If the HelioHost team made a backup of your hosting account data, you can retrieve it by visiting https://heliohost.org/backup and following the instructions on the page to download the file.
Inside the downloaded backup file, there will be a large file named backup_user-data_##########.tzst which contains all your files.
The file will be in a format called Z-standard and will need to be extracted.
How to Extract Your Account Data from the Backup File
Linux or Mac
On Linux or Mac you can install the zstd package and extract it on the command line.
Access Your Files in Ubuntu v22+
Navigate to the directory containing your backup file named pleskbackup-YourAccountUsername.tar
Install the zstd package with the sudo apt install zstd command
Untar the downloaded file with the tar -xvf pleskbackup-YourAccountUsername.tar command
You should see a list of filenames similar to the below:
Navigate to the main backup file named pleskbackup-YourAccountUsername.tar
Extract the .tar file using one of the software packages listed above
The files will be extracted to a folder named pleskbackup-YourAccountUsername
Open the folder and navigate to the domains folder
Open the next folder, named YourAccountUsername.heliohost.us or YourAccountUsername.helioho.st
Navigate to the file named backup_user-data_##########.tzst
Open the file to access your data
Making Your Own Manual Account Backup
As mentioned in our Terms of Service, it is not HelioHost's responsibility to keep backups of your data.
We strongly recommend that you back up your data regularly by downloading it to your local device and store it in a safe place.
If the only place you keep your backups is inside Plesk, you risk data loss in the rare event of an issue with your hosting account.
Backups Count Towards Your Account Storage Limit
Backups created through Plesk count towards your 1000 MB account storage limit. To avoid account suspension for exceeding your disk quota, we strongly recommend regularly downloading your backups and deleting the older ones to free up space inside your Plesk account.
If you need more space, you can donate to increase your account storage from 1000 MB up to a maximum of 6000 MB total. For even more storage, we offer VPS Plans with space ranging from 50 GB to 300 GB, and a 10% discount when you pay for 6 months upfront.
Follow the navigation steps below to make a backup of your hosting account inside Plesk. The backup file should then be downloaded to your local computer and kept in a safe place.
After clicking the Schedule button, adjust the settings as needed.
Backup files count towards your 1000 MB account storage limit, so we recommend filling in the Maximum number of full backup files to store field to a number that makes sense for the total filesize of your account. Otherwise if you leave this field blank, backup files will pile up and increase your file storage unnecessarily, leaving you at risk of account suspension for exceeding your disk quota.
The backup files should be downloaded regularly to your local computer and kept in a safe place.
If you need more space, you can donate to increase your account storage from 1000 MB up to a maximum of 6000 MB total. For even more storage, we offer VPS Plans with space ranging from 50 GB to 300 GB, and a 10% discount when you pay for 6 months upfront.
Restoring Your Account Backup
Backups cannot be restored directly in Plesk using the Restore button.
To restore a backup, you must first extract the backup file on your local machine, then upload the specific parts you need.
Repairing Damaged Backup Files
If you have trouble when trying to extract a backup file, try opening it in a hex editor to inspect or repair the file. The screenshots below use frhed, a free and easy-to-use hex editor, but the process should be similar in other hex editors.
View the damaged tzst file inside the hex editor. You will likely see an error message right at the top. In this example, the error message starts with Unable to getpwnam for user, but other error messages are possible.
Find the magic bytes (which should be 28 B5 2F FD) in the file, as highlighted in the example.
Delete everything before the magic bytes.
After making this change, the magic bytes should display as being the first bytes in the file, as shown below:
Save the file. When you try to extract it again, the issue should be resolved.
Further Support
If you get stuck after following the instructions above, please go back and check all of your steps again. If you can't figure out what is wrong, please post a topic in the Customer Support forum. Please make sure you provide your hosting account username and details of the problem, including what steps you have tried, and any error message(s) encountered.
