Database Settings, make a note of the values (use the screenshot below as a guide). If the Host is different to "localhost" I'd like to know.

Go to phpMyAdmin and look for all tables in the Database Name; there will be a lot of tables, of course. Look through the list of tables and see whether all these tables contain the same Database Tables Prefix. If there are tables with different "prefixes" I want to know.

[David Henry]

you are correct, there were duplicate tables, I've now applied DaveOzric's changes and instantly it's fixed. I cannot believe I've spent hours pouring over the wrong db tables.

Can you let me know how I can buy you a virtual drink?

[sozzled]

I'm pleased that we solved the mystery (it wasn't all that mysterious). The false premise in this case was that most people adopt a (kind of) "standard practice" in setting up their websites which is to have one set of database tables, all with the same unique table prefix, per database per website. Where several table prefixes exist within each database these could become problematic in future —as we have discovered in this case. (Of course, the problems are further compounded if the database is shared by several sites and the sites reference the same tables—tables using the same prefix—but that's for a different discussion).

As far as rewarding me is concerned, it's not hard to discover where to find me or discover the kinds of things I like *heh-heh-heh* I can't write more than that here on this forum.

[DaveOzric]

I learned this the hard way one time. I had a shared database, no idea how I even set it up, that I deleted because the one site was obsolete and the valuable site was toasted. Took me some time to figure out what even happened leave alone fix it.

There is so much more to this than people think. Web design and webmastering go hand in hand.