Joomla User Manual

Errors Reported¶

When updating Joomla! the database table structure has to be up to date before the process can start. The Pre-Update Check for Joomla complains if this is not the case.

But when you go to System → Maintenance → Database, there is no entry available. This was reported in several Joomla! 4.x versions.

What is the Cause¶

The problem is caused by an empty #__schemas table in the database. Most likely this occurs when the Joomla! instance is not installed by the official Joomla! installer but through a customized script that did not fill in all required data.

How to Fix¶

You can fix this by adding the missing value to the table. Using phpMyAdmin (or another database client), go to the #__extensions table. Search for name='files_joomla' and write down the extension_id (in our case 211).

Next, you need to know the latest SQL script which is installed. Go to administrator/components/com_admin/sql/updates/mysql and get the file name with the highest version. In this example, assume 4.0.3-2021-09-05.sql is the file name with the highest version. Now you have to add this in your insert query as the second value:

INSERT INTO `#__schemas` (`extension_id`, `version_id`) VALUES
(211, '4.0.3-2021-09-05');

or for PostgreSQL:

INSERT INTO "#__schemas" ("extension_id", "version_id") VALUES
(211, '4.0.3-2021-09-05');

Replace #__ with your database prefix before running the statements.

Then from the Administrator menu go to System → Maintenance → Database and fix the tables.

Now the update should work as expected.