Uploads folder giving 404/no thumbnails for photos uploaded via FTP

OK this is a tricky one.

I have two installs of WP on one domain. This is a reinstall of a WP site I’ve had for ten years, so I had a lot of photos to import. I did this via FTP, but then WP wasn’t recognizing those photos. I ran a plugin to import them to WP, no problem.

Natch, I don’t want to have duplicates of all the photos uploaded, so I have put the images in the lower-level WP install located at /blog. The main site’s wp-content/uploads all are symlinks from the main WP install to the /blog install. (So they are really in the /blog site.)

I am having several issues:

* the folder that actually has the /uploads folder, all the image attachment pages are coming up 404, even though images are working and showing up
* On the main site (the one with the symlink) is not recognizing any uploads at all. The symlink, though I’m confident it’s done correctly, is not recognizing the uploads, though it should behave just as if the images are all there. Not as empty/broken links, simply not there at all.
* The few images that I uploaded to the main site, prior to doing the FTP and setting up the symlink, are also no longer recognized. However, they are showing empty thumbnails, like broken links.
* None of the previous Featured Images are being recognized…probably unrelated, since I take it the export failed to save that info (bummer) but I mention just in case.

My first question is: does anyone have evidence that symlinks do or don’t work in WordPress at all? Is there some reason to think they wouldn’t?

2nd Question: Is the problem here the use of FTP, or more likely the symlinks?

3rd Question: Anyone have a solution to what is going on here?

My site is futureisfiction.com. I’m currently running a Under Maintenance plugin on the main site, though you may be able to see futureisfiction.com/blog without logging in…not sure.

My site has been down for a week, as I struggle to resolve these issues. I’m starting to freak out that I might lose all my backlinks. =(