Backup restoration fails in Plesk, when custom directory for backups is used: Cannot chdir to popuser homedir /var/qmail/popuser System error 2: No such file or directory

Symptoms

• When restoring a backup in Plesk, the following error message appears:

  PLESK_WARN: <...>
  Stdout is
  Cannot chdir to popuser homedir /var/qmail/popuser
  System error 2: No such file or directory

• Mail data is stored in a directory which is different from the default location - /var/qmail/mailnames:

  # grep PLESK_MAILNAMES_D /etc/psa/psa.conf
  PLESK_MAILNAMES_D /mnt/disk1/qmail/mailname

Cause

The home directory for popuser points to the default mail directory /var/qmail/popuser:

# grep popuser /etc/passwd
popuser:x:30:31:POP3 service user:/var/qmail/popuser:/bin/false

Resolution

1. Connect to the Plesk server via SSH.

2. Create a backup of the /etc/passwd file:

   # cp -a /etc/passwd{,.bkp}

3. List the location for mail data:

   # grep PLESK_MAILNAMES_D /etc/psa/psa.conf
   PLESK_MAILNAMES_D /mnt/disk1/qmail/mailname

4. Open the file /etc/passwd in a text editor. In this example, we are using the vi editor:

   # vi /etc/passwd

5. Change the home directory for popuser to the same value from step 3:

   CONFIG_TEXT: popuser:x:30:31:POP3 service user:/mnt/disk1/qmail/mailnames:/bin/false

6. Save the changes and close the file.