Thanks for the pointers Dirk.
This was a clean install - I have been updating a cvs version since 1.4.1b2 was released - latest update today shows config 1.4.1RC1. I have checked the 2 files (system/lib-database.php and system/databases/mysql.class.php) and they were correct dates but I overwrote them again by FTP from my TortoiseCVS download folder and result is same. I am 99% sure all files are updated to latest cvs.
There had been no updates for several days when the problem arose and I had been actively working on the site without problem.
Would there be some database structure changes in this period since the install? If so, can I run an update or manually update?
I am not having any problems with a similar setup running under xampp local server.
There is nothing in the error log - the last entry is below (can't remember what this error was about)
Wed 06 Dec 2006 14:37:28 PGT - 1064: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '' at line 1. SQL in question: SELECT STRAIGHT_JOIN s.*, UNIX_TIMESTAMP(s.date) AS day, u.username, u.fullname, u.photo, t.topic, t.imageurl FROM gl_stories AS s, gl_users AS u, gl_topics AS t WHERE (s.uid = u.uid) AND (s.tid = t.tid) AND (date <= NOW()) AND (draft_flag = 0) AND frontpage = 1 ORDER BY featured DESC, date DESC LIMIT 0,
Thanks
Laurie