Lost my Admin Panel

[markgrigsby]

RodG -

Thanks for the input. I have a couple of questions. First, are all of the files associated with the admin panel in the admin directory? If not, what other files are touched by the admin panel?

Next, if I stop PayFlow Pro, won't it stop accepting customer orders causing more confusion for customers?

Then, I do have backup admin panel files in another directory under the catalog. I can move these outside the catalog directory, but want to make sure that doing so will not cause the "Zencart will automatically load all files with the .php extension from some folders, and this will cause problems, including the 'blank screen'." you mentioned. I have had these backup admin files under the catalog directory for years without any problems, so I really don't think this is the issue, but I'm willing to try anything at this point. My admin panel is highly customized by a coder who is no longer available to me. I don't know all of what he's done.

Finally, on purging the cache directory every night - I wrote this cron job to do this because the cache directory kept getting massive - nothing was deleting anything in this directory. I can certainly change the cron job to delete files older than a couple of days, but I've never had a customer complain about losing the contents of their cart overnight.

Thanks again for your help!
Mark

[mc12345678]

RodG -

Thanks for the input. I have a couple of questions. First, are all of the files associated with the admin panel in the admin directory? If not, what other files are touched by the admin panel?

Next, if I stop PayFlow Pro, won't it stop accepting customer orders causing more confusion for customers?

Then, I do have backup admin panel files in another directory under the catalog. I can move these outside the catalog directory, but want to make sure that doing so will not cause the "Zencart will automatically load all files with the .php extension from some folders, and this will cause problems, including the 'blank screen'." you mentioned. I have had these backup admin files under the catalog directory for years without any problems, so I really don't think this is the issue, but I'm willing to try anything at this point. My admin panel is highly customized by a coder who is no longer available to me. I don't know all of what he's done.

Finally, on purging the cache directory every night - I wrote this cron job to do this because the cache directory kept getting massive - nothing was deleting anything in this directory. I can certainly change the cron job to delete files older than a couple of days, but I've never had a customer complain about losing the contents of their cart overnight.

Thanks again for your help!
Mark

Hope you don't mind a response from someone other than RodG. At least about some of what you were discussing.

Your admin panel. I'm not sure I can frame the discussion to directly answer the subtle questions you asked, but here's a basic overview of the associated files:

Your admin files live in a location, this location has a connection to the main site through the configure.php file location in ADMIN/includes. You can have many admin directories, each with their own files. When accessing that admin directory, the associated database (which typically will be the same for both admin and store because I can't think of a situation where they would not be) is used to control whatever settings are applicable to that database, but what is seen on screne is a result of the code in that admin area.

There are some files (depending on the setup) that are used in both the admin and storeside, so the question of all files residing only in the admin panel is not necessarily true, but that/those files are accessible because of information in the admin panel side.

So if you are having difficulty with your existing admin panel, you can go about things a few different ways. Obviously if the problem is preventing something related to a sale, then need to get functional quickly. If it's just an annoyance, then suggestion is to fix it as able. In regards to what you have stated (highly suctomized admin panel) well, you need to get back to basic functionality at least, and this should not be something prevented by using a default admin panel. After getting it to work and getting things to keep moving, then can compare the two. Depending on level of understanding of php and ZC code, the problem should present itself in review.

[RodG]

RodG -

Thanks for the input. I have a couple of questions. First, are all of the files associated with the admin panel in the admin directory?

Most, but not all.

If not, what other files are touched by the admin panel?

The admin configure.php file is the best guide to let you know which folders (and therefore files) are not located in the /admin/ folder.

Next, if I stop PayFlow Pro, won't it stop accepting customer orders causing more confusion for customers?

Possibly, but the idea is to identify/confirm the source of the error. The suggestion isn't meant to be a cure.

Then, I do have backup admin panel files in another directory under the catalog.

Although it isn't something I'd personally recommend, as long as this isn't one of ZenCarts own folders/directories this won't be the cause of your problem(s).

I can move these outside the catalog directory,

For security purposes backup files are best stored outside of the /www/, /public_html/ or /htdocs/ folders.

but want to make sure that doing so will not cause the "Zencart will automatically load all files with the .php extension from some folders,

The "some folders" I was referring to are the Zencart folders (those defined in the configuration files). These are the ones you should avoid keeping backup files in.

and this will cause problems, including the 'blank screen'." you mentioned.

The backup files can only cause a problem if they are are store in certain folders used by ZenCart itself (and only if they have the .php extension).

I have had these backup admin files under the catalog directory for years without any problems, so I really don't think this is the issue,

But you haven't been trying to install the payflow mod for years and I have no way of knowing when doing this you found a existing payflow mod in one of the folders, and simply renamed it like "payflow_backup.php" so that you could install a later/newer payflow.php file. I mentioned it because this is quite a common scenario. If it doesn't apply to you then you don't need to worry about about it.
(Note 'payflow.php' is merely an example. The same applies with any .php file)

but I'm willing to try anything at this point. My admin panel is highly customized by a coder who is no longer available to me. I don't know all of what he's done.

You don't need to know. All you need to know is that it was working OK until you tried to install this mod, so the 1st thing to do is uninstall it to get the admin side of things working again.

Once you've got it working again THEN you can consider re-installing and trying to identify exactly what is causing the error. I've already given one possibility (a backup file stored in the same folder that you are trying to install the new/updated mod). The problem could also be caused by an incomplete upload of one or more of the files, and even the file being uploaded into the wrong directories. This is why you need to backout of the module installation so that you can start afresh, and hopefully not make the same mistakes (assuming you did make a mistake).

Finally, on purging the cache directory every night - I wrote this cron job to do this because the cache directory kept getting massive - nothing was deleting anything in this directory.

All you've really done here is hide the symptoms of a problem. It is far better to fix the problem itself (you may even need to contact/work with your host to take care of this).

I can certainly change the cron job to delete files older than a couple of days,

That's still not really fixing the problem.

but I've never had a customer complain about losing the contents of their cart overnight.

That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It just means that they've gone to another store to purchase the items. It isn't your customers responsibility to report problems they find with your site. Only a very small minority of customers will do this.

Cheers
RodG

[markgrigsby]

I have copied the Zen Cart installation files to my computer and extracted them. I then ftp'd the files to a new directory on my server and modified the admin/includes/configure.php file so that it points to the right file locations and database, etc. So, this would be a clean installation of my admin panel. When I try to run it, I get the same blank screen I've gotten all along!

Any ideas?

[mc12345678]

I have copied the Zen Cart installation files to my computer and extracted them. I then ftp'd the files to a new directory on my server and modified the admin/includes/configure.php file so that it points to the right file locations and database, etc. So, this would be a clean installation of my admin panel. When I try to run it, I get the same blank screen I've gotten all along!

Any ideas?

Well, things that come to mind are either still an issue with the admin's configure file (though there is no indication that it was modified when the troubles began), a problem with some file(s) in your base store, or the far less expected, something wrong in the database. I would quickly rule out a database issue, by uploading the default store to a different location on the server, but have both associated configure.php files point to your existing database and to the two new folder locations. Then see if the new admin panel works. If so, then compare differences of the new folder with your existing one to find what files and lines of code exist and verify that they should be there.

Mind you that would all be done because so far there is no indication of error files/logs found I in your cache directory that are/were created around the time of you trying to access the admin panel.

[lhungil]

I have copied the Zen Cart installation files to my computer and extracted them. I then ftp'd the files to a new directory on my server and modified the admin/includes/configure.php file so that it points to the right file locations and database, etc. So, this would be a clean installation of my admin panel. When I try to run it, I get the same blank screen I've gotten all along!

Any ideas?

Were the admin files extracted from 1.3.9h (the same version of Zen Cart as loaded on the website)?

Have you disabled the "cron job" you configured to delete files from the "cache" folder?

If you are getting a blank page and no "debug" log was generated, most likely the error is occurring before the Zen Cart logging code can be loaded. Edit your php.ini to log all errors / warnings to a file and make sure display_error is enabled (this will catch errors occurring before Zen Cart's error logging starts). Can you also add the following line to your admin configure.php file:

define('STRICT_ERROR_REPORTING', true);

Afterwards check for new debug logs, check the server error logs, check for any logs created by PHP (before Zen Cart's logging started), and note any warnings / errors reported in your browser. At least one of these should provide further information to help narrow down the cause of your admin generating a "blank" page.

[markgrigsby]

I can't thank you guys enough for your help!

I've made sure that I disabled the Cron Job. Incidently, it only deleted DEBUG files every night - nothing else - but I have disabled it for now.

I modified the php.ini file to include the following:

display_errors = On
expose_php = On

display_startup_errors = off
display_errors = off
html_errors = off
log_errors = on
docref_root = 0
docref_ext = 0
error_log = /log/php_error.log

Then, I created a file - public_html/log/php_error.log and made sure it was writable

Finally, in my admin/includes/configure.php file, I added at the end:

define('STRICT_ERROR_REPORTING', true);


I then ran my admin panel and got nothing new - nothing in the error log for my hosted server, nothing in the public_html/log/php_error.log file, nothing new in the cache directory.

I'm going to work on a totally new installation this weekend, but if anyone has ideas in the meantime, please let me know.

Thanks!

[mc12345678]

I can't thank you guys enough for your help!

I've made sure that I disabled the Cron Job. Incidently, it only deleted DEBUG files every night - nothing else - but I have disabled it for now.

I modified the php.ini file to include the following:

display_errors = On
expose_php = On

display_startup_errors = off
display_errors = off
html_errors = off
log_errors = on
docref_root = 0
docref_ext = 0
error_log = /log/php_error.log

Then, I created a file - public_html/log/php_error.log and made sure it was writable

Finally, in my admin/includes/configure.php file, I added at the end:

define('STRICT_ERROR_REPORTING', true);


I then ran my admin panel and got nothing new - nothing in the error log for my hosted server, nothing in the public_html/log/php_error.log file, nothing new in the cache directory.

I'm going to work on a totally new installation this weekend, but if anyone has ideas in the meantime, please let me know.

Thanks!

So, looking at the list of switches set, did you intend for the errors to be displayed or not? (The last setting for display_errors is False which makes me think that ultimately would not be shown if there was one.)

Otherwise, hope that the changes made so far in testing have been resolved/returned to default.

If you're going to rebuild are you planning to also upgrade?

[markgrigsby]

Quick update - I got a version of my admin panel to work by doing a clean install on another hosted account and ftping the admin directory to my production account. I changed the admin/includes/configure.php file and everything works ok with that plain version. I now have to go through and find out which files in my customized admin panel are different from files in the plain version and update the plain version. I will also look at upgrading, but one problem at a time!

Thanks for your help!
Mark Grigsby