Akeeba Backup Failing

[John666]

I have a Joomla 3 site that I want to backup with Akeeba. It has a large database - over 140 Mb. It has been OK for years as the various versions of Joomla and Akeeba have been updated. However, recently Akeeba has stopped on backing up the database. The server does not respond and after about 4 or 5 minutes my Windows 11 PC gives the blue screen of death as it crashes.

The large database has never previously been an issue. I am using a standard default Akeeba profile.

Can anyone advise where I might look for the problem?

PHP 7.4.33
Akeeba Backup 8.3.3
Joomla 3.10.12

[Webdongle]

Try Configuration >>> Configuration Wizzard

[AMurray]

I've never known Akeeba to cause or contribute to a BSOD particularly if you're backing up a website on a *remote web server*. A BSOD could indicate another issue (with Windows, not with Akeeba) such as failing hardware (memory, SSD/M.2 NVMe or whatever). Are you actually running your site from a localhost virtual server such as WAMPServer?

I don't know what @webdongle's comment has to do with this problem.

Are you using Akeeba Pro or Free?

I will say though, that you're using outdated software:

PHP 7.4.33 is EOL (as of November 2022)
Joomla 3.10 is EOL as of August 2023 but has extended paid support to February 2025
Akeeba 8.3.3 (for Joomla 3.10 or earlier) has very limited extended (paid) support to August 2024.

An immediate thing you could try - update PHP to 8.0 or 8.1. Try configuring the backup options to backup in "chunks" of say 5Mb or 10MB parts.

The eventual solution would be to migrate to Joomla 4, and use a supported Akeeb Backup version.

[Webdongle]

...
I don't know what @webdongle's comment has to do with this problem....

If something has changed on the server then configuring Akeeba might take it into account.

Anyway Akeeba has just updated so that should might help

[John666]

Thanks for all the replies.

I am using the free version of Akeeba backup and have left the site on PHP 7.4.33 because my info is that Joomla 3.10 is not compatible with PHP 8.1. The Joomla 3.10 core is compatible with PHP 8.0 but some non-core extensions might not be compatible with PHP 8.0.
I am running the site on a remote, shared Apache server and my Windows 11 desktop PC is only a couple of months old. Also, I am backing up several other Joomla 3 sites with Akeeba backup without any problems which seems to indicate the issue is site-specific.

I agree with the comments about updating to Joomla 4 etc asap, and I have just updated another site. However, it is not straightforward because some essential extensions are still not available for Joomla 4 - eg Joomgallery. Others are shown in the JED as compatible with J3/J4 but are actually not upgraded. Pay for them and the do not wok and then fight to get an updated version or your money back. I am currently involved in this as well, andI have reported these issues to GitHub.

Finally, I tried regenerating the default Akeeba profile with the wizard but the same problem remains. The BSOD happened only after I decided to wait it out when Akeeba stops making progress on backing up the database to see what happened. After 6 minutes I got BSOD. I get no error messages from Akeeba at any point. The one thing I have not yet tried is uninstalling Akeeba and the reinstalling.

[AMurray]

If you review Akeeba's information you will see the Backup version 8.3.3 version for Joomla 3.10 is actually working on PHP 8.0/8.1, the same specs as Joomla 3.10 itself. Refer to https://www.akeeba.com/compatibility.html.

You should track down the BSOD error through Windows Event Manager (or whatever it's called these days) to find out what exactly is causing it. If the backup is occurring on the remote server I don't know how your computer crashes with the BSOD. Make sure your Windows system is up to date, including drivers for hardware such as network card, motherboard etc (even do a BIOS update) ------ but this problem seems more expansive and veering off-topic if it's a Windows issue.