Update - Transfers to the Merlin server are continuing, however progress has been slower than initially anticipated.
During the restoration process, we encountered some issues when bringing certain accounts online. Our team is actively working through these and testing alternative restoration methods to ensure data integrity and a successful restoration.
We expect to provide a more detailed update within the next 12 hours.
Thank you for your continued patience while we work to complete the restoration safely and thoroughly.
Mar 04, 2026 - 17:09 UTC
Update - Update - Merlin
Due to the amount of data being moved, the transfer of data is taking longer than expected, however, we are continuing to transfer the data over as quickly as possible to the new server.
Mar 02, 2026 - 21:56 UTC
Update - All customers of server: MERLN have been emailed.
Please check your inbox for instructions, copied here:
While the server itself is now online following hardware failure, there are unrecoverable file system corruptions which are preventing key services starting.
As we are unable to repair the OS and software corruptions in place, we have brought forward our plans to migrate customers from the Legacy "Pickaweb" hosting enviromnent into our recently upgraded cloud envionment in Reading.
To minimize further disruption we are migrating all account packages as they are - in the current hosting packages you use.
Your nameservers will remain in use, and we will transfer the hostname of existing server to the new server to reduce any reconfiguration that may be required by customers.
In future we intend to re-address these points.
As the current server hosting your data has corruptions throughut the filesystem, we are not able to perform a server to server direct transfer.
In this case we are needing to restore accounts from the last available backup.
his is requiring a two-step approach, where by we are first pulling account data from our backup system, compressing then transferring data to the new server hosted in Reading.
We have already started packaging the accounts for transfer, due to the amount of data we anticipate this will take up to 3 days to complete.
The accounts will be restored on the new server in batches, as transfers progress.
===WHAT CHANGES DO CUSTOMERS NEED TO MAKE===
If you use our nameservers:
(ns1.pickaweb.co.uk // ns2.pickaweb.co.uk)
You will not need to make any changes to DNS as we will update the records as the accounts restore.
If you do not use our nameservers:
We will provide notice when the transfer is complete, at this point we will provide the new IP for DNS updates.
We are not providing the new IP prior, as accounts have not yet transferred.
*Please subscribe to our status page for further updates
Please note:
Data transfer speed depends greatly on the size of the packaged customer account being transferred.
Our support team have no control over speed or order of accounts being transferred.
Our maximum account size on shared hosting is 30gb, if you are using more than the 30gb fair usage limit there may be difficulties in transferring your data.
We thank you for your patience over these last few days and look forward to providing a more stable hosting solution to you moving forward.
Feb 27, 2026 - 13:37 UTC
Update - Update – Merlin:
Emergency replacement hardware is currently en route to our data center.
Once the new hardware is installed, we will perform comprehensive data integrity checks to ensure system consistency and stability. Following those checks, we will proceed with the safest and most effective restoration path to return the server to full performance.
Our team remains fully engaged and is prioritizing a safe and complete resolution.
Further updates will be provided as we reach key milestones.
Feb 24, 2026 - 14:01 UTC
Identified - What’s Happening
One of our production servers experienced underlying hardware issues affecting disk performance. While the system is online and operational, it is currently running in a degraded state while storage is rebuilding.
As a result, customers may experience:
Slow website load times
- Database (MySQL) errors
- Application instability
- Email services appear to be functioning normally at this time, and we are continuing to monitor closely.
What We’re Doing
We are actively working on two parallel recovery paths to restore full stability as quickly as possible:
1. Hardware Remediation
Replacement components are en route and expected within 24 hours. Once installed, we will assess whether this fully resolves the performance degradation.
2. Provisioning a New Server
A brand-new server has been procured and is currently being built. This will allow us to restore services onto fresh infrastructure if that path proves faster or more stable.
We will proceed with whichever solution restores full service in the shortest and safest timeframe.
What You Can Expect
- Performance may remain inconsistent during the storage rebuild process.
- Some database-driven sites may intermittently show errors.
- We are prioritizing system stability and data integrity above all else.
- We will provide further updates as we reach key milestones.
Longer-Term Improvements
Over the next 3–5 months, we will be migrating customers onto new virtualized infrastructure with built-in multi-layer redundancy. This architecture is designed to significantly reduce the risk of hardware-related service disruptions in the future.
Feb 23, 2026 - 23:05 UTC
Update - We are continuing to investigate the issues presented with server "Merlin".
The server is currentlty online.
We are aware the MySQL/ MariaDB service is not operating.
We will provide further updates as we have more information
Feb 23, 2026 - 15:25 UTC
Investigating - We are currently investigating an issue with shared server known as "Merlin".
This is affecting a small subset of customers hosting out of the UK "ENF" location.
Further updates will be provided
Feb 23, 2026 - 11:57 UTC