Title: Won’t do initial backup
Last modified: August 1, 2025

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# Won’t do initial backup

 *  Resolved [danakaplan7](https://wordpress.org/support/users/danakaplan7/)
 * (@danakaplan7)
 * [10 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/)
 * I am a Firefighter, not a computer expert, but I can follow directions. I’ve 
   been my own webmaster for Krav Maga San Diego for years. I got a message from
   WordPress that my PHP was old. I was advised to backup my site before updating
   PHP. I installed UpdraftPlus. I tried to run an initial backup. It failed b/c
   there as a huge file: “.tar”. I went into my Bluehost control panel and deleted
   the file. I ran Updraft a few more times. It won’t work. It runs over and over
   forever. This is what it says:
 * Thu, July 31, 2025 20:50
 * Waiting until scheduled time to retry because of errors
 * next resumption: 3 (after 61s) – [show log](https://www.kravmagasd.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=updraftplus&action=downloadlog&updraftplus_backup_nonce=4b38bff68ab4)–
   [stop](https://www.kravmagasd.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=updraftplus&updraftplus_tour=1#)
 * Any help is greatly appreciated before I uninstall the app.
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fwont-do-initial-backup%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

 *  Thread Starter [danakaplan7](https://wordpress.org/support/users/danakaplan7/)
 * (@danakaplan7)
 * [10 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/#post-18581085)
 * I can send a log file if someone tells me how to attach it. The file is a .txt.
 *  Plugin Contributor [bcrodua](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcrodua/)
 * (@bcrodua)
 * [10 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/#post-18581268)
 * Hi [@danakaplan7](https://wordpress.org/support/users/danakaplan7/) 
   To help 
   us work out the cause of your problem, can you please send us a copy of the full
   backup log?This can be found in the UpdraftPlus Existing Backups tab. The contents
   will be too long to post here directly, but you can use an online service such
   as Dropbox or Pastebin, and post the link here.
 * Regards,
   Bryle
 *  Thread Starter [danakaplan7](https://wordpress.org/support/users/danakaplan7/)
 * (@danakaplan7)
 * [10 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/#post-18581655)
 * Here is the link to that file: [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/s018ri0k2g2r6sa3amdzl/log.de0bafdd2934.txt?rlkey=nqftf7667tfmerkivhrmvsdmd&st=vo8doklf&dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/s018ri0k2g2r6sa3amdzl/log.de0bafdd2934.txt?rlkey=nqftf7667tfmerkivhrmvsdmd&st=vo8doklf&dl=0)
 * Thanks.
 *  Thread Starter [danakaplan7](https://wordpress.org/support/users/danakaplan7/)
 * (@danakaplan7)
 * [10 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/#post-18582334)
 * I can’t understand this plugin. I finally got it to finish uploading a backup.
   But now how do I download this backed up version to my computer? The Updraft 
   plugin page on the wordpress dashboard says, “Backup data (click to download)”,
   but there is no button which says “Download”. Then it shows a bunch of buttons:
 * Database Plugins Themes Uploads Must-use plugins Others Restore 
 * Do I click on each of those buttons?
 * Is it safe to update my PHP version now?
 *  Thread Starter [danakaplan7](https://wordpress.org/support/users/danakaplan7/)
 * (@danakaplan7)
 * [10 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/#post-18582389)
 * figured it out somehow, Updraft saved a backup of my site; but I don’t know how
   to set it up so that Updraft sends a backup each week to my computer.
 *  Plugin Contributor [bcrodua](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcrodua/)
 * (@bcrodua)
 * [10 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/#post-18585649)
 * Hi [@danakaplan7](https://wordpress.org/support/users/danakaplan7/)
 * Glad to hear you got the backup working!
 * UpdraftPlus doesn’t support automatic backups directly to your computer. Instead,
   we recommend setting up a remote storage option (like Google Drive, Dropbox, 
   OneDrive, etc.) where backups can be sent automatically each week. From there,
   you can download the backups to your computer anytime you need.
 * Here’s a guide on how to set up remote storage:
   [https://updraftplus.com/faqs/how-do-i-connect-to-my-remote-storage/](https://updraftplus.com/faqs/how-do-i-connect-to-my-remote-storage/)
 * Best Wishes,
   Bryle

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

The topic ‘Won’t do initial backup’ is closed to new replies.

 * ![](https://ps.w.org/updraftplus/assets/icon-256x256.jpg?rev=1686200)
 * [UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/)
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 * 6 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [bcrodua](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcrodua/)
 * Last activity: [10 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wont-do-initial-backup/#post-18585649)
 * Status: resolved