Installing a Patch Without Correctly Shutting Down Liferay Portal Corrupts the Portal Files

When using patching-tool version 20 and below, corruptions of portal files can occur if a patch is installed when the portal is not completely shutdown, or if it is still running.

Because of this, it is important to always shut down the portal completely prior to installing a patch.

Note: Patching-tool version 21 will resolve this issue.

Resolution

In the event that this issue does occur, the following workaround can be used for general cases.

1. Download a clean bundle.
2. Apply the same patch that was installed in the affected environment.
3. Shut down the application server
4. Copy the following files from the clean bundle (which is now patched) to the affected environment:

   TOMCAT_HOME/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/patching-backup-deps.zip

   TOMCAT_HOME/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/patching-backup.zip

5. Run ./patching-tool.sh revert in the affected environment to recover the original files.

   Run patching-tool revert if the environment is on a Windows machine.

6. Run ./patching-tool.sh install

   Run patching-tool install for Windows

7. Start the server and verify that the issue is resolved.

Additional Information

To see a specific example of this occurring, along with a more specific resolution, please reference the following article: Dockbar Display Error After Patch Installation With Patching Tool.