403 Forbidden error

[pioP]

Dear forum, I have error 403 which is not going away. Was running zen cart v1.5.0, the site collapsed when I was installing the ##sitemap xml (formerly 'google##sitemap' mod).

My hosting company cant fix it and my cache has no recent errors there. Compared several configurations of the ht.access, but nothing there. Hosting company ##said I should restore back-up which i did but no joy there. They insist things well set at their servers so am stuck, really stuck. Thank God I have a back-up and luckily enough I spotted 1.5.1.

If re-install zen cart 1.5.1;
- Will this solve my 403 error? I would imagine yes since the server has accepted another zen can't installation! Could be wrong?
- What settings will I loose?
- When re-instating the back up files which files should I keep away from?
- Do I have to re-install modes that are currently in the website 1 by1?

Thanks for reading;
URL www.hardsolekidshoes.co.uk

[DrByte]

A 403 error means "forbidden".

There's nothing in Zen Cart which generates a 403 error. So the problem must be something with the server configuration. Again, .htaccess rules come to mind.

Remember, Zen Cart does NOT come with a .htaccess file in the "root" (main folder where Zen Cart sits, such as the main index.php, ipn_main_handler.php, etc). If you have a .htaccess file in that folder, then you should try renaming it to something else, like htaccess_bak and see what happens.

Also, since 403 means "forbidden", the "forbidden" could possibly also be a result of the files on your server being set to permission levels that are too low for Apache to use.

While you said your hosting company isn't being very helpful, you really do need to get them to help you with this.

[lhungil]

I've also seen this with some paranoid mod_security settings imposed on "shared server" hosting plans. Rare, but something to ask your hosting provider to check...

I did need to call one of my client's hosting providers back when I upgraded to 1.50 and talk directly with one of the System Admins (impressed I actually got one on the phone). They kindly disabled a number of mod_security settings for the client's site.

A good, kind, and patient hosting provider can be a great help (and hard to find). Hopefully if you call back and ask kindly if they can look into what is causing the problem your hosting provider will help!

[gunni]

I've also seen this with some paranoid mod_security settings imposed on "shared server" hosting plans. Rare, but something to ask your hosting provider to check...

I did need to call one of my client's hosting providers back when I upgraded to 1.50 and talk directly with one of the System Admins (impressed I actually got one on the phone). They kindly disabled a number of mod_security settings for the client's site.

A good, kind, and patient hosting provider can be a great help (and hard to find). Hopefully if you call back and ask kindly if they can look into what is causing the problem your hosting provider will help!

Hi. Had same problem with HTTP 403 error on Google Search condole when
put inside google search console: www.example.com/sitemap
The solution: put www.example.com/sitemap.xml
So funny after you solve it...:)