Hi everyone, the other day I installed the “Image Cleanup” plugin—to clean up unused images. The system detected approximately 15,000 images that weren’t being used and had no links.
I started deleting them, 100 at a time. Then I noticed that the images inside my blog posts started disappearing. Some don’t show at all, and some appear as blank with the broken link icon. I uploaded the content folder and the database file from the backup again via FTP, but I couldn’t get them to show. I looked into it and started re-uploading the images one by one, starting with the newest post. When I uploaded them the first time, some appeared, but then they disappeared again.
I’m about to lose my mind—does anyone know what might be causing this and can help me figure out the issue?
I’ve encountered this situation many times, but for some reason, those damn pictures didn’t show up. However, reading this here now, “cache” came to mind. After uploading the pictures to your site, could you clear the cache and such, and then check it from a browser that hasn’t visited your site before (like a friend’s phone or computer)? I haven’t tried this myself, but I thought it might be possible.
Right now I’m checking from a different computer, and it’s still not there. I think there is a subtle trick involved, but where? I’m wondering if the plugin might have made a change somewhere while deleting these images. I’ll check phpMyAdmin, though I don’t know much about database stuff. I’ve tried every possible way for two or three days. I even reinstalled the backup file I took yesterday. I wonder if the issue is with cPanel.
I just thought of something else. Remove that plugin. Still, there is a file remaining inside the plugin folder via FTP, a log file or something. Try deleting that too.
Here is the situation. The latest backup file I took was before installing the plugin, meaning before the photos were deleted. Moreover, I had taken a full backup and restored it yesterday. But it doesn’t help at all. Thanks for your ideas anyway. If I solve it, I’ll explain here how I did it. Good night.
**Solved
**
Just now, while thinking out loud, a setting on cPanel came to mind. There is a security setting called Hotlink Protection. This setting prevents external linking to your images. I remembered that I had enabled this the other day. I deactivated it now, and the images started appearing. I think this is a solution to keep in mind for those experiencing similar issues.
I couldn’t get it working myself either, but I said what came to mind in case it helps.