The error message comes from MySQL and PHP is outputting it.  This error message happens when the query is not able to be processed, which might be because there is no database connection.  When we looked at the site, it was found that the IP address used for the database hostname was incorrect.  Switching it to localhost fixed the problem.

I have discovered this error while testing the 1.1 version. I couldn’t find serious bugs, just some glitches and one installation problem (when it’s not an update) that Rick had fixed quickly. I decided to do stupid things and see how EE handles these stupidities. One of these was to shut down the MySQL server and to access the site. Try it. The error message is systematic.

Since, Mysql could not send messages if the server is down, how do you explain this?

Yeah, I have found a few of those glitches myself.

I need to stop writing posts so quickly.  In the instances where the database is kaput or unable to be connected to, PHP returns false for those MySQL functions and then EE takes that information and spits out the error way at the top here.  However, if the server is connected to but the query fails (or the database is not selectable), then MySQL sends PHP the errors, which PHP and/or EE will display.  Klar?

Yaaa dat is klar Paul
Thanks

Just to let you know I have had this same error just because the MySQL server was off.

Michael