# \[SOLVED\] How to recover: "PDOException: could not find driver in /srv/nextcloud/html/3rdparty/doctrine/dbal/src/Driver/PDO/PDOConnect.php:28" **URL:** \ **Category:** ℹ️ Support\ **Tags:** update\_problems, nc33, setup\_warning\ **Created:** [September 6, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975 "2026-09-06T07:00:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/bignose/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/bignose)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/1 "2026-09-06T07:00:43Z")
## The Basics - Nextcloud Server version: `33.0.8` - Operating system and version: `Debian 13.6` - Web server and version: `apache2/2.4.68-1~deb13u1` - Reverse proxy and version: `none` - PHP version: `8.4` - Is this the first time you’ve seen this error?: `Yes` - When did this problem seem to first start? - `When attempting to 'maintenance:repair'` - Installation method _(e.g. AlO, NCP, Bare Metal/Archive, etc.)_ - `Install from `[https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip](https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip) - Are you using CloudfIare, mod\_security, or similar?: `No` ### Summary of the issue you are facing: During an attempted upgrade, I mistakenly removed the entire Nextcloud `…/html/` directory. Realising this was a problem I attempted to recover: - Ensure the Nextcloud database is not damaged. - Ensure the Nextcloud `…/data/` directory is not damaged. - Restore the Nextcloud `…/html/config/` directory. - Download the Nextcloud installation archive from [https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip](https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip) - Unpack that installation archive to `…/html/.` - Run `… occ maintenance:repair` command to correct this broken Nextcloud instance. Nextcloud crashes, complaining (accurately) that a file it wants is not in `…/html/3rdparty/`. How can I continue the repair beyond this point; how do I provide Nextcloud the correct contents of `…/html/3rdparty/`? It does not appear in the installation archive, nor in any backup I have. I assume there might be many more files Nextcloud expects to find in that directory. How can I get the repair complete without those files; alternatively, how can I find and install those files correctly? ### Steps to replicate it (hint: details matter!): 1. Make the mistake of deleting everything within `…/html/`. 2. Restore the `…/html/config/` directory. 3. Download and install Nextcloud installation archive `nextcloud-33.0.8.zip` into `…/html/.` 4. Run Nextcloud admin command `… occ maintenance:repair`. Nextcloud crashes with a traceback: ```auto An unhandled exception has been thrown: PDOException: could not find driver in /srv/nextcloud/html/3rdparty/doctrine/dbal/src/Driver/PDO/PDOConnect.php:28 Stack trace: … ``` ### Configuration #### Nextcloud ```auto 'REDACTED', 'passwordsalt' => 'REDACTED', 'secret' => 'REDACTED', 'config_is_read_only' => false, 'installed' => true, 'log_type' => 'syslog', 'logdateformat' => DateTime::ISO8601, 'maintenance' => false, 'maintenance_window_start' => 23, 'trusted_domains' => [ 'REDACTED.example.org', ], 'overwrite.cli.url' => 'https://REDACTED.example.org/nextcloud', 'htaccess.RewriteBase' => '/nextcloud', 'mail_from_address' => 'nextcloud', 'mail_domain' => 'REDACTED.example.org', 'mail_send_plaintext_only' => true, 'default_language' => 'en', 'default_locale' => 'en_AU', 'default_phone_region' => 'AU', 'trashbin_retention_obligation' => 'auto, 30', 'memcache.locking' => '\\OC\\Memcache\\Redis', 'redis' => array( 'host' => 'localhost', 'port' => 6379, 'timeout' => 0.0, 'password' => '', ), ); ?> ``` ---
**Author:** ![jtr](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/jtr/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@jtr](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/jtr)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/2 "2026-09-06T17:44:05Z")
> [@bignose](#): > > - Installation method _(e.g. AlO, NCP, Bare Metal/Archive, etc.)_ > - `Install from `[https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip](https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip) ~~That’s the official source repo snapshot, but not an installation asset. For example, it lacks `3rdparty/` and other core components located in other repositories, that are required for an actual installation.~~ Please use the official Archive download links. ---
**Author:** ![bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/bignose/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/bignose)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 12:38am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/3 "2026-09-07T00:38:14Z")
> [@jtr](#): > > That [archive from the [Index of /server/releases](https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/) repository] is the official source repo snapshot, but not an installation asset. When did that change? I’ve been installing from those archives for years without a problem. Looking in [the installation page](https://nextcloud.com/install/#tab_link_download-server) today, it leads me to a file in the same directory, but with no Nextcloud version (‘latest.zip’). This is not suitable for a reliable automated install, I need to download the file for the specific version I’ve chosen, for a reproducible deployment. So which file should I be using for that? The only archive files there that are marked by full version number (e.g. “33.0.8”), are the files named starting with ‘nextcloud’ (e.g. [https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip](https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-33.0.8.zip) for version “33.0.8”). If you say I should not be using those, which file with a fully-specified version URL are you saying I should install? Also this does not seem to do much to address the problem I face immediately: How do I get the ‘3rdparty’ directory populated correctly, for some specific Nextcloud version? ---
**Author:** ![bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/bignose/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/bignose)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 5:07am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/4 "2026-09-07T05:07:58Z")
> [@bignose](#): > > So which file should I be using for that? Attempting to proceed: - Downloaded ‘latest-33.zip’ and unpacked it to a temporary directory. - Replaced (removed existing, copied from the unpacked files) the ‘3rdparty/’ directory. When I run `…/occ maintenance:repair` I get the same crash and error as initially reported. How do I determine what files are needed, and how to install precisely those files to satisfy this Nextcloud instance to the point it can repair? ---
**Author:** ![jtr](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/jtr/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@jtr](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/jtr)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/5 "2026-09-07T20:16:29Z")
My bad. I completely misread the URL; I thought you were pulling it from the GitHub link. I blame my mobile device I was reading your message on yesterday. 🙂 Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![jtr](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/jtr/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@jtr](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/jtr)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/6 "2026-09-07T20:25:45Z")
> [@bignose](#): > > ```auto > An unhandled exception has been thrown: > PDOException: could not find driver in /srv/nextcloud/html/3rdparty/doctrine/dbal/src/Driver/PDO/PDOConnect.php:28 > Stack trace: > … > > ``` The full stack trace would be more helpful, but this isn’t say a file is missing from `3rdparty`. It’s saying the PHP extension for your database isn’t installed. I don’t see any database configuration in your provided config file. ---
**Author:** ![bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/letter_avatar/bignose/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@bignose](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/bignose)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/7 "2026-09-12T00:05:37Z")
> [@jtr](#): > > I don’t see any database configuration in your provided config file. Thank you for this. It prompted me to verify the restored configuration, and indeed the database connection settings were not there. I now have the database settings in one place, where the ‘autoconfig.php’ and ‘config.php’ can both use them. With this in place, the error ceases and I can continue. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://help.nextcloud.com/user_avatar/help.nextcloud.com/system/32/29333_2.png) [@system](https://help.nextcloud.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://help.nextcloud.com/t/solved-how-to-recover-pdoexception-could-not-find-driver-in-srv-nextcloud-html-3rdparty-doctrine-dbal-src-driver-pdo-pdoconnect-php-28/248975/8 "2026-09-20T00:06:35Z")
This topic was automatically closed 8 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.