I was attempting to process the script update for ZEN Photo and part way through it told me i needed to provide a database name and ??

i was unable to do so and the update failed leaving the site un-usable -- it just displayed a block of text in place of the usual log on page

i restored my site from the nightly backup and it came back OK

before i try this again is there any known help on this ?

It will only require to enter the database info if there is no config file present. Why that might be we cannot answer without more information.

Please provide full info like the ZP version, upgrade or not etc. Some guidelines what info we need to be able to help (exclude the ticket stuff): http://www.zenphoto.org/news/general-contributor-guidelines#reporting-bugs

this is my update notice:
The following script updates are available:

ZenPhoto 1.4.5.8:
http://napfn.com/zen

To upgrade these scripts go to your Control Panel -> Softaculous -> Installations.
There you will be able to update the scripts.

From Softaculous Cron Jobs (169.207.66.16)

currently on version 1.4.5.1

Q: do I need to contact Softaculous about this ?
the update tonite also failed, displaying only a block of text

i had to do a total website restore using CoreComm checkpoint to recover: the app restore point didn't work.

Presuming you followed those links CP to do the upgrade then yes, you will need to contact Softaculous as it was their software that applied the update. We have no means to know what was done nor to address any problems with their process.

BTW, two weeks ago there was no Zenphoto 1.4.5.8, so I presume this is a new issue?