catalog and admin are all completely blank - randomly

[kgspottery]

Anyone have any idea why my site is gone?

 

Last night I re-loaded osCommerce onto the server. I changed only four files: header, footer, right column and left column.

 

I checked the site numerous times after making these changes, and it looked fine. So I went to bed.

 

This morning I turned on the computer to find ... nothing. /catalog shows a completely blank page, nothing in the source box. /catalog/admin shows the same thing: Completely blank page. It does ask me for a password, but then just gives me a white screen with no source code.

 

What in the world?

 

 

(I posted this question at the bottom of another unrelated thread I started, but wanted to put it in the topic title of a new one; hope that's okay.)

[kgspottery]

And it isn't just me having the problem ...

 

http://www.oscommerce.com/community/bugs,3...abase+(General)

[♥Vger]

I checked the site numerous times after making these changes, and it looked fine. So I went to bed.

 

It probably looked fine because you were looking at cached versions (on your computer) of the pages you were viewing. By the time you got up again the cache had expired and you were seeing the site as it has become after the changes you made.

 

That 'Bug Report' you can ignore. Most Bug Reports are made by people who have made mistakes and don't know what they did - and didn't backup the changed files, and can't even remember which files they did change.

 

There are many possible causes for what has happened. Here are just a few:

 

1. Files were uploaded using an unstable FTP programme - like Dreamweaver or Cute FTP. Try uploading the files again with a good FTP programme like FileZilla or WS FTP Home.

 

2. Make sure that php files are uploaded in ASCII mode and not Binary mode.

 

3. If your website has FrontPage extensions installed then get them uninstalled - they can seriously mess up your website.

 

4. Make sure that you did not upload the includes/languages/english/index.php file to the root of your domain - overwriting the index.php file that should be there (both 'catalog' and 'admin').

 

5. Check with your web hosting company to make sure that they did not apply any 'upgrades' during the night without telling you. These could affect how your site works, and hosting company unannounced 'upgrades' cause many problems for people with osC websites.

 

That's enough to be going on with.

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

I did a shift-reload before bed, so I don't think the caching thing is the case as far as what I was seeing last night? Thanks for the info on Bug Report, I thought maybe we were all just making the same mistakes.

 

And on your suggestions...

 

1. I use WS_FTP95 LE

 

2. You caught me! I was using Binary mode. However, I uploaded the edited files just now in ASCII mode, cleared cache and reloaded. Still nothing.

 

Then I uploaded the backup files (untouched by me) in ASCII mode, cleared cache and reloaded. Still nothing.

 

3. No Front Page. I used only PHP Designer 2005 to edit those files.

 

4. I did not edit or upload any index.php files last night. Only column_left.php, column_right.php, configure.php, header.php, and footer.php.

 

5. Talked to the hosting company - no upgrades made.

 

I obviously downloaded the original files from the server using WS_FTP, Binary mode (which are the files I use as backup). So did that change the files in such a way that uploading them using ASCII mode really means nothing, if they were downloaded in the wrong mode?

 

I just don't get how I edited them, uploaded them, they worked. Then they disappeared.

 

I very much appreciate you answering all of my questions, Vger. So many lay people are told how simple this software is, and that we should use it. Then we get into it and find ourselves over our heads. You must get a lot of unknowledgeable folks like me hanging around here, asking questions about code far beyond our reach. Thank you so much for your patient replies.

 

- Kristin

[♥Vger]

Either post the link to your site here, or if you're not happy with doing that then send it to me via PM.

 

By the way - you shouldn't be using WS FTP LE - as it uses a very old and outdated version of the winsoc connection feature. In fact I'm surprised you could connect at all.

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

Oh! Well, crap. I'll download another FTP program (from your suggestions) immediately, and am happy to start from scratch again.

 

Here's the site: http://www.rescuepad.com/catalog/

 

Off I go now to get a real FTP program!

[♥Vger]

Just a thought! When you uploaded those files, and when you did a reinstall, did you also upload any .htaccess files? I'd suggest deleting any .htaccess files and see if that helps.

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

The way I password-protected the catalog/admin/ directory was via Web Password Administration, loaded onto the server.

 

I did experience an error when setting the password yesterday. It told me "System Error

I was unable to create /var/www/html/catalog/admin/.htaccess for writing! " when I attempted to set the password. I talked to my hosting company about this yesterday. They said they didn't know why there was an error, because the password protection was in effect.

 

It is in effect, but the Web Password Administration software does not recognize it. Meaning, when I go to the /wpm page, it should list all of the pages/directories that are password-protected. But it does not list the admin/ directory there at all. Even though you cannot get in without a password.

 

Well, you needed a password. Not anymore. I just deleted the .htaccess file from the catalog/admin directory, via WS_FTP Home.

 

Although everything is still blank.

[♥Vger]

We're making a little bit of progress, because at least now (when I try to go to /admin) the page does show some html coding. But if you go to catalog/ you see absolutely nothing in the View Source code.

 

Check in the catalog folder for a .htaccess file and if you see one then delete it also.

 

Finally, check in both of the includes/local/ folders to see if there are any alternative configure.php files in those folders. If you find any then either delete them or rename them.

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

Wow, are you doing a secret maneuver to see the coding in the admin page? Besides right click-view page source? I'm using FireFox, don't see anything at all there.

 

There was an .htaccess file in the catalog/ directory; I deleted it about 15 minutes before you asked. I also just deleted another .htaccess file in the catalog/includes directory. There is an .htaccess file in catalog/pub and another in catalog/download, should I delete those as well?

 

There are only two files in the catalog/includes/local folder: .cvsignore and a Binary README file. There are no folders beneath catalog/includes/local/

 

Whatever has gone wrong, it's going to be some stupid thing I did, along the lines of something simple like setting permissions wrong. I just know it. I'm waiting to feel foolish here. Any minute now it's going to hit me ...

[♥Vger]

Permissions on folders need to be 755, while permissions on files need to be 644 (except for the configure.php files which are either 644, 444 or 400 - depending on the server).

 

No secret manouvre, just right-click using IE 6.

 

Vger

[♥Vger]

FTP to your website and check the file size of your index.php file. It should be around 18Kb.

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

Crud. Then my permission are all wrong!

 

I did what the Knowledge Base told me to do:

 

"Post-Installation

 

After installing osCommerce follow these steps for post-installation:

 

1. Rename the catalog/install folder or delete it.

2. Reset the permissions on catalog/includes/configure.php to 644 (if you are still getting the warning message at the top of the page after setting this configure.php files to 644 then set the catalog/includes/configure.php file to 444 which is read only - this happens on some servers that have been updated for security reasons).

3. Set the permissions on catalog/images directory to 777

4. Set the permissions on admin/images/graphs directory to 777

5. Create the directory admin/backups and set the permissions to 777 (this is the folder to store the database backup of your store in the "Tools" section of the store admin).

 

The store admin directory on your server needs to be password protected using .htaccess. Most of the time the server you are hosting your store on has the ability to password protect directories through the server administration area so check with your host."

[kgspottery]

FTP to your website and check the file size of your index.php file. It should be around 18Kb.

 

Vger

It's 19KB - and hasn't been modified since 6/11/2003?

[♥Vger]

Yes, some servers (because they are not set up correctly) do require permissions of 777 on folders. Unfortunately this is 'full permissions' and a security risk. So if your folders do need permissions of 777 then you should rethink hosting.

 

Vger

[♥Vger]

Sorry - have run out of ideas - except to check individual files and make sure that all root level files have a closing php tag e.g. ?>

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

Did and done ... and have officially thrown in the towel!

 

Uninstalled, reinstalled. Starting from scratch. Let's see if I can bring the whole thing to blank Three Times in 24 hours!

 

My version of osCommerce, supplied by my hosting company, is not the latest one, I think. The Documentation provides screenshots of admin panels that do not look like mine at all - and I still have John Doe as a customer, which it looks like is not the case in the new software, I think? Anyhow, I wonder if somehow something isn't jiving with the osCommerce software and the other applications I had to install at the same time.

 

Oh well. Back to square one.

 

Thank you so, so much for your help this morning/afternoon/yesterday. I've learned a lot - and love my new WS FTP Home software!

[kgspottery]

I'm back.

 

I reloaded osCommerce. I changed the header, footer, some of the stylesheet attributes. All was well. The catalog is there. Sigh of relief.

 

In two hours I have shift-reloaded dozens of times, going back and forth from the PHP editor to WS_FTP, to the catalog, to the admin, back and forth and back and forth and ...

 

Suddenly the admin directory is white again. Just gone, gone, gone. I haven't touched that folder via WS_FTP once since I re-loaded the software.

 

Catalog is still here for now; I would like to back it up via the admin page in case it goes away again, but I can't get into admin!

 

How could I have possibly done this by simply playing around with the stylesheet file? It's the last file I messed with since my last shift-reload on the admin directory.

 

http://www.rescuepad.com/catalog/

[kgspottery]

I spoke too soon. Now the catalog is gone, as well.

 

What in the world. I think the server is inhabited by gremlins.

[♥Vger]

I think the server is inhabited by gremlins.

 

Or being maintained by idiots. This latter is far more likely.

 

After all this I can only recommend that you move hosts. Who needs all this hassle.

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

Ha! It's WestHost, and I've actually had really good support from them in the past. (Of course, I don't know what I'm doing, though.) I've been doing a live chat with one of the guys there for a few hours now. He just un-installed and re-installed osC again ...

 

Apparently he disabled PHP logging and is now enabling again.

 

So now I again have the catalog and admin back. We'll see how long this lasts. I'm crossing my fingers.

[kgspottery]

I am now updating this thread just to hopefully complete it, I guess. For anyone else who may encounter this problem and finds this thread through a search. (I know from my searching through this site, I really like when I see the answer spelled out right there in the thread.)

 

Because the saga is still continuing. Howard my WestHost fella went home for the day, so I played with the cart. Just as a user. I registered, I bought something, had it shipped to me, yada yada. I just played around with the one product on the store. All worked perfectly. I got my order e-mail, etc.

 

Then I went to the other room, on the other computer, and tried to look at the catalog. It is NOT there. www.rescuepad.com/catalog is a blank page on that computer. As is catalog/admin. But here it is, right in front of me on this one. I just cleared my cache and reloaded. It's still here.

 

So weird.

[♥Vger]

It's not really a problem with the computers or their cache, it's a problem with the server - and perhaps with the server cache. It's the server problems, combined with different caches on your computers, that are causing you to see different results. I just looked at your site in IE6 and it's gone again. Same result with Mac and the Safari browser.

 

When working on sites you need to make sure that your browser is set to 'Always look for the newest version of pages you visit'.

 

Vger

[kgspottery]

Thanks for making me feel better, Vger. It's the server, not me! For once in my life! (I am queen of dumb mistakes.)

 

Anyhow, I found a blogger online (http://blog.gilluminate.com/?b=20050318122818) who said to do the following to turn off the cache in Firefox: go to about:config and change the setting browser.cache.disk.enable to false, and then set my cache to zero. Which I did. Hopefully that does it.

 

Although of course the catalog and admin are still here but not on the other computer, but oh well. I'll worry about this in the morning!

[AlanR]

Anyhow, I found a blogger online (http://blog.gilluminate.com/?b=20050318122818) who said to do the following to turn off the cache in Firefox: go to about:config and change the setting browser.cache.disk.enable to false, and then set my cache to zero. Which I did. Hopefully that does it.

Why would you want to do that? Everytime you visit a page (here for example) you'll need to download all the images each time. If you want to empty the cache just go to Tools -> Clear Private Data and select only Cache.