MySQL Server Recovery & Website Restoration

I’m trying to get an old version of Dotclear 1 back online, but I’m blocked by a permissions issue.

Context: I’ve been with Free (a French hosting provider) for a long time. The server that hosted the MySQL databases crashed, and so did their backups.

The FTP files were not affected. It’s a Dotclear 1-type blog that’s hosted there.

So, once I regained access, I reinstalled my own database backup. I had to restore the old password, because Free had arbitrarily changed it to the associated email account password, and I was afraid that would cause cascading authorization errors. So, in theory, the site should be back to its original state.

Just to clarify, I’ve double-checked the password in the config file and confirmed it is correct.

However, I’m encountering several issues:

When I try to access the backup service (which gives access to the same database via another interface at sql.free.fr/backup.php), my login is refused, even though it always used to work and I can still access the database via PhpMyAdmin (and I’ve confirmed it’s the correct password, with the right length, etc.).

I’m receiving this error message on the site:
MySQL Error: 1045 - Access denied for user 'operacritiques'@'172.20.245.53' (using password: YES)

When I try to grant myself rights using a GRANT command directly in PhpMyAdmin, I get error 1044, which also tells me I don’t have sufficient privileges.

When I try installing a new Dotclear or WordPress to test whether the site framework has been affected, I also get error messages:

Dotclear:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting T_OLD_FUNCTION or T_FUNCTION or T_VAR or '}' in /mnt/133/sda/5/8/operacritiques/dotclearv2/dotclear-loader.php on line 15

WordPress:
Warning: main(__DIR__/wp-blog-header.php) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /mnt/133/sda/5/8/operacritiques/css_wp/index.php on line 17
Fatal error: main() [function.require]: Failed opening required '__DIR__/wp-blog-header.php' (include_path='/mnt/133/sda/5/8/operacritiques/include:.:/usr/php4/lib/php') in /mnt/133/sda/5/8/operacritiques/css_wp/index.php on line 17

So, I believe I’ve given you all the key info. It’s a bit long, but I figure it’s better to have full context than to go chasing random leads.

Excerpt from the Dotclear 1 config file:

php
Copy
Edit
# MySQL User
define('DB_USER','operacritiques');

# MySQL Password
define('DB_PASS','O9ricecas');

# MySQL Host (usually localhost)
define('DB_HOST','sql.free.fr');

# Database Name
define('DB_DBASE','operacritiques');

# Table Prefix
define('DB_PREFIX','sursol_');
I had already written everything in the sandbox.

After the crash, I used my backups to recreate the tables, but I'm running into three strange issues I have no control over:

My login/password no longer works at sql.free.fr/backup.php – it’s considered invalid.
Yes, I know it's now the same as the email password.
Yes, I changed it to a 9-character password.
Yes, I waited a few days.
Yes, it's the correct password—it works fine in PhpMyAdmin.

My site can’t connect to the database (error 1045).
Yes, the credentials in config.php are correct.
Yes, I haven’t changed anything.
The GRANT command doesn’t work in PhpMyAdmin—it returns error 1044.

I tried creating a new Dotclear / WordPress installation, but still couldn’t connect to the database, even with a fresh setup.

All of this gives me the impression that my issue lies in the hands of an administrator, and there’s almost nothing I can do on my end.