White Screen of Death

[kitz]

Im hoping that someone can take pity on me.  I think I may have done something rather stupid.
My hosts recently moved me to a new server and its been a complete nightmare. I supposedly paid for a premium support account, more than I could really afford, but I was backed into a corner in that they were shutting down the old server after they had been taken over by one of the large Web hosts.    They done nothing much to help, so many things need fixing (not jut the SMF forum) and Ive been quietly fixing what I can.   The idea of me paying for premium support was Ive recently been diagnosed with a debilitating nuero disease and Ive spent many weeks in hospital.  I really didnt feel well enough to handle the migration which is why they should have done it all.  Im literally spending every minute I can trying to get things working again.  I have all sorts of things wrong including errors which I assume is because the forum is now Latin rather than utf8 

So anyhow, last night I decided I was going to tackle the forum again and makesure the mods were all up to date and try and get rid of tapatalk which wouldnt uninstall.

I took a backup, uninstalled a couple of small mods, then I noticed Stop Spammer was an old version (2.3.9a).  I tried to install v2.4 but it said it wasnt compatible.  So I uninstalled Stop Spammer and instead went to install Stop Forum Spam.

Now Im not sure what happened here, this new server has horrid traffic spikes at about 5am.  I didnt realise the time and I think things may have been running slow when I tried to install Stop Forum Spam.
I briefly saw something that sad SFS had been installed and then it tried to direct me to another page and everything went white.

Stupid me because yes I have a backup, but not between each mod that I uninstalled/installed.
Ive tried running repair settings which doesnt do anything. 

SMF 2.0.19
Things I think I did since the backup
Uninstall Block Proxy VPN on registation,
Uninstall Auto twitter Embed
Removed Last edit mod
Uninstalled Stop Spammer where I had to make some manual edits to ManageRegistration.php I have a backup of that file I edited.
The site died after installing Stop Forum Spam.
Repairsettings doesnt do anything.
The forum was in maintenance mode.

Yes I know I really need to upgrade to 2.1, but I just didnt feel well enough to sort out having to make a new skin that ingrates with the main site and sorr the tapatalk problem which I never got to doing.
I'm just totally at my wits end with the site .. its about 20yrs of help and was really very busy at one time before FTTP.  Right now I feel its all gone, and all because of the server move with what has been appalling support who basically do nothing and tickets remain unanswered for days. I am so g*****n slow too as typing is painfully slow through a morphine haze.

I fear I may be asking for a miracle, either that or perhaps someone can point a magic wand as to what to do next.  Yeah Im am idiot for not taking a backup after doing the SFS uninstall.  I'm just so overwhelmed at everything I need to do.

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

If you trust the backup you have, the easiest way to continue without losing anything important would probably be to revert back to it first.

Then, if you have errors or issues stemming from the migration done, you should look at sorting them out first thing, before doing further customization / mod changes.

[kitz]

Sorry I thought I mentioned why I was making changes to the mods first.  A couple wernt the most recent and I had tapatalk which wouldnt install.  I was trying to clean up any mods before doing the SMF 2.1 update. 
Unfortunately the mods wouldnt uninstall via the package manager and many needed manual changes to be made.

I didnt think it was a good idea to start the upgrade when I had code from modifications no longer in use.
For example tapatalk would not uninstall nor update needing a few core pages to be edited.   I've never made mnanual changes to any of the core pages before so what makes you guys 5mins, took me hours to find shat I should be changing.

-------
So I have all the forum files and I have a copy of the database as backup. The forum has been in maintenance mode so no posts.   
Can I get away with just transferring the files or will I need to do something with the sql database.    Unfort its too large for me to transfer that by phpmyadmin so no idea how Im going to inport that. :/

[kitz]

I edited index.php to display the errors

Code Select Expand

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected 'array' (T_ARRAY), expecting function (T_FUNCTION) or const (T_CONST) in
 /home/kitzco/public_html/forum/Sources/StopForumSpam.php on line 16
Then I notice in tiny letters there's tag for Stop Forum Spam  which says php 8+.   

I was only moving over to SFS because Stop Spammer v4 wouldnt install for some reason.  I note that it says SMF 2.0.15 - 2.0.18.
Stop Spammer v2.3.9a was a bit quirky on 2.0.19, but it mostly worked.  I was only trying to update it because my admin panel was showing a later version 2.4 available. 

[Steve]

If you trust the backup you have, the easiest way to continue without losing anything important would probably be to revert back to it first.

This.

And this may be an option - Upload a fresh set of files.

Then find another host. Preferably one that will do the move for you reliably. (ICDSoft and CrocWeb are two, amongst others that would be recommended.)

And as a side note, and I know this is the least of your worries considering what you're going through, please refrain from foul language. This is a family friendly forum. If you slip up again, don't worry, I'm not going chide you in any way. I'll just edit your post as I did your first one.

[kitz]

Thank you for the response,  I wasnt sure if I could get away with just uploading the files, or if I would  to import the database..  which I know from when trying to do so at time of migration, the database is 335MB and too large for me to import via phpmyadmin :/  Not quite sure how I will do that yet.

>> Upload a fresh set of files.<<

I would love to do that, things just dont seem right including the collation issue with utf8.  otoh I need to get the forum up and running again asap.



>>  please refrain from foul language <<
I do apologise, I was shocked and couldnt even think what on earth I may have said or what word I had used to cause offence. :/
>> find another host. <<
I will be!  My previous hosts were excellent... until they got bought out by one of the big boys. Then they said they were shutting down 'the legacy servers'.  I felt backed into a corner not feeling well enough to  migrate elsewhere despite them being more than twice the price.. I thought I was buying time. Its been a costly mistake, its not just the forum theres the wiki and a couple more apps :/

[Kindred]

the forum is made from files and database.
you can almost always replace the files with a clean set as long as the database is OK.
The one caveat is that any mods which are installed using hooks may need to be uninstalled or the hooks cleared.

As for your process -- updating a mod before a major upgrade is a complete waste of time.
All mods will be uninstalled when you perform the 2.0.x -> 2.1.x upgrade


Regarding the WSoD --   that's a failure in php.  Check your server error logs to see what's causing it.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Can you restore the 2.0.19 forum?

[vbgamer45]

Also maybe get the backup before SFS mod installed.
Found normally in pakcages/backups
And use those files to restore.

[kitz]

Also maybe get the backup before SFS mod installed.

I saw those earlier and meant to ask if it could be useful.    Its much smaller than the full backup I took.  It obviously doesn't have the unnecessary stuff like attachments etc

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2024-07-15_before_Stop-Forum-Spam_1.tar\2024-07-15_before_Stop-Forum-Spam_1
Can I just upload those files and overwrite?

Can you restore the 2.0.19 forum?

I do have a full backup taken an hour before installing the SFS mod. It was taken after I went into maintenance mode so it has all forum posts up to date.  It takes nearly an hour to download everything, but thats mostly attachments.  Faster broadband doesnt much help with lots of small files   
Forum files and database are quite large

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Database =  335 MB
Files = 1.32 GB of which
Attachments = ~25k files && ~1.2 GB
If there are any changes to the db then it will be from the mods.  As mentioned above, I cant upload (import) the database in phpmyadmin.  Its too large and exceeds the limit.

you can almost always replace the files with a clean set as long as the database is OK.
The one caveat is that any mods which are installed using hooks may need to be uninstalled or the hooks cleared.

As above, I have full backup taken before I deleted a few mods and installed SFS. There is no data from member posts and any changes to the db will be from the mods.  I'm not sure if they have hooks I will list them in the post below. I kept detailed records of what mods and and when and also some of the manual edits I had to make. 

If I do manage to get the forum working again using just the files.  I can try uninstalling  any mods with hooks.

As for your process -- updating a mod before a major upgrade is a complete waste of time.
All mods will be uninstalled when you perform the 2.0.x -> 2.1.x upgrade

I have several mods that wont uninstall or update. If they wont uninstall now, then my concerns were what would happen during the 2.1 update. If it all could have been done with package manager then I really wouldn't have been so concerned.   

The delay was waiting for a day when I could type without tremors and sit at the desk for a longer period. I can't schedule that. I didnt think it was a good idea to go to 2.1 with code from mods still in the core files that wont uninstall. iirc there was a conflict with 2.0.18/2.0.19 for the privacy policy and those of us that had GDPRhelper.  I think its just left any mods that tap into the login in, with code in a different order and or unable to find the required line of code.  Tapatalk was being troublesome too I need to get rid of that, but again it needs manual edits.

[vbgamer45]

I would grab 2024-07-15_before_Stop-Forum-Spam_1.tar\2024-07-15_before_Stop-Forum-Spam_1
And just overwrite the files that is the quickest fix in most cases

[kitz]

Regarding the WSoD --   that's a failure in php.  Check your server error logs to see what's causing it.

See this post here where I posted the error I was getting.
That error supposedly means a compatibility version of PHP.

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Parse error: syntax error, unexpected 'array' (T_ARRAY), expecting function (T_FUNCTION) or const (T_CONST) in
 /home/kitzco/public_html/forum/Sources/StopForumSpam.php on line 16


I'd had to do a manual edit to uninstall Stop Spammer v2.3.9a which was showing in the admin panel a newer version was available. But v2.3.9a wouldnt uninstall or let me upgrade to v2.4 in the package manager.  After successfully manually uninstalling v2.3.9a, the newer version 2.4 still wouldnt install as it turns out not compatible with SMF 2.0.19.  I followed a post in the Stop Spammer mod where someone recommended using Stop Forum Spam instead.

This was the link I followed to Stop Forum Spam. 
I read that it was compatible with SMF 2.0.19 and noted the compatibility issues if using with Stop Spammer.
Anyhow I digress, I followed the link, checked compatibility from that page. SFS briefly said it had successfully installed before directing to the WSoD

Reading through the SFS mod pages, you will see several others also reporting the WSoD after installing the mod.
... and there it is, on a tiny tag on the download page, in tiny letters it says PHP8+.  iirc I have PHP 7.4.x.  Its not really that obvious and its not something that crossed my mind when still on 2.0.19.

btw, that is something else I need to look at; upgrading php but I need to sort the wiki first on php 7.4.x


=============================================================
These are my notes from the edits I made today.

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Uninstalled the following mods so I could either remove completely or a clean update
1. Removed Auto Tweet Embed
2. Removed Block Proxy VPN on reg.
3. Removed Last Edit Mod
4. Uninstalled Stop Spammer.  2.3.9a
   Needed a few manual edits.
   v4 wouldnt install only supported to SMF 2.0.18
5. Install Stop Forum Spam v1.5.5
   Got White Screen of Death
   Was not clear that this needed php 8 for SMF 2.0.x

[kitz]

I would grab 2024-07-15_before_Stop-Forum-Spam_1.tar\2024-07-15_before_Stop-Forum-Spam_1
And just overwrite the files that is the quickest fix in most cases

@vbgamer45   Thank you so much    Our posted crossed.
I am so slow these days, I kid you not its taken 4.5 hrs to type these replies.  This is what I had drafted before seeing your last post. I think I am going to try what you suggested.

===========================================================
So where do I go now?

I think I may try @vbgamer45 suggestion to use the SFS created backup.
I will drop in the files from before_Stop-Forum-Spam_1.tar

I have no idea what will happen because I think the mod does something with the database.
If it goes wrong then I can go back again to where I am now.
I dont think it can make things much worse?

i will make a backup of the files that the SMF replaces.  Ive just done another backup of the current broken files.
I still have a full back up made an hour before installing SFS that has the large database file.

Whilst looking through my hosting account details I notice there was some sort of automated but custom server backup yesterday.  I dont how how much impact the backup will have on other part of the site when the forum is a subdomain.  If I do use that I will lose a few posts from yesterday, but that should get me a working forum again.    It could perhaps be another option out of this mess.

[Kindred]

No mod should ever alter a core database field.  The can add columns,  add rows, add tables...

Also- it doesn't matter if mods won't uninstall.

The 2.1.x upgrade literally replaces ALL files... and removes hooks. All mods are thus, forcibly temoved.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

As mentioned above, I cant upload (import) the database in phpmyadmin.  Its too large and exceeds the limit.

Any decent host will do that for you.  Or you can use something like Putty to upload the database.  If you have a complete backup of the database and attachments, you can take that to a better host and restore the forum there.

[kitz]

Hi guys an update of the current situation

I used the backups from the packages folder to replace with files taken before the installation of StopForumSpam.  Unfortunately it didnt work and I still had the WSoD.  I then tried replacing with the backup files to before Stop Spammer was uninstalled, but still had the WSoD and the same error indicating a wrong version of php. 

Armed with the new (to me) knowledge that mods dont make any changes to the database and also knowing that I had a full backup and that because Id put the forum into maintenance mode before taking the backup and changing any mods, I felt fairly sure that it must be something to do with files in the forum root, sources or Themes folders.  Any files I'd replaced from the packages backups were dated the 16th. I'd literally only just completed the full backup (takes 55mins) and so I had a complete set of files and data shortly before doing any changes to the mods.  This meant that any files dated the 15th had to be a result of mod changes.  Just the the heck of it, I thought I would replaced the backup files one step further to before uninstall of the RLEM mod... and then I went through the forum files looking for any that were dated the 15th.  There were quite a few, mostly to do with Stop Forum Spam, including a subdirectory with 3x SFS files.  I deleted them thinking I couldn't really do much more damage and my next step would be replacing all the files with those from the full backup.

I was about to start googling 'putty' so went to my browser but first refreshed the forum page.  I wasn't expecting anything to happen as Id not changed the files ... and was semi shocked that the forum page loaded. \o/


Something puzzles me.

I replaced with the backup files to before the uninstall of RLEM. This means that Stop Spammer mod should still have been installed and it was way before I tried to install StopForumSpam. In theory there should be no trace of SFS but my Forum GUI, Admin, Package Manager is saying SFS 1.5.5 is installed. 
That surely means there must be some SFS file causing it still to show up in the admin packages panel. Is this something to do with SFS using hooks that you mentioned? or something was cached.  I don't really want SFS installed just yet as its dependant on php8* so wont work.

The SFS uninstaller in the forum admin CP doesn't work and it requires some manual config changes to complete removal. You say upgrading to 2.1 removes any mods,how does 2.1 deal with mods that wont uninstall? The whole reason I was trying to sort the modifications out first was to correct any that needed updating and make sure that there was no orphan code in the files relating to old mods.

Finally thank you to everyone who helped and input info, in particular vbgamer for mentioning the packages backups and to Kindred to helping explain more info about SMF and thus I wasn't really as in as much of a dire situation as I initially thought, my main issue being frustratingly slow. I just needed a bit of hand holding to help put me on the right track again when I didn't know what I was doing or where to start looking.   

----
* My forum for some peculiar reason is showing as having php 7.3.33.  I've no idea why the forum subdomain should have been given this old version "special treatment" as the main site and wiki arent... plus iirc the old server was running 7.4.x.  Something else that needs sorting along with the collation utf8 problem.

[Kindred]

Mods are marked as installed or not installed in the log Packages table of the database.
If you did not properly uninstall,  it would still be marked as installed

Nothing to do with files

[Illori]

https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Manually_setting_a_package_installed_or_uninstalled

[kitz]

@Kindred - Ah thank you, so there is something in the db that records the mods.
@Illori - Thank you for that.

[Kindred]

Not the dB...   on the server, look for a file named error.log or error log. Or something like that