diff --git a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php
index 5531d45..626073c 100644
--- a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php
+++ b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php
@@ -305,15 +305,19 @@ class BackupEngine
 			$this->log('FATAL: ' . $e->getMessage());
 
 			$update = (object) [
-				'id'          => $recordId,
-				'status'      => 'fail',
-				'description' => $description ?: '',
-				'backup_type' => $profile->backup_type ?? 'full',
-				'origin'      => $origin,
-				'archivename' => $archiveName,
-				'backupstart' => $now ?? date('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
-				'backupend'   => date('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
-				'log'         => implode("\n", $this->log),
+				'id'              => $recordId,
+				'status'          => 'fail',
+				'description'     => $description ?: '',
+				'backup_type'     => $profile->backup_type ?? 'full',
+				'origin'          => $origin,
+				'archivename'     => $archiveName,
+				'backupstart'     => $now ?? date('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
+				'backupend'       => date('Y-m-d H:i:s'),
+				'total_size'      => 0,
+				'files_count'     => 0,
+				'tables_count'    => 0,
+				'remote_filename' => '',
+				'log'             => implode("\n", $this->log),
 			];
 
 			$db->updateObject('#__mokosuitebackup_records', $update, 'id');
@@ -487,6 +491,7 @@ class BackupEngine
 			$name = $zip->getNameIndex($i);
 
 			if ($name === false) {
+				$this->log('WARNING: Could not read file at index ' . $i . ' during encryption — file may remain unencrypted');
 				continue;
 			}
 
diff --git a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/NotificationSender.php b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/NotificationSender.php
index 26467af..a5631fd 100644
--- a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/NotificationSender.php
+++ b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/NotificationSender.php
@@ -169,6 +169,12 @@ class NotificationSender
 			return false;
 		}
 
+		if (!function_exists('curl_init')) {
+			error_log('MokoSuiteBackup: ntfy notifications require ext-curl');
+
+			return false;
+		}
+
 		try {
 			$config   = Factory::getApplication()->getConfig();
 			$siteName = $config->get('sitename', 'Joomla Site');
@@ -219,7 +225,7 @@ class NotificationSender
 			}
 
 			if ($httpCode < 200 || $httpCode >= 300) {
-				error_log('MokoSuiteBackup: ntfy returned HTTP ' . $httpCode . ': ' . $response);
+				error_log('MokoSuiteBackup: ntfy returned HTTP ' . $httpCode . ': ' . substr((string) $response, 0, 200));
 				return false;
 			}
 
diff --git a/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php b/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php
index 0844548..e3d00c8 100644
--- a/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php
+++ b/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php
@@ -138,6 +138,15 @@ final class MokoSuiteBackup extends CMSPlugin implements SubscriberInterface
 	 * A profile value of 0 means "use the global default".
 	 */
 	private function cleanupOldBackups(): void
+	{
+		try {
+			$this->doCleanup();
+		} catch (\Throwable $e) {
+			error_log('MokoSuiteBackup: cleanupOldBackups() failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
+		}
+	}
+
+	private function doCleanup(): void
 	{
 		$db              = Factory::getDbo();
 		$globalMaxAge    = (int) ComponentHelper::getParams('com_mokosuitebackup')->get('max_age_days', 30);
@@ -219,10 +228,11 @@ final class MokoSuiteBackup extends CMSPlugin implements SubscriberInterface
 	{
 		if (!empty($record->absolute_path) && is_file($record->absolute_path)) {
 			if (!@unlink($record->absolute_path)) {
-				return; // Don't delete DB record if file can't be removed
+				error_log('MokoSuiteBackup: Could not delete backup file (id=' . $record->id . '): ' . $record->absolute_path);
+
+				return;
 			}
 
-			// Also remove the log file if it exists alongside the archive
 			$logPath = preg_replace('/\.(zip|tar\.gz)$/i', '.log', $record->absolute_path);
 
 			if (is_file($logPath)) {
@@ -230,12 +240,16 @@ final class MokoSuiteBackup extends CMSPlugin implements SubscriberInterface
 			}
 		}
 
-		$db->setQuery(
-			$db->getQuery(true)
-				->delete($db->quoteName('#__mokosuitebackup_records'))
-				->where($db->quoteName('id') . ' = ' . (int) $record->id)
-		);
-		$db->execute();
+		try {
+			$db->setQuery(
+				$db->getQuery(true)
+					->delete($db->quoteName('#__mokosuitebackup_records'))
+					->where($db->quoteName('id') . ' = ' . (int) $record->id)
+			);
+			$db->execute();
+		} catch (\Exception $e) {
+			error_log('MokoSuiteBackup: Could not delete backup record ' . $record->id . ': ' . $e->getMessage());
+		}
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -291,7 +305,7 @@ final class MokoSuiteBackup extends CMSPlugin implements SubscriberInterface
 					'warning'
 				);
 			}
-		} catch (\Exception $e) {
+		} catch (\Throwable $e) {
 			error_log('MokoSuiteBackup: ' . $description . ' failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
 			Factory::getApplication()->enqueueMessage(
 				'MokoSuiteBackup: ' . $description . ' failed — ' . $e->getMessage(),