Geeklog Forums

Hi there,
I hope somebody can assist me, with this.
I have a pre-existing html web site that I do not wish to migrate to geeklog, at this time. I just want geeklog to be installed in a subdirectory "mystlog".
I had an old working installation of geeklog in a subdirectory and removed the entire thing (including database) because I wanted to change a few things and start fresh. This is a commercial UNIX/apache system, using PHP 4.3.4, and MySQL 4.0.14.
I have also removed all the previous geeklog cookies from my personal system (I run xp pro).

I just installed geeklog-1.3.9sr1 into a new subfolder of my domain, unpacking it using telnet & tar. The index is located at "http://mydomain.com/mystlog/index.php
I changed the paths to reflect the subfolder and have the /backups/language/logs/plugins/sql/system in my username directory (/usr/home/username/mystlog).

my config paths were changed prior to installation and are as follows:

$_DB_table_prefix = 'ml_'; // e.g. 'gl_'

$_CONF['path'] = '/usr/home/username/mystlog/'; // should end in a slash

$_CONF['path_html'] = '/usr/www/users/username/mystlog/';

$_CONF['site_url'] = 'http://www.mydomain.com/mystlog';


In lib-common.php I have:
require_once( '/usr/home/username/mystlog/config.php' );

cookie names and paths were changed in config.php after the install. (I have also tried reverting back to original, just in case...)

$_CONF['cookie_session'] = 'ml_session';
$_CONF['cookie_name'] = 'mystlog';
$_CONF['cookie_password'] = 'password';
$_CONF['cookie_theme'] = 'theme';
$_CONF['cookie_language'] = 'language';
$_CONF['cookie_lastvisit'] = 'LastVisit';
$_CONF['cookie_lastvisittemp'] = 'LastVisitTemp';

$_CONF['cookie_ip'] = 1;
$_CONF['default_perm_cookie_timeout'] = 28800;
$_CONF['session_cookie_timeout'] = 7200;
$_CONF['cookie_path'] = '/';
$_CONF['cookiedomain'] = '.mydomain.com'; // e.g. '.example.com'
$_CONF['cookiesecure'] = 0;


By the way, "username" listed above, is just a sub for my true server username.

I have a couple of questions that I could not seem to find answers for in the faq or here. They are similar, but different. No flames please. If the answer is already here, just point....

When installing geeklog, isn't there a "success" screen upon completion? All I saw was a blank screen.
After checking the faqs, I found some of the paths were incorrect and finally got that straightened out. Doing the install check, I had to set all permissions to 777, before I could get the install check to clear, even though it said I only needed 775. UNIX shows me as owner of the geeklog files, so I am a little confused.

The index page displays ok. I am now getting a cookie failure on login to admin. I am getting cookie requests, but then it fails, after 2 (last visit and lastvisisttemp) and I get error messages from users.php. I know, I know, see the faq, look for white space....

The funny thing is they ALL refer to the very same line (57) in users.php that has the // echo COM_debug($HTTP_POST_VARS);

After going through all the faq, replacing the config and lib-common and removing all the extra white spaces, I still get the same cookie errors:

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/www/users/username/mystlog/users.php:57) in /usr/home/username/mystlog/system/lib-sessions.php on line 314

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/www/users/username/mystlog/users.php:57) in /usr/www/users/username/mystlog/users.php on line 866

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/www/users/username/mystlog/users.php:57) in /usr/www/users/username/mystlog/users.php on line 869

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/www/users/username/mystlog/users.php:57) in /usr/www/users/username/mystlog/users.php on line 896

If I comment out the echo line, all I get is a blank screen /mystlog/users.php. When I go back to mystlog/ I get the admin online, but I am not usually in the admins screen.

However, yesterday afternoon, I WAS in the admin's screen, so it is not ALWAYS failing.

I can add a new user and receive the new user email, but have the same blank screen appear upon entering the password to login.

I have replaced config.php and lib-common, and still cannot find an error. After spending 2 days, I thought I would try asking here. It has to be a mistake in my config file, somewhere, no?

My first installation of geeklog took me about 30 minutes. This has taken 2 days and I am at a loss and am thinking maybe I should start over? Maybe, even reinstalling the old geeklog, if I can't find the error. I am happy to start again, if somebody can tell me how to do it, without spending an hour deleting file after file....

If you are SURE that this is some kind of error to do with white space, can I ask you this. Is it ok to reinstall the entire geeklog 1.3.9sr1 over this installation, without deleting all the previous files? Or is there a way to delete the files, that doesn't take an hour of mouseclicking? I do prefer clean, if possible....

Any ideas anyone?
TIA!

Erin

p.s. one more thing. I just found that the blank screen experience (not refreshing to geeklog main page) was due to my security settings prohibiting "metarefresh" on my browser ie6, go figure.

Yes, install/success.php


The files should be owned by the user the webserver is running under. Although that may be the same user account that you're using.

And some server setups just require the 777 ....


Line 57 in users.php is indeed very strange. Not sure how that could have happened - unless the file is corrupted. Have you tried replacing it with a fresh copy?

bye, Dirk

Hi Dirk,
Thanks, for understanding! I have seen how many people are asking the same question, before reading the faq or install docs. Somehow, mine just did not seem to fit the profile.

I have tried replacing config.php, lib-common.php, users.php, but I still get these errors. At one point, I think I got it down to 2 errors on line 57, but then there was a new error on a different file....

My instincts say, begin again.... from the beginning...
So, now, I guess my question comes down to reinstalling, as something is probably corrupted, somewhere. I would like to download a new tar, in case that was somehow messed up.
I am not so familliar with UNIX and am not sure if I can use a command to simply delete all the folders and subfolders (my guess is no).
Do I have to delete everything, file by file, to begin again, or can I proceed as if all the directories are empty, unpack the new tarball, and just set up a new mysql database before installing the new log?
I am just at a loss and hate the idea of mouseclicking for eons.

Also, Is there anything special I should know about trying to install in a subfolder, other than the paths in config.php being different? Are there any other files that would need altering?

Thanks, again, for your assistance!

Peace,
Erin

Well, you could simply copy the files over the existing ones, but that would only add another level of uncertainty to the whole thing. So if you're going that route, I'd suggest removing the old files first.

If you have access to the command line, removing entire directories, including their content, is done with the rm command and the -r flag, e.g. rm -r geeklog. Or, if you only have ftp access, see if your ftp client has an option for recursive deletes.

There's nothing special about installing Geeklog in a subdirectory. As the installation instructions try to explain, Geeklog consists of two parts (the files inside and outside of public_html) and those can easily be separated, as long as you set $_CONF['path'] and $_CONF['path_html'] correctly.

Your original setup looked fine, btw, and I don't think that was cause of the problems.

bye, Dirk

Thanks, again
I knew there had to be a way to delete all those files in one move, but I just could not find the command. Do you know what it is like to have to remove one file at a time?
I have telnet and ftp with command line, so I will start fresh.
I also found that my host has a geeklog installer..... Since they (Pair) have this available, I might as well use it. It could be something quirky on their end, that was causing the problem and why they have the installer...

Anyway, I will try again and post back, after the weekend. Time to feed the headache a beer.
Thanks, again!

Peace,
Erin

It is up and running, now!
I used the "Pair" installer and of course, had to make some adjustments, after, since I was not installing to the public_html folder, but all is well now and it works GREAT!!!!

I think I found the error and it was really, really, dumb, on my part. I am only going to say it, here, to help some poor soul who comes across the same problem.

I am running xp pro now, and at the time I installed Geeklog 1.3.6 I was running Win98.

I use WSFTP to move the files from one folder to another. Since moving to xp, I did not update the "extension" feature on WS_FTP and it probably moved some of the files in Binary, as it did not recognize the extensions. I didn't even think about the fact I had it on "auto" at the time I moved everything. That is my best guess, as to why some file may have been corrupted.

Also, WS_FTP seems to place a white space at the end of some of the files, when it moves them over to a new directory.....At least, I found several of them, after the move, even using the proper file format.

Still, it only took about 20 minutes, so I am happy. However, I just found out that my installation is 1.3.7sr1, not the newest. Is this a problem and do I need to upgrade?

Thanks, again!

Peace,
Erin

Good to hear you figured it out.


Versions older than 1.3.7sr5 have security issues, so you should at the very least upgrade to 1.3.7sr5 plus the comment fix linked from this story. This should be a relatively painless upgrade, as you'll only need to replace a few files (but make sure to apply the upgrades in their proper order).

bye, Dirk

Thanks, for all your help and patience, Dirk!
I finally just started fresh with the 1.3.9sr1 and all is wonderful in geekland. Got the new forum plugin working, too.
You guys made a fine product and what great support!
Have a great week, and thanks, again.

Peace,
Erin