Ready for another "can't install WP"…? I can't log in

IT would be easier to help if you’d give the real URL.

OK…I wasn’t sure whether I should do that. But, here it is:

https://www.sea-meets-sky.com

Is there an .htaccess file in the root directory? If so, what is in it?

Also, Frontpage might give you trouble.

No, I’ve looked all around in all folders but there isn’t any .htaccess file. Should there be?

I don’t use Frontpage, if I need to edit something I use the latest and greatest version of Notepad++.

There must be a file permissions or access problem, I’ve tried other files and came up with a similar error message like I showed above…

Yes. It must be a file permissions or access problem. That is why I asked about .htaccess. No. there doesn’t have to be an .htaccess file but something is causing your files to be inaccessible and .htaccess could do that.

What permissions do you have on the wordpress directory?

You don’t have to use FrontPage for it to cause problems. FrontPage installs things to the server. Just having it there can create issues.

OK, the column under Perms has only letters and hyphens…so I looked under ChMod. I’ve done this before for other reasons (only once), but I never was sure what to do with “Set All Permissions.” This has nothing ticked, for Owner or Group or Everyone. I’m afraid to do anything to it.

However, below that where it says ‘Set the permissions of directory WordPress to:’ everything is ticked but NOT “write” for the Group and Everyone. For Owner, all three boxes (Read, Write, Execute) are ticked. Below that, the Chmod Value in the white box is 755. Am I correct in guessing that this should say 777? For my WordPress folders at least? As mentioned, I’m no expert with this and have only done ‘modding once before. I’m leery since on one occasion I accidentally found myself in ‘write’ mode on my friend’s website, where I had no business to be, LOL.

So what now? My friend says she is not much help with web problems these days…I probably know more about some things than she does…

One more thing, I do have an .htaccess file in the main directory but it was for something else that I’m not using there right now. Maybe I should delete that? Could it cause problems with my WP?

I looked at Docs and found the one about file permissions. I see now that the “letters and hyphens” mean something. What I have on my directory, on WP anyway, is rwxr-xr-x.

Here is what the .htaccess file says–

#DirectoryIndex index.php index.html

#Options +FollowSymLinks
#Options -Indexes

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
#RewriteBase /relative/web/path/

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule ^(.+) – [PT,L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !=/favicon.ico
RewriteRule ^(.*) index.php

RewriteCond %{HTTP:Authorization} !^$
RewriteRule .* – [E=REMOTE_USER:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
</IfModule>

#php_value register_globals 0

Ok. You are making progress. That’s good.

Am I correct in guessing that this should say 777?

No. It should definitely not say 777. 777 is ‘world writable’. It is very dangerous.

Your permission might be a problem but that .htaccess file looks very much like it could be a problem. Don’t delete it. You want to be able to back up if something breaks. ?? Rename it to something else. Name it anything besides .htaccess and you disable it. Try that first. Doing this will effect everything in the folder with the .htaccess file and in all sub-folders though, not just in your WP folder.

I used–or strongly considered using–another software program somewhat similar to WP which directed us to use 777. So, maybe just as well I came back to good ole WP!

Ummm, at the moment I’m not sure whose .htaccess file that is, whether it belongs to my friend or if it’s something of mine from other days. Since this is a shared server and I’ve already made a blunder or two in the past, I’d best wait till she can tell me if that file is hers.

Grmph. I’m a person who’d rather do things independently. At least on the “nameless” free host mentioned above, I could go in and tinker with my own files, even if installation caused headaches.

I notice I can view and edit files at the shared server. What mystifies me is that I can’t OPEN any of them. I haven’t actually tried to edit, since I may not be able to save an edit.

So, it seems like you and your friend are sharing the server in a very loosely organized way. You are both just putting files in the server root an hoping not to get in each others way. Is there any possibility that you two get virtual hosting set up?

Loosely organized is about right, LOL, at least in my opinion…

I’d have to ask her about the virtual hosting. She is 22 and still at home, unemployed (a college student) and her dad is paying for the hosting, which currently is paid up for the next 5 years. I’ll ask her, but I dunno what she’ll say ??

I’m toying with the idea of returning to the free host where they do provide MySQL even though I’m unsure about their traffic requirements, etc. I asked on their forum and at the moment await a response… I’d rather pay for my own hosting even though like my friend, I have very little money! =)