Are you stuck with the error Plesk Unable to FTP – missing scoreboard file?

This error occurs mainly due to errors in the ProFTPd version.

At Bobcares, we often receive requests to solve this error as part of Server Management Services.

Today, let’s discuss this error in detail and see how our Support Engineers fix it easily.

Why does Plesk Unable to FTP – missing scoreboard file occur?

Before getting into the error, let’s see the importance of the scoreboard file while using FTP.

As we all know, FTP allows client programs to read, write and delete files on a remote server. ProFTPd is one of the most flexible FTP servers available for the Unix operating system.

The ProFTPd uses a ScoreboardFile for tracking information for each current FTP session. And, it is necessary for MaxClients, MaxClientsPerUser, etc.

So, missing this file while using FTP will return an error.

Fixing Plesk Unable to FTP – missing scoreboard file error

As we have said, the scoreboard file stores information like scoreboard file format identifier, daemon PID, daemon uptime, daemon version and so on.

Let’s check how the error due to missing scoreboard file could be resolved.

1. Removing and reinstalling the package

Recently, one of our customers approached us with an FTP error. He was using Plesk and when he tried to FTP some important files, he was getting the following error.

proftpd[11951]: fatal: ScoreboardFile: : unable to use '/var/run/proftpd/scoreboard': No such file or directory on line 74

Our Support Engineers checked the /var/run for the ProFTpd folder and found the scoreboard file missing.

This mainly occurred due to the ProFTPd version error caused by using the Atomic repo to update ProFTPd.

To resolve the error, we removed the package and reinstalled it from Plesk repo.

rpm -e --nodeps psa-proftpd
plesk installer --select-release-current --install-component=proftpd
service xinetd restart

This resolved the error and the customer was able to connect again.

2. Changing the path of scoreboard file

Similarly, mounting the file incorrectly can also cause this error. Sometimes, the /var/run will mount as tmpfs.

In such cases, a server reboot will delete the file. So, it is recommended to change the path for the scoreboard at /etc/proftpd.conf.

And, finally, we need to restart xinetd using the below command,

service xinetd restart

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Conclusion

In short, Plesk Unable to FTP – missing scoreboard file occurs mainly due to errors in the ProFTPd version. In today’s writeup, we discussed this error in detail and saw how our Support Engineers fix it for our customers.