OK, seem to having the same problem as everybody else, tried replacing the general file as suggested, also amended the zcpassword file too, I ended up with a blank page, with no access to admin or the "front page" of the site then had to wipe out the install & re-install fresh "install" files files.
server details;
Server Host: myserver.net (deliberately hidden ok) Database Host: localhost (127.0.0.1)
Server OS: Linux 2.6.18-471.3.1.el5.lve0.8.72 Database: MySQL 5.5.42-cll
Server Date: 06/04/2015 12:01:42 Database Date: 06/04/2015 12:01:42
Server Up Time: Disabled/Unavailable HTTP Server: Apache
PHP Version: 5.4.28 (Zend: 2.4.0) PHP Memory Limit: 512M PHP Safe Mode: Off
PHP File Uploads: On Max Size: 32M POST Max Size: 32M
Database Data Size: 8,313 kB Database Index Size: 2,097 kB

Zen Cart 1.5.4
Database Patch Level: 1.5.1
v1.5.1 [2013-07-12 12:02:27] (Version Update 1.5.0->1.5.1)
v1.5.0 [2013-07-12 12:02:27] (Version Update 1.3.9->1.5.0)
v1.3.9c [2010-05-27 19:12:07] (Fresh Installation)

why is my install now showing that it has 2 zencart versions? why is the install steps showing that i should "upgrade" from 1.5.1 to 1.5.2 & 1.5.3 to 1.5.4 as well? what's my best course of action? should i start again with a fresh install & them simply use mysql to download the current product list, customer list, & upload that to the fresh 1.5.4 install. any advice would be great, love zencart, but sometimes it's a head scratcher....