I’m doing work for a client and they tried uploading a large MP3 file of about 20Mbytes. I finally had to use ftp to get the file up and add the link to an entry. As other files have not been a problem in uploading I suspect that the size of the file, the type of the file, or a timeout is the issue.

From php_info:

max_execution_time 30/30
memory_limit 16M/16M
post_max_size 8M/8M
upload_max_filesize 32M/32M
upload_tmp_dir no value/no value
Timeouts   Connection: 300 - Keep-Alive: 15

For the non-technical people at this organization I would prefer them to be able to use EE for uploads instead of resorting to ftp so if you have any ideas on what might cause this problem I would appreciate it.

Thanks, Bob.

Also, when using the EE upload system, the progress bar goes nowhere, the cursor just spins, all of this for about a minute or so and then there is a blank page with the file upload page header. It also sits and says “sending request to the server”. It’s as if the proper response never comes back from the web server to actually start the file upload.

R.K.Foster, do you have error reporting turned on? Please see if any errors are occurring when attempting to upload the file.

CP Home ›  Admin ›  System Preferences ›  Output and Debugging Preferences
PHP/SQL error messages shown only to Super Admins

No errors show in the small browser window during the upload. Would they be logged elsewhere?

You’d also need to make a change to the index.php file found in your /system directory:

Change system/index.php file to turn on error reporting - to debug problems if any.
change line from
“error_reporting(0);”
-to-
“error_reporting(E_ALL);”

I made this change to the index.php file but still no errors listed. Just a blank upload window with the EE version on the blue background for the header. Do I need to log out of EE and then back in now that I made the change to the index.php file?

It wouldn’t hurt to log out.. but we’re just basically checking to see if something other than insufficient memory is causing the problem.

The post_max_size of 8M supersedes the upload_max_filesize of 32M. So you are limited to uploads smaller than 8 MB with that configuration.

Seeing as it is Friday evening here on the East coast it may not be until Monday that I hear back on this from the system administrator. Thanks for all of your help.

Oh, one more thing, is there any problem or security issue if I leave the system index.php file with the “error_reporting(E_ALL);” setting? I mean the control panel setting will insure that only system admins will see errors, even with the above file?

Yes, it’ll be OK.

Most hosts allow an htaccess file to override those. I have mine and some clients set at 200MB.

For errors, check your PHP Info (Admin > Utilities > PHP Info) for the display_errors directive.  It must be set to “Yes” for ExpressionEngine’s error reporting settings to have any effect.  Anytime you get blank pages, you want to check for that, as PHP’s errors are extremely helpful in pointing directly at the source of a problem so it can be corrected.  Sue was trying to lead you in that direction as it will be invaluable to you in the future when coming across problems.

The SysAdmin for the server increased post_max_size to 32M and that solved the problem. Also the display_errors is set to ON. I tend to stay away from htaccess files whenever possible but thanks for the tip on that.

Thanks for everyones’ help.

Excellent, Bob. Glad to hear that setting worked for you. Don’t hesitate to post again if needed.