New Install - Admin won't update MySQL

[David R]

I've ripped this out once and reinstalled it with the same result so far: The cart can update the database, but Admin can't. e.g. if I add a customer via the cart, admin can see the customer, but can't edit the customer name. Same for all other database updates. Admin can "see," but not "do."

Install is 3.9h
Converted database and cart to utf-8 using the
latin1-to-utf8-conversion.php file
and updating the two configs and two english files for utf8

That's it. I can log in to admin, just not update the database. I know this sounds like 1.3x without the security patch, but it's 1.39h.

ANY help would be great. Spent hours on something that should turn out to be an error on my part somewhere. (But at least I've faithully repeated it through two installs.)
Host is GoDaddy
PHP version is 5.2 (they will let me update to 5.3 if that's an issue).
Thanks!

[kobra]

I believe you are seeking changing things from the admin that are not allowed

Why would you be able to alter a customer name etc???

[joejoejoe]

I believe you are seeking changing things from the admin that are not allowed

Why would you be able to alter a customer name etc???

I can do it - I've got a dummy customer in my name, different adderss and I use it to test with. I just tried and I could edit it fine from the admin panel, so it looks like something that is supposed to work. Why would you want to? For those customers who move ISPs and lose access to their old email accounts and get locked out.

So it looks like the OP has a real problem. Unfortunately I'm better at pointing out problems than solving them... so hopefuly a zenmaster will jump in here with the answer.

[David R]

Sorry if that was a bad example. It was just an easy one. Right now the admin interface won't update any data -- it won't save catagories, products, templates -- anything that actually updates the MySQL database. I used the customer example because it easily demonstrated that the cart interface could update the database, while the admin section couldn't update the same records.

[joejoejoe]

Can you go into mysql and check the user/admin priveledges? Maybe you forgot to check a permission when you were setting up the db and users.

[David R]

I've only got one user that I'm aware of. (probably an unsophiscticated use of the product) I use those login credentials for PHPMyAdmin or Zen Cart.

[joejoejoe]

Well my knowledge is limited. I hack myself one step forward, two steps back. I've got my php/sql/admin all open in others tabs as cheat sheets.

I'm suggesting you go to your hosts cpanel if you've got one, or find the mysql wherever it is - normally near the phpmyadmin, and look at the table. It should say

database size users actions
zen ### admin delete

zen will = name of your stores db, whatever you named it at start.
users = the name of the user you assigned. Sounds like the same name you log into everything with.

Click on the user name, and it should pop up a big screen with all the permissions possible. You need everything checked.

Another thing would be to look at your admin/includes/configure file and check the stuff down at the bottom starting with the line
/ define our database connection

And if you've got access to the error logs, does anything show up there?

[DrByte]

How "clean" is this installation? If the symptoms are "click to save a change anywhere in the admin, and it redirects to home page", then you're most likely using an installation that's got a bug that existed in v1.3.9g but was fixed in v1.3.9h, and/or addons installed which are based on broken code from before 1.3.9h.

And why did you do the charset conversion? Was there a very specific business reason behind that?
What if you do NOT do that conversion? Does everything suddenly work correctly?

[David R]

It's clean inasmuch as I started with a new 1.3.9h zip file source, deleted the install directory, changed the admin directory name, updated the configs.
Then did the utf-8 updates. (ran your fabulous php program -- really, I've tried ones that didn't work) -- and updated the files where you instructed.
I uploaded a template I've used on other stores, then tried to select it in Admin and that's as far as I got because I couldn't select it.

You're right. The symptom is that clicking to update/save anywhere in admin takes me to the admin home page.

The time just before that I did the same install in a different sequence. I tried to add in the Japanese language pack before I really checked to see what was going on. When I couldn't get the Admin to update the database I didn't lose much by deleting the entire install and trying again (dropped the old tables, used a new prefix this time). This time I tested much sooner.

I haven't tried this install without running the utf8 conversion file. I do have Zen Cart running on another site with the database converted to utf 8 - but it was painful, and that's why I was so happy to see the new conversion php file.

The utf8 is because almost all of our business is in Japanese, Korean or Chinese. We've got to utf8 on the websites over the past few years.

Thank you for responding to my post. I really appreciate what you've done with Zen Cart, and it's been great for us.

[David R]

To properly answer your question I just downloaded a new copy of 1.39, installed it step by step using a new MySQL database. This new installation was placed in a new folder on the same GoDaddy-hosted site.
I had to rename the admin folder and update the config.php so I could use Admin.
At that point, I tested to see if I can add a new Category from Admin.
I can't with this install either. Any MySQL update from within admin takes me back to the admin home page without saving the update.
So it has nothing to do with utf8.

This is my only ZC 1.39 installation on Godaddy. You mentioned that this symptom showed up sometimes in 1.3.8. Can you give me any troubleshooting pointers? I'm running out of places to look. Thank you.