What Does "This Site is Temporarily Unavailable" Mean?

Does your site show the Mambo logo and a message saying, "This site is temporarily unavailable. Please notify the System Administrator" with a number/digit underneath? What does this mean?

This message is generated by Mambo to alert you to a problem with the database. The numbers tell you what type of problem has been identified by Mambo. The numbers you may see are either 1, 2, or 3. Each of these relate to what is called a "Fatal Error" which is preventing Mambo from making a connection to a database.

Let's look at what the numbers mean…

1. This means that MySQL support is not available.
Mambo tries to locate MySQL on the server and cannot find it. This can be the result of one of two things - either there is no MySQL on the server, or it has been incorrectly configured.

To resolve error #1, you will need to contact your hosting provider.

2. This means that the connection to the database server has failed.
Mambo has found MySQL on the server but something is preventing Mambo from connecting. This usually indicates that there is something entered incorrectly in your configuration.php file (the details you entered when you installed Mambo, or when you made changes through the Global Configuration in your Administrator backend control panel).

To resolve this error, check that your database information, such as host, database user name, and password are correct. You will need to manually change these entries in your configuration.php file since you do not have access to Mambo at this time.

3. This means that Mambo has found MySQL support on the server and is able to connect, but it cannot find your specific database.

To resolve error #3, you need to check that your database information, such as host, database user name, and password are correct in your configuration.php file AND that your database name is correct. In rare instances, this error will also occur if your hosting account does not have privileges to access this database (in which case, you will need to contact your hosting provider).

If any of the entries in your configuration.php file are incorrect, you will need to manually change them since you do not have access to Mambo at this time.