What's wrong with my cron job time schedule?

Question

I'm trying to setup cron jobs for a website hosted on hostmonster.com. When I use the following it runs perfectly:

* * * * *

But whenever I make changes to these timestamps the script doesn't work.

If I use the following, it will not execute:

30 18 * * *

This automated script inserts data into the database.

Does anyone know why it's not working?

Answer 1

Have you tried a simple test with something like,

10,20,30,40,50,0 * * * * date > /tmp/test-trace.txt

this should give you the 10min timestamps properly.
If it works for one time filter, it will work for any other...

Then, you need to look at how your script works.

Answer 2

Your crontab time (30 18 * * *) should work fine, as shown in the example here http://www.adminschoice.com/docs/crontab.htm. Have you considered there could be a problem with the script your using, does it have the right permissions?

Answer 3

If your cron executed if a wrong time, try restart your crontab!

$ service crond restart