A crashed table means the database engine cannot read it — usually because a write was interrupted partway. Repair is often successful and quick, but repair on a damaged table can also lose rows, which is why taking a backup of the damaged state first is not optional. The cause matters too, because tables that crash once tend to crash again.
Database table crash repair
A database table has crashed and queries against it fail. We repair it, check the rest of the database, and find what caused the crash.
- Full backup taken before we start
- If we can’t fix it, you get your money back
- We never ask for your own password
This or something else?
| Error names a specific crashed table | This fix covers it |
| Cannot connect to the database at all | Error establishing a database connection |
| Site is slow but working | Database query performance audit |
| Errors after a migration | Broken after host migration |
| Whole database appears empty | Contact your host urgently |
What you are seeing
- An error naming a table that is marked as crashed
- The failure may affect only one part of the site — orders, comments, sessions
- It may be intermittent, working after a restart then failing again
- Your host may have reported a disk or server incident
Common causes
- A write interrupted by a crash, a power loss, or a process being killed
- The disk filling up mid-write
- A server restart while transactions were open
- Hardware or filesystem problems at the host
- Very large tables under sustained write pressure
What we do
- Take a full backup of the database in its current state before attempting repair
- Identify every affected table, not just the one in the error
- Attempt repair using the safest method for the table type
- Verify row counts and data integrity after repair
- Check the rest of the database for tables at risk
- Confirm the site reads and writes correctly across all functions
What is included
- Repaired tables with integrity verified rather than assumed
- A health check across the whole database
- A note on what crashed, what was recovered, and the likely cause
- The pre-repair backup, kept for 30 days
Not included
- Recovering rows that repair genuinely cannot recover — we tell you what is missing
- Fixing hardware or disk problems at your host
- Full database optimisation, which is a separate service
- Design changes or content work
Questions about this fix
Will I lose data?
Usually not. Most crashed tables repair completely. Where rows are unrecoverable we tell you exactly which and how many, and check whether the backup we took first can supply them. We would rather report a real loss than quietly hide it.
Why did it crash?
Most often an interrupted write — a crash, a restart, or a full disk. If your host had an incident, that is usually the answer. Where it happens repeatedly the cause is closer to hardware, and that becomes a conversation with your host.
Can I run the repair myself in phpMyAdmin?
There is a repair option there, and it sometimes works. It also runs without a backup, on a table that is already damaged, with no verification afterwards. That is a risk worth avoiding on data you cannot replace.
Could this happen again?
If the cause was a one-off incident, unlikely. If it is disk pressure or a recurring host problem, yes — and the note says which, so you know whether to raise it with your host.
Is it always the same table that crashes?
Often, yes — a table that's crashed once usually has an underlying weakness, whether that's how it's used or a hosting issue, so we check its history rather than treat this as a one-off.
Related fixes
If this is the second time this year
A bad update breaking the site is a symptom of updates not being tested first. Care plans run every update on a staging clone before it reaches your live site, which is the actual fix for this happening again.
Your access, your rules
Create a separate admin account for us and delete it when we are done. For anything else, we get in touch and agree a method — never a form field on this site, never by reply to an email.
We back up first, always
Before anything is touched we take a full backup and keep it for 30 days. If a fix goes wrong, we put the site back exactly as it was.
If it is not what you bought
If the problem turns out smaller than what you ordered, we refund the difference. If it is bigger, we stop and send a quote before doing any extra work.
If we cannot fix it
You get back what we received. Diagnosis is on us — you only pay when the problem is actually solved. The payment processor takes its fee before the money reaches us, so we never hold it and it is not ours to return. That is true here as everywhere else.
If it comes back
Reply within seven days of delivery and we put it back on the bench at no cost. The fix is not finished until it holds.
What we are responsible for
If something goes wrong with a fix, our responsibility is limited to what you paid for it. We take a full backup first so mistakes can be undone, and we tell you before doing anything outside what you bought.