# Renewal fails - erroneously claims too many attempts **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [September 5, 2019, 9:52am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365 "2019-09-05T09:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 9:52am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/1 "2019-09-05T09:52:40Z")
Please fill out the fields below so we can help you better. Note: you must provide your domain name to get help. Domain names for issued certificates are all made public in Certificate Transparency logs (e.g. [crt.sh | example.com](https://crt.sh/?q=example.com)), so withholding your domain name here does not increase secrecy, but only makes it harder for us to provide help. My domain is: _[compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com)_ I ran this command: _certbot renew_ It produced this output: ``` # certbot renew Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Processing /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/compaqportable.com.conf - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cert is due for renewal, auto-renewing... Plugins selected: Authenticator apache, Installer None Renewing an existing certificate Attempting to renew cert (compaqportable.com) from /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/compaqportable.com.conf produced an unexpected error: [Errno 17] File exists: '/etc/letsencrypt/archive/compaqportable.com/privkey3.pem'. Skipping. All renewal attempts failed. The following certs could not be renewed: /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/fullchain.pem (failure) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - All renewal attempts failed. The following certs could not be renewed: /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/fullchain.pem (failure) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 renew failure(s), 0 parse failure(s) **root@mail** : **~** # rm /etc/letsencrypt/archive/compaqportable.com/privkey3.pem **root@mail** : **~** # certbot renew Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Processing /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/compaqportable.com.conf - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cert is due for renewal, auto-renewing... Plugins selected: Authenticator apache, Installer None Renewing an existing certificate Attempting to renew cert (compaqportable.com) from /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/compaqportable.com.conf produced an unexpected error: urn:ietf:params:acme:error:rateLimited :: There were too many requests of a given type :: Error creating new order :: too many certificates already issued for exact set of domains: compaqportable.com,mail.mymayday.com,www.compaqportable.com: see https://letsencrypt.org/docs/rate-limits/. Skipping. All renewal attempts failed. The following certs could not be renewed: /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/fullchain.pem (failure) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - All renewal attempts failed. The following certs could not be renewed: /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/fullchain.pem (failure) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 renew failure(s), 0 parse failure(s) ``` My web server is (include version): > Server version: Apache/2.4.29 (Ubuntu) > Server built: 2019-08-26T13:41:23 The operating system my web server runs on is (include version): Linux [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com) 4.15.0-58-generic #64-Ubuntu SMP Tue Aug 6 11:12:41 UTC 2019 x86\_64 x86\_64 x86\_64 GNU/Linux My hosting provider, if applicable, is: I can login to a root shell on my machine (yes or no, or I don't know): yes I'm using a control panel to manage my site (no, or provide the name and version of the control panel): The version of my client is (e.g. output of `certbot --version` or `certbot-auto --version` if you're using Certbot): certbot 0.31.0 More details: I have been trying for several weeks (once a week) to renew this certificate, and always run into the same error. Need help to fix this. ---
**Author:** ![JuergenAuer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/juergenauer/32/26491_2.png) [@JuergenAuer](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JuergenAuer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 10:41am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/2 "2019-09-05T10:41:13Z")
Hi @mymayday > [@mymayday](#): > > I have been trying for several weeks (once a week) to renew this certificate, and always run into the same error. please read your error message: ```nohighlight Attempting to renew cert (compaqportable.com) from /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/compaqportable.com.conf produced an unexpected error: urn:ietf:params:acme:error:rateLimited :: There were too many requests of a given type :: Error creating new order :: too many certificates already issued for exact set of domains: compaqportable.com,mail.mymayday.com,www.compaqportable.com: see https://letsencrypt.org/docs/rate-limits/. Skipping. ``` Please read the link. Checking your domain you have created a lot of new certificates - [https://check-your-website.server-daten.de/?q=compaqportable.com](https://check-your-website.server-daten.de/?q=compaqportable.com) | Issuer | not before | not after | Domain names | LE-Duplicate | next LE | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-09-04 | 2019-12-03 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | duplicate nr. 3 | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-09-03 | 2019-12-02 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | duplicate nr. 2 | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-09-02 | 2019-12-01 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | duplicate nr. 1 | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-29 | 2019-11-27 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-28 | 2019-11-26 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-28 | 2019-11-26 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-27 | 2019-11-25 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-26 | 2019-11-24 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com) - 3 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-26 | 2019-11-24 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [vintagecomputing.net](http://vintagecomputing.net), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com), [www.vintagecomputing.net](http://www.vintagecomputing.net) - 5 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-26 | 2019-11-24 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [vintagecomputing.net](http://vintagecomputing.net), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com), [www.vintagecomputing.net](http://www.vintagecomputing.net) - 5 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-26 | 2019-11-24 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [vintagecomputing.net](http://vintagecomputing.net), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com), [www.vintagecomputing.net](http://www.vintagecomputing.net) - 5 entries | | | | Let's Encrypt Authority X3 | 2019-08-26 | 2019-11-24 | [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com), [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com), [vintagecomputing.net](http://vintagecomputing.net), [www.compaqportable.com](http://www.compaqportable.com), [www.vintagecomputing.net](http://www.vintagecomputing.net) - 5 entries | | | But you don't use one of these. That ```nohighlight /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/compaqportable.com.conf produced an unexpected error: [Errno 17] File exists: '/etc/letsencrypt/archive/compaqportable.com/privkey3.pem'. Skipping. ``` looks like you have broken your configuration. ```nohighlight rm /etc/letsencrypt/archive/compaqportable.com/privkey3.pem ``` Deleting such files is always a bad idea. You have to install one of these certificates. But if you delete these, you have to wait one week. What says ```nohighlight certbot certificates apachectl -S ``` ---
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 11:19am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/3 "2019-09-05T11:19:18Z")
Thanks - I appreciate your swift response. I guess I have not really understood what I was doing, taking the docs literally: The paragraph about changing a certificate’s domain ([https://certbot.eff.org/docs/using.html#managing-certificates](https://certbot.eff.org/docs/using.html#managing-certificates)) led me to believe that whatever needed to happen when making changes, would happen automagically behind the scenes. Anyway, all I need is to get one of them to work for now (preferably the last one, but any will do). ``` **helge@mail** : **~** $ sudo certbot certificates [sudo] password for helge: Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Found the following certs: Certificate Name: compaqportable.com Domains: compaqportable.com mail.mymayday.com www.compaqportable.com Expiry Date: 2019-09-10 19:26:15+00:00 (VALID: 5 days) Certificate Path: /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/fullchain.pem Private Key Path: /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/privkey.pem - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ``` Apache: **helge@mail** : **~** $ apachectl -S ``` AH00526: Syntax error on line 20 of /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default-le-ssl.conf: SSLCertificateFile: file '/etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/fullchain.pem' does not exist or is empty Action '-S' failed. The Apache error log may have more information. ``` This does not look good, but visiting the site (which is a ‘work in progress’ page only) gives a valid certificate. Right now the certificate is more important for dovecot and postfix than for web-stuff. ---
**Author:** ![JuergenAuer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/juergenauer/32/26491_2.png) [@JuergenAuer](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JuergenAuer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/4 "2019-09-05T13:34:31Z")
> [@mymayday](#): > > apachectl -S Run it as root. That's the certificate listet in `certbot certificates`. If this certificate is dead, you can't restart your webserver. ---
**Author:** ![JuergenAuer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/juergenauer/32/26491_2.png) [@JuergenAuer](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JuergenAuer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/5 "2019-09-05T13:40:47Z")
PS: That's > [@mymayday](#): > > Found the following certs: terrible. Where are all the other certificates? Did you delete these? Please read > **[Rate Limits - Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/docs/rate-limits/)** > > Let’s Encrypt provides rate limits to ensure fair usage by as many people as possible. We believe these rate limits are high enough to work for most people by default. We’ve also designed them so renewing a certificate almost never hits a... ---
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/6 "2019-09-05T13:47:45Z")
Sorry about that... > sudo apachectl -S > [sudo] password for helge: > VirtualHost configuration: > \*:443 [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com) (/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default-le-ssl.conf:2) > \*:80 [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com) (/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf:4) > ServerRoot: "/etc/apache2" > Main DocumentRoot: "/var/www/html" > Main ErrorLog: "/var/log/apache2/error.log" > Mutex watchdog-callback: using\_defaults > Mutex rewrite-map: using\_defaults > Mutex ssl-stapling-refresh: using\_defaults > Mutex ssl-stapling: using\_defaults > Mutex ssl-cache: using\_defaults > Mutex default: dir="/var/run/apache2/" mechanism=default > Mutex mpm-accept: using\_defaults > PidFile: "/var/run/apache2/apache2.pid" > Define: DUMP\_VHOSTS > Define: DUMP\_RUN\_CFG > User: name="www-data" id=33 > Group: name="www-data" id=33 ---
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/7 "2019-09-05T13:56:02Z")
I do understand the rate limits and their purpose. What I don’t (or didn’t) understand was that my activity in any way constituted a repeat frequency worth attention. Like a few (failed) attempts every week. Anyway, where are the other certs - probably in the compaqportable.com-0001 directory. My understanding of how these pieces fit together is very limited as you have guessed. ---
**Author:** ![JuergenAuer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/juergenauer/32/26491_2.png) [@JuergenAuer](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JuergenAuer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/8 "2019-09-05T13:57:48Z")
Next step: > [@mymayday](#): > > \*:443 [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com) (/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default-le-ssl.conf:2) > \*:80 [compaqportable.com](http://compaqportable.com) (/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf:4) Share the content of these two vHosts. Both vHosts should have the same three domain names `compaqportable.com mail.mymayday.com www.compaqportable.com` - one as ServerName, the other two as ServerAlias. If you have fixed that, it may work to create a new certificate. But you have hitted the limit, so that can't work. Perhaps you have to wait 2019-09-09 to create a new certificate. ---
**Author:** ![danb35](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/danb35/32/70869_2.png) [@danb35](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/danb35)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/9 "2019-09-05T13:59:19Z")
> [@mymayday](#): > > Like a few (failed) attempts every week. The issue is not one of failed attempts; the issue is that you've issued too many (5) within too short a period of time (7 days). I don't know how the message could be clearer: > [@](#): > > ```plaintext > too many certificates already issued for exact set of domains: > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/10 "2019-09-05T14:06:37Z")
from 000-default-le-ssl.conf: \ ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost ``` ServerName compaqportable.com ServerAlias www.compaqportable.com DocumentRoot /var/www/html Options FollowSymLinks AllowOverride All Require all granted ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/fullchain.pem SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/privkey.pem ``` [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com) is a mail server address only. These config files have not been changed since the site was created and the initial certs installed. From 000-default.conf: \ ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost ``` ServerName compaqportable.com ServerAlias www.compaqportable.com DocumentRoot /var/www/html Options FollowSymLinks AllowOverride All Require all granted ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{SERVER_NAME} =www.compaqportable.com [OR] RewriteCond %{SERVER_NAME} =compaqportable.com RewriteRule ^ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [END,NE,R=permanent] ``` ---
**Author:** ![JuergenAuer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/juergenauer/32/26491_2.png) [@JuergenAuer](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JuergenAuer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/11 "2019-09-05T14:12:27Z")
> [@mymayday](#): > > [mail.mymayday.com](http://mail.mymayday.com) is a mail server address only. You need a working vHost, so Certbot can create the correct validation file. So add the mail subdomain to your existing vHosts. ---
**Author:** ![mnordhoff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/mnordhoff/32/22583_2.png) [@mnordhoff](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mnordhoff)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 8:11am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/12 "2019-09-06T08:11:05Z")
> [@mymayday](#): > > I guess I have not really understood what I was doing, taking the docs literally: The paragraph about changing a certificate’s domain ([User Guide — Certbot 2.7.0.dev0 documentation](https://certbot.eff.org/docs/using.html#managing-certificates)) led me to believe that whatever needed to happen when making changes, would happen automagically behind the scenes. It does. Or it should. The error message suggests that some of Certbot's files have been moved around or deleted, outside of its control. Can you post the output of "`sudo ls -alR /etc/letsencrypt/{archive,live,renewal}`"? ---
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 8:13am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/13 "2019-09-06T08:13:39Z")
Thanks - does that mean I can make another renewal attempt when the apache config has been updated? ---
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/14 "2019-09-08T19:48:32Z")
``` **root@mail** : **/etc/apache2** # sudo ls -alR /etc/letsencrypt/{archive,live,renewal} /etc/letsencrypt/archive: total 16 drwx------ 4 root root 4096 Jun 12 19:29 . drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 4096 Sep 8 17:35 .. drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Sep 5 09:30 compaqportable.com drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jun 12 20:26 compaqportable.com-0001 /etc/letsencrypt/archive/compaqportable.com: total 40 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Sep 5 09:30 . drwx------ 4 root root 4096 Jun 12 19:29 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1952 Apr 14 19:21 cert1.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2041 Aug 26 10:09 cert3.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Apr 14 19:21 chain1.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Aug 26 10:09 chain3.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3599 Apr 14 19:21 fullchain1.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3688 Aug 26 10:09 fullchain3.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1704 Apr 14 19:21 privkey1.pem -rw------- 1 root root 1704 Aug 12 02:17 privkey2.pem /etc/letsencrypt/archive/compaqportable.com-0001: total 40 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jun 12 20:26 . drwx------ 4 root root 4096 Jun 12 19:29 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1948 Jun 12 19:29 cert1.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1976 Jun 12 20:26 cert2.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Jun 12 19:29 chain1.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Jun 12 20:26 chain2.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3595 Jun 12 19:29 fullchain1.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3623 Jun 12 20:26 fullchain2.pem -rw------- 1 root root 1704 Jun 12 19:29 privkey1.pem -rw------- 1 root root 1704 Jun 12 20:26 privkey2.pem /etc/letsencrypt/live: total 24 drwx------ 5 root root 4096 Jun 20 12:45 . drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 4096 Sep 8 17:35 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 740 Apr 14 19:21 README drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Aug 26 10:09 compaqportable.com drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jun 12 20:26 compaqportable.com-0001 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 18 Jun 20 06:53 mail.mymayday.com -> compaqportable.com drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Mar 22 03:54 save-mail.mymayday.com /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com: total 12 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Aug 26 10:09 . drwx------ 5 root root 4096 Jun 20 12:45 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 692 Jun 12 19:29 README lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 47 Aug 26 10:09 cert.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/cert2.pem lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 48 Aug 26 10:09 chain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/chain2.pem lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 52 Aug 26 10:09 fullchain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/fullchain2.pem lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 50 Aug 26 10:09 privkey.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/privkey2.pem /etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com-0001: total 12 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jun 12 20:26 . drwx------ 5 root root 4096 Jun 20 12:45 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 692 Apr 14 19:21 README lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 42 Jun 12 20:26 cert.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/cert1.pem lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 43 Jun 12 20:26 chain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/chain1.pem lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 47 Jun 12 20:26 fullchain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/fullchain1.pem lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 45 Jun 12 20:26 privkey.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/privkey1.pem /etc/letsencrypt/live/save-mail.mymayday.com: total 28 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Mar 22 03:54 . drwx------ 5 root root 4096 Jun 20 12:45 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 543 Sep 19 2017 README -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1915 Mar 22 03:54 cert.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Mar 22 03:54 chain.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3562 Mar 22 03:54 fullchain.pem -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1704 Mar 22 03:54 privkey.pem /etc/letsencrypt/renewal: total 12 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Aug 26 12:38 . drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 4096 Sep 8 17:35 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 530 Aug 26 10:09 compaqportable.com.conf ``` ---
**Author:** ![mnordhoff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/mnordhoff/32/22583_2.png) [@mnordhoff](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mnordhoff)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/15 "2019-09-08T23:13:54Z")
> [@mymayday](#): > > ```nohighlight > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1952 Apr 14 19:21 cert1.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2041 Aug 26 10:09 cert3.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Apr 14 19:21 chain1.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Aug 26 10:09 chain3.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3599 Apr 14 19:21 fullchain1.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3688 Aug 26 10:09 fullchain3.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1704 Apr 14 19:21 privkey1.pem > -rw------- 1 root root 1704 Aug 12 02:17 privkey2.pem > > ``` That's strange -- most of the `xxx2.pem` files are missing; conversely the `privkey3.pem` file is also missing. > [@mymayday](#): > > ```nohighlight > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 18 Jun 20 06:53 mail.mymayday.com -> compaqportable.com > > ``` Certbot wouldn't be able to work with a symlink like that. > [@mymayday](#): > > ```nohighlight > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 47 Aug 26 10:09 cert.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/cert2.pem > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 48 Aug 26 10:09 chain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/chain2.pem > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 52 Aug 26 10:09 fullchain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/fullchain2.pem > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 50 Aug 26 10:09 privkey.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/privkey2.pem > > ``` `/etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/` is supposed to contain symlinks to `../../archive/compaqportable.com/`. (Though `/etc/letsencrypt/archive/compaqportable.com/` is itself broken at the moment.) > [@mymayday](#): > > ```nohighlight > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 42 Jun 12 20:26 cert.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/cert1.pem > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 43 Jun 12 20:26 chain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/chain1.pem > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 47 Jun 12 20:26 fullchain.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/fullchain1.pem > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 45 Jun 12 20:26 privkey.pem -> ../../archive/compaqportable.com/privkey1.pem > > ``` `/etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com-0001/` is supposed to contain symlinks to `../../archive/compaqportable.com-0001/`. > [@mymayday](#): > > ```nohighlight > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1915 Mar 22 03:54 cert.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1647 Mar 22 03:54 chain.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3562 Mar 22 03:54 fullchain.pem > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1704 Mar 22 03:54 privkey.pem > > ``` Certbot wouldn't be able to work with a `live` directory that contains files instead of symlinks. > [@mymayday](#): > > ```nohighlight > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 530 Aug 26 10:09 compaqportable.com.conf > > ``` FYI, since this is the only configuration file in `/etc/letsencrypt/renewal/`, Certbot will only try to renew `/etc/letsencrypt/live/compaqportable.com/`. ---
**Author:** ![mymayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mymayday](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/mymayday)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 8:11am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/16 "2019-09-09T08:11:45Z")
Wow, and thanks. That was some list of problems. Now - given that my repeated attempts to get renewal to work has created this mess, what is the recommended action? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/original/3X/c/a/ca6c06ea1ea201324bba7048c6841ce60236468d.png) [@system](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 8:11am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/renewal-fails-erroneously-claims-too-many-attempts/101365/17 "2019-10-09T08:11:46Z")
Closed on October 9, 2019, 8:11am UTC This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.