ExpressionEngine® User Guide

Legacy Documentation

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“Table already exists” error when upgrading

You receive an error such as “Table ‘exp_extensions’ already exists” when performing an upgrade.

Troubleshooting

There are several possible reasons for a duplicate table, column or key error:

  • If you had previously restored your database, ensure it was restored into a completely empty database. Otherwise there will be duplicate data.
  • Never use your browser’s Back button during an upgrade, as that can cause actions to run twice.
  • Your server’s PHP max_execution_time may be set too low, forcing the upgrade script to end prematurely. Check with your host about increasing this value from the typical default of 30 seconds.
  • If you’re using Firefox to perform the upgrade, try using Chrome or Safari instead. In some cases Firefox can re-send requests following a server error, effectively preventing the error from being seen.