"internal server error" from wp-admin

This problem started when I tried to set the site so it could be reached via “DallasEgrets.org” without the /wordpress

If you changed the urls in settings -> General without following Giving_WordPress_Its_Own_Directory or Moving_WordPress, then change them back. See Changing_The_Site_URL.

how did you set the domain foward?
do you stiil want the old site, or do you want to switch?
The simple solution is:
Undo The domain forward then:
1) ftp your site & rmove old files from the sites root directory.
2) move all files and folders from the wordpress sub up to your sites root
3) enter mysql and edit table wp options Home and make sure it now points to the right url. And save.
4) clear browser cache and close.
5) go to https://www.yourdomain/wp-login.php and login.

I hope this helps.

Hi, this is me again with an update, may clarify the problem.
I was wrong when I said that the site (other than wp-admin) was working. The site is mostly static, but has a blog section with the posts. The blog section works, and the home page (which is static) but most of the other pages give the _same error_ as the wp-admin page.

In case some plugin might be responsible, I renamed the wp_content/plugins folder to wp_plugins_old. That had no effect on the problem. Maybe I could try changing the theme to something plain-vanilla like 2011, but how do I do that without an admin page?

Thanks again.

Try switching to the Twenty Eleven theme by renaming your current theme’s folder in wp-content/themes and adding “-old” to the end of the folder name using FTP or whatever file management application your host provides.

Hello esmi:
yes i did change the settings->general, I thought that was what that setting was for. I cannot change it back, at least not the way I changed it before, since I have no admin page. Is there some other way to change back?

hello Jupiter_dev:
The old site is there, at the old (root) address. I want the new, wordpress site to replace it, at this point I would settle for any web address. I could redirect (outside of wordpress) to keep external links working. I will try your “simple solution”. I will be really grateful if that works. Back to you later.

Hello esme:
Thanks so much for the tip on how to change themes without an admin page. Front page looks strange now but everything is there, so 2011 must be working. Unfortunately, all static pages and wp-admin still give same error. Good to try, though. Will now check Jupiter_devs idea.

How did you switch the domain? did you do it through cpanel/plesk type of solution? Or did you do this through the Wp options page, Mysql?
if you move everything to the right directory, and set the url correctly then WP will be setup right.
The only thing you are going to need to do after, is use find replace
to point your images and pages to the right places.
search “yourdomain/wordpress/”
replace “yourdomain”

Hello, Jupiter_Dev and esmi:

I attempted to switch using the settings->general, which esmi tells me was not correct, and (she?) referred me to a link that explained two ways to fix the siteeurl in functions.php or in config.php.

Good news, bad news:

good news:
The functions.php approach did not work for me, but I just got an admin page out of adding the directives to wp-config.php and logged in! The settings for siteurl in settings->general are now greyed out (cannot change thru dashboard) but at least should be correct.

Bad news:
The site is now completely broken, all pages are blank. the admin page is all I can get. But maybe I can use this to get the rest of the site back.

What do I do now? Was not able to follow Jupiter_dev advice; I am now trying to work out how to use mysql to “edit table wp options Home and make sure it now points to the right url.” Please be patient. No prior mysql experience, I installed wordpress with one of those whizzbang scripts that do it all for you. I guess that just delays the inevitable.

Very discouraging. Both the wp-config.php and the theme’s function.php files are back to normal, and I get the dashboard fine, settings->general now shows the correct location and can be edited (tho I will never touch it again!). Home page shows up on the web, but no other pages or posts are visible. All my content is still there somewhere, I can see it and edit it in the dashboard. Its all there in the database since the edit page has no trouble accessing it. Yet none of the pages or links work on the web. I have tried creating new test pages and posts, those do not appear on the web either. All I get is: “Internal server error” for every page except the home page.

From Jupiter_dev:

The only thing you are going to need to do after, is use find replace
to point your images and pages to the right places.
search “yourdomain/wordpress/”
replace “yourdomain”

Thanks for the tip, that find replace plugin is a wonder, but that did not help. If I could just make new pages, I could just copy all the old content one at a time from the old pages. The links are fine.

yes i did change the settings->general, I thought that was what that setting was for. I cannot change it back

Please see the link I provided earlier in the topic.

From esmi:

Please see the link I provided earlier in the topic.

To esmi, thanks again for that link, [Changing_The_Site_URL]. Following it is how I got the admin page back. I have since restored both wp-config.php and functions.php back to normal, I now have settings->general pointed to the right location and editable. (tho I will never touch them again!).

However the site (other than home page and dashboard) is still completely broken. No pages or posts appear even though I can now see them in dashboard and edit them.

Try resetting your permalinks.

Try resetting your permalinks.

I don’t know what that means. Please explain.

Try resetting your custom permalinks back to the default setting via Settings -> Permalinks.