-rw-r—r—corresponds to 644. That should usually be sufficient. Are you running mod_security, by any chance?

When this is resolved, once the templates are added to the template group, how do I know when I go to preview the work, the original site will not be overwritten?

EE does not overwrite any files. In fact, once it has been installed it does not create any physical files at all (except for uploaded images and such) unless you save your templates as files. Even then they are stored in a safe place.

I need to be sure the old site stays running while working on the new site.

That can certainly be done. If you don’t want to install EE in a sub-directory I’d suggest to rename index.php to something else and work with that during development.

Thanks for answering my question regarding the templates.

But back to the original problem. What is mod_security?

mod_security is a module on your web server that is meant to suppress suspicious activity and prevent certain actions. It has been known to cause issues (to put it mildly) unless properly configured. Please ask your host about it, they would know.

I’ve sent your feedback to the webhost. Hopefully, they will respond soon.

Thanks, do let us know.

This the feedback I got from the webhost this morning:

“OK, had always been set up correctly.”

I don’t know what that means, but it sounds like they don’t see a problem with mod_security on their end. This really needs to get resolved. This CMS was expected to be up and running weeks ago.

gradschool - 23 June 2010 01:44 PM

I don’t know what that means

Neither do I, to be honest. Does that mean that they are using mod_security? If so, please ask them to disable it for the time being. It’s a very possible source of the issue I would like to rule out first.

This is the most recent feedback from the webhost:

“You asked if we had it configured correctly and we do. I have turned it off for your site but we will not be able to leave it off. Correctly written php code should not be triggering the mod_securtiy filtering rules.”

Please be sure that code is written properly on your end.

UPDATE:

Just checked in to the CP after mod_security has been turned off to see what I got, and this is it:

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Apache Server at www.gradschool.umd.edu Port 80

gradschool - 23 June 2010 07:44 PM

Correctly written php code should not be triggering the mod_securtiy filtering rules.”

That is a very bold statement, to be sure. Filtering rules, in particular, can and do vary from server to server; there is no way for EE to anticipate what particular set of rules is in force at yours. It is my experience that mod_security requires constant tweaking and configuring. If your code is secure there is nothing to be gained from using it; we usually recommend to turn it off.

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

A 500 error? This is a problem with your server configuration. A look at the server’s error logs should be able to tell us more.

I am sorry you are having these issues. You really seem to have a somewhat challenging server environment on your hands.

Ingmar Greil - 23 June 2010 08:32 PM

A 500 error? This is a problem with your server configuration. A look at the server’s error logs should be able to tell us more.

Is this secure? Can I request this from the webhost, and pass the information to you?

Ingmar Greil - 23 June 2010 08:32 PM

I am sorry you are having these issues. You really seem to have a somewhat challenging server environment on your hands.

I agree. Unfortunately, this is with a university so I do not have any control over their hosting.

All your comments will be forwarded to the webhost including a request to see server error logs.

gradschool - 24 June 2010 11:42 AM

Is this secure? Can I request this from the webhost, and pass the information to you?

Yes, this should not be particularly security sensitive, but if you prefer you can send me the log extract via email.

The webhost did some research in the system files, and found this:

“OK, I looked at the error code that the EE package is generating

The system does not appear to be installed.

And that from

So I added some echo statements to show what

System path is set to:

/afs/.glue.umd.edu/department/oit/eis/webhosting/gradschool/htdocs/system/

And what it thinks the config file is

/afs/.glue.umd.edu/department/oit/eis/webhosting/gradschool/htdocs/system/config.php

And I noticed that the config file is a 0 size file with no content and I think that is your issue. I could be wrong but you would think a config file would have data about the set up of your system in it.

I do not think this has anything to do with how our php is configured.”

So I tried the Installation Wizard again, and got the message on Pg. 5:

Existing Installation Detected, Empty config.php File

ExpressionEngine appears to be installed to your database, but your configuration file is empty. Continuing with this installation will destroy any information currently in your database. Are you sure you wish to perform a new installation?

I chose “Do NOT install, fix configuration”, and got this message on Pg. 6:

Existing Installation Detected, Empty config.php File

Your configuration file is empty, or incomplete, but ExpressionEngine tables exist in your database from an existing installation. It may be that you inadvertently overwrote your config.php file when uploading files to your server intending to perform an update.

If you intended to update your site, you will need to restore your config.php file. If you do not have a backup, check to see if your config_bak.php file is also empty. If it did not get overwritten as well, then you can use the contents of that file to restore your config.php file.

After restoring your config.php file, please follow the update instructions carefully.

So what should I do? Restore the config.php file, and follow the update instructions? Both config.php and config_bak.php files are blank.

It’s normal for config.php (and database.php) to start off blank. Those are what the installer populates when you provide it with the information it asks for.

I would delete the EE database and create a new one, also ensuring config.php is empty, and try running the installer again so that it performs a fresh install.

Had to give a few days for the webhost to delete the old database and replace it with a new one. Once that was done, I tried the wizard, and it worked! I was able to successfully log in, and now we’re on the control panel. I’m familiar with EE’s CP, so if there any non-cp-related issues, I know where to go. Thank you for you assistance with this matter. You may now close this thread.

I am very glad to see it turned out to be a minor hosting issue after all, and you were able to resolve it! Please don’t hesitate to post again as needed in case anything else comes up.