PhpMyAdmin can run into errors that may cause inconvenience to users. One such error is the “incorrect format parameter” error, which occurs when using PhpMyAdmin in XAMPP on Ubuntu or cPanel. In this tutorial, you will learn how to fix/solve phpmyadmin – error incorrect format parameter xampp ubuntu cpanel.
The “Incorrect format parameter” error can occur due to various reasons, including:
- Large file size: If you are trying to upload a large file or import a large database dump file, the server may reject it due to the file size limitation set by the server.
- Memory limit: If the server’s memory limit is too low, it can also cause the “Incorrect format parameter” error when uploading or importing large files.
- Server configuration issues: Sometimes, server configuration issues can cause this error. For example, if the server is running an outdated version of PHP or MySQL, it can cause issues with PHPMyAdmin.
- The “incorrect format parameter” error occurs when you try to import a SQL file that has a different character set encoding than the one specified in PhpMyAdmin. This can happen when you create a SQL file in a text editor that uses a different character set encoding than the one specified in PhpMyAdmin or if the SQL file was exported from a database with a different character set encoding than the one used in PhpMyAdmin.
How to fix phpMyAdmin error ‘Incorrect Format Parameter’
There are several ways to fix the “incorrect format parameter” error in PhpMyAdmin. Here are some solutions that you can try:
- Solution 1: Change the character set encoding in PhpMyAdmin
- Solution 2: Increase the PHP limits
- Solution 3: Directly run using SQL tab
- Solution 4: Using SSH Command
Solution 1: Change the character set encoding in PhpMyAdmin
The first solution to fix the “incorrect format parameter” error in PhpMyAdmin is to change the character set encoding in PhpMyAdmin to match the one used in the SQL file. To do this, follow these steps:
- Login to PhpMyAdmin and select the database that you want to import the SQL file into.
- Click on the “Import” tab at the top of the page.
- In the “File to import” section, click on the “Choose File” button and select the SQL file that you want to import.
- Scroll down to the “Format-specific options” section and select the correct character set encoding for the SQL file.
- Click on the “Go” button to import the SQL file.
Solution 2: Increase the PHP limits
Solutions to the “Incorrect format parameter” error
- Increase the file upload limit: You can increase the file upload limit by modifying the “upload_max_filesize” and “post_max_size” values in the php.ini file. These values determine the maximum file size that can be uploaded or imported. You can increase these values to a higher limit to allow larger files to be uploaded or imported.
- Increase the memory limit: You can increase the memory limit by modifying the “memory_limit” value in the php.ini file. This value determines the maximum amount of memory that PHP can use. You can increase this value to a higher limit to allow PHP to handle larger files.
- Check server configuration: If the above solutions do not work, you should check the server configuration. Ensure that the server is running the latest version of PHP and MySQL. You can also try restarting the server to see if it resolves the issue.
- Use an alternative method: If the above solutions do not work, you can try using an alternative method to upload or import the file. For example, you can use the command line to import the database dump file instead of using PHPMyAdmin.
So, Open your php.ini file and edit the php.ini file, in our case, the path is “/etc/php.ini”. You need to change the given values accordingly based on your requirements:
max_execution_time = 3000 max_input_time = 600 memory_limit = 128M post_max_size = 100M upload_max_filesize = 100M
Solution 3: Directly run using SQL tab
In the third solution, You can open your sql file in text editor and copy from your sql file into SQL tab. Then run this into your PHPMyAdmin console. However, this option is less likely to succeed if the data is large and exceed default maximum execution time in PHP.
Solution 4: import of Database using SSH Command
If the above solution is none. Then you can import the backup of the database using the SSH option:
mysql -u user -p database < backup_file.sql
Conclusion
The “incorrect format parameter” error is a common issue that can occur when using PhpMyAdmin in XAMPP on Ubuntu or cPanel. It happens when you try to import a SQL file that has a different character set encoding than the one specified in PhpMyAdmin. To fix this error, you can change the character set encoding in PhpMyAdmin or the SQL file, or you can convert the character set encoding of the SQL file. By following the solutions mentioned above, you can resolve the “incorrect format parameter” error and continue managing your databases efficiently using PhpMyAdmin.