V2.2.8 --> V3.0.4 stuck in limbo
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:30 pm
Over a year ago, I installed TimeTrex 2.2.8 Standard Edition on Fedora Core 8 and it worked flawlessly and I was always impressed by the knowledgable online and telephone support for my few questions. It did run awfully slowly, but it was on a crappy old linux machine, so I'll save the speed problem for a separate post.
The first serious problem occured in December 2009. TimeTrex failed to create a new pay period, so when people looked at their timesheets, the total hours shown at the bottom included both the November 2009 and December 2009 hours (and same went for January 2010). I talked to Support and was told that I shouldn't be using such an old version, that I should upgrade to the current version (3.0.4) and see if the problem went away. First I looked in the Forum and found a post that suggested manually using the ~/TimeTrex/timetrex/maint/AddPayPeriod.php. I tried that and it had no obvious effect. So, I decided to do the upgrade....
As per README instructions, I ran the ~/TimeTrex/backup_database command and, as a superset of backing up the timetrex.ini.php file, I copied the entire TimeTrex directory to backupTimeTrex, so at least I have those, as well as a saved copy of the 2.2.8 installer.bin, in case your suggestions involve using any of those....
I unzipped the 3.0.4 zipfile, renamed it TimeTrex, and tried to access http://192.168.1.11:8085/interface/install/install.php, but it was not found because in 2.2.8 interface/install/ was located in ~/TimeTrex/timetrex, but in 3.0.4 it is located one directory up, in ~/TimeTrex/. So, I created a timetrex subdirectory and moved the same-named components into it that were in the 2.2.8 timetrex directory.
Then I ran http://192.168.1.11:8085/interface/install/install.php and it found the script. It said that it successfully upgraded the database. Then it took me to a messed up version of the Login.php screen, where all the graphics and formatting were dead links. And, when I tried to log in with my username and password, it said they were not valid.
I typed to online support and it was suggested that I should perform a fresh installation of 3.0.4 using the installer.bin. I have spent a few hours trying unsuccessfully to get that to work. The 1st issue is that it can't use port 8085 (presumably because 2.2.8 already claimed it and has not been uninstalled?) so I told it to use 8086 and installation progressed... It gets thru the point of initializing the postgres database (supposedly... it does populate the ~/data/ directory) and then it asks for a password and fails. Here is the end of the install.log
-----------
Executing useradd postgres
Script exit code: 127
Script output:
Script stderr:
/bin/sh: useradd: command not found
Error running useradd postgres : /bin/sh: useradd: command not found
Initializing database
Executing /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/initdb -U postgres
Script exit code: 0
Script output:
The files belonging to this database system will be owned by user "andy".
This user must also own the server process.
The database cluster will be initialized with locales
COLLATE: en_US.UTF-8
CTYPE: en_US.UTF-8
MESSAGES: C
MONETARY: en_US.UTF-8
NUMERIC: C
TIME: en_US.UTF-8
The default database encoding has accordingly been set to UTF8.
The default text search configuration will be set to "english".
creating directory /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data ... ok
creating subdirectories ... ok
selecting default max_connections ... 100
selecting default shared_buffers/max_fsm_pages ... 24MB/153600
creating configuration files ... ok
creating template1 database in /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data/base/1 ... ok
initializing pg_authid ... ok
initializing dependencies ... ok
creating system views ... ok
loading system objects' descriptions ... ok
creating conversions ... ok
creating dictionaries ... ok
setting privileges on built-in objects ... ok
creating information schema ... ok
vacuuming database template1 ... ok
copying template1 to template0 ... ok
copying template1 to postgres ... ok
Success. You can now start the database server using:
/home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/postgres -D /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data
or
/home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/pg_ctl -D /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data -l logfile start
Script stderr:
WARNING: enabling "trust" authentication for local connections
You can change this by editing pg_hba.conf or using the -A option the
next time you run initdb.
Executing /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/pg_ctl start
Script exit code: 0
Script output:
server starting
Script stderr:
Waiting for database to start...
Executing sleep 10
Script exit code: 0
Script output:
Script stderr:
Executing /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/psql -c "ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD '0bd6bcfc9'"
Script exit code: 2
Script output:
Script stderr:
psql.bin: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "postgres"
Error running /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/psql -c "ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD '0bd6bcfc9'" : psql.bin: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "postgres"
-----------
Since it seemed to want to create a user named postgres (there was no such user created by 2.2., and user Andy does not have permission to run sbin/useradd, I tried manually creating the user postgres as root, but that didn't get around the password error, and here I am stuck.
I then tried to go back to 2.2.8 by renaming the backupTimeTrex directory back to TimeTrex, and it lets me log in with my username and password but shows the waarnings:
WARNING: TimeTrex maintenance jobs have not run in the last 48hours. Please contact your TimeTrex administrator immediately.
WARNING: TimeTrex application version does not match database version. Please re-run the TimeTrex installer to complete the upgrade process.
and, if I try to look at my timesheet, it shows a blank page in the browser.
I feel really out in the cold right now, and I have all the employees e-mailing me their punch times, waiting for timetrex to get fixed.....
I know I have raised a few issues here, but what I really want is some help getting back to a functioning system, whether it is 2.2.8 or 3.0.4.
I think I need step-by-step idiot-proof instructions to unistall 2.2.8, properly install 3.0.4 and import the data from the old database... or in the worst case, have a clean 3.0.4 and re-input the user data and start fresh with time data for 2010 (but then I will not have vacation data that does not go with the calendar year...)
Thanks in advance for your help. I will e-mail a copy of this to you along with my phone number in case you'd call me....
Thanks,
Andy
The first serious problem occured in December 2009. TimeTrex failed to create a new pay period, so when people looked at their timesheets, the total hours shown at the bottom included both the November 2009 and December 2009 hours (and same went for January 2010). I talked to Support and was told that I shouldn't be using such an old version, that I should upgrade to the current version (3.0.4) and see if the problem went away. First I looked in the Forum and found a post that suggested manually using the ~/TimeTrex/timetrex/maint/AddPayPeriod.php. I tried that and it had no obvious effect. So, I decided to do the upgrade....
As per README instructions, I ran the ~/TimeTrex/backup_database command and, as a superset of backing up the timetrex.ini.php file, I copied the entire TimeTrex directory to backupTimeTrex, so at least I have those, as well as a saved copy of the 2.2.8 installer.bin, in case your suggestions involve using any of those....
I unzipped the 3.0.4 zipfile, renamed it TimeTrex, and tried to access http://192.168.1.11:8085/interface/install/install.php, but it was not found because in 2.2.8 interface/install/ was located in ~/TimeTrex/timetrex, but in 3.0.4 it is located one directory up, in ~/TimeTrex/. So, I created a timetrex subdirectory and moved the same-named components into it that were in the 2.2.8 timetrex directory.
Then I ran http://192.168.1.11:8085/interface/install/install.php and it found the script. It said that it successfully upgraded the database. Then it took me to a messed up version of the Login.php screen, where all the graphics and formatting were dead links. And, when I tried to log in with my username and password, it said they were not valid.
I typed to online support and it was suggested that I should perform a fresh installation of 3.0.4 using the installer.bin. I have spent a few hours trying unsuccessfully to get that to work. The 1st issue is that it can't use port 8085 (presumably because 2.2.8 already claimed it and has not been uninstalled?) so I told it to use 8086 and installation progressed... It gets thru the point of initializing the postgres database (supposedly... it does populate the ~/data/ directory) and then it asks for a password and fails. Here is the end of the install.log
-----------
Executing useradd postgres
Script exit code: 127
Script output:
Script stderr:
/bin/sh: useradd: command not found
Error running useradd postgres : /bin/sh: useradd: command not found
Initializing database
Executing /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/initdb -U postgres
Script exit code: 0
Script output:
The files belonging to this database system will be owned by user "andy".
This user must also own the server process.
The database cluster will be initialized with locales
COLLATE: en_US.UTF-8
CTYPE: en_US.UTF-8
MESSAGES: C
MONETARY: en_US.UTF-8
NUMERIC: C
TIME: en_US.UTF-8
The default database encoding has accordingly been set to UTF8.
The default text search configuration will be set to "english".
creating directory /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data ... ok
creating subdirectories ... ok
selecting default max_connections ... 100
selecting default shared_buffers/max_fsm_pages ... 24MB/153600
creating configuration files ... ok
creating template1 database in /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data/base/1 ... ok
initializing pg_authid ... ok
initializing dependencies ... ok
creating system views ... ok
loading system objects' descriptions ... ok
creating conversions ... ok
creating dictionaries ... ok
setting privileges on built-in objects ... ok
creating information schema ... ok
vacuuming database template1 ... ok
copying template1 to template0 ... ok
copying template1 to postgres ... ok
Success. You can now start the database server using:
/home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/postgres -D /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data
or
/home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/pg_ctl -D /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/data -l logfile start
Script stderr:
WARNING: enabling "trust" authentication for local connections
You can change this by editing pg_hba.conf or using the -A option the
next time you run initdb.
Executing /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/pg_ctl start
Script exit code: 0
Script output:
server starting
Script stderr:
Waiting for database to start...
Executing sleep 10
Script exit code: 0
Script output:
Script stderr:
Executing /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/psql -c "ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD '0bd6bcfc9'"
Script exit code: 2
Script output:
Script stderr:
psql.bin: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "postgres"
Error running /home/andy/TimeTrex/postgresql/bin/psql -c "ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD '0bd6bcfc9'" : psql.bin: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "postgres"
-----------
Since it seemed to want to create a user named postgres (there was no such user created by 2.2., and user Andy does not have permission to run sbin/useradd, I tried manually creating the user postgres as root, but that didn't get around the password error, and here I am stuck.
I then tried to go back to 2.2.8 by renaming the backupTimeTrex directory back to TimeTrex, and it lets me log in with my username and password but shows the waarnings:
WARNING: TimeTrex maintenance jobs have not run in the last 48hours. Please contact your TimeTrex administrator immediately.
WARNING: TimeTrex application version does not match database version. Please re-run the TimeTrex installer to complete the upgrade process.
and, if I try to look at my timesheet, it shows a blank page in the browser.
I feel really out in the cold right now, and I have all the employees e-mailing me their punch times, waiting for timetrex to get fixed.....
I know I have raised a few issues here, but what I really want is some help getting back to a functioning system, whether it is 2.2.8 or 3.0.4.
I think I need step-by-step idiot-proof instructions to unistall 2.2.8, properly install 3.0.4 and import the data from the old database... or in the worst case, have a clean 3.0.4 and re-input the user data and start fresh with time data for 2010 (but then I will not have vacation data that does not go with the calendar year...)
Thanks in advance for your help. I will e-mail a copy of this to you along with my phone number in case you'd call me....
Thanks,
Andy