I believe I'm feeling Juhanuha's pain and can not find a solution anywhere.

Here is my issue...I'm really stumped and could use some help. I am not using any third party attribute controls. I am using EasyPopulate 4.0 and Database Backup plug-ins...don't think they have anything to do with this issue.

I have various clothing items for which only one picture is provided by my dropshipper for multiple sizes and colors. This causes the same image to be viewed multiple time by my shoppers and it is very annoying. So, I used ZenCart Admin to make all but one of the similar products inactive and used the attribute controller to indicate the various sizes and colors on the active product. That solved the repeating picture issue while browsing the shop....however......

If a customer orders a size or color that is out of stock (other than the active product size), then ZenCart will not stop the order from happening.

Is there a way to link inactive product prices, sizes, colors, or other attributes with the active displaying product?