Admin Login page non-responsive after renaming Admin directory..........

[rattell]

Hi - I was doing some updating (security, file updates, cleanup, etc.) today and changed the admin directory name after running a security patch (found in zencart docs for 1.5.8 series) and it recommended renaming admin directory and admin passwords.
Everything was working fine before I made this change and the store is still functioning well - I just can't access the admin panel now. The login page displays but if you enter info, it appears to go into a loop. There is no error message or response - it just clears the form and starts over. There are no errors / messages displayed or in the log files either.

I even tried the tip to enter a new admin setting into the database thru phpmyadmin to gain access. I can see the admin's in the DB - but it's not recognizing it. I have done everything I can think of......clearing cache, different browsers, double checking settings & files, disabled vpn & anti-virus, etc. making sure they reflect the change - but no success.

I have no add-on's installed. I am using zencart 1.5.8a / php 8.0 and it has been working great for years now, so any help you could offer that I'm missing would be greatly appreciated.

https://danielwalthers.com/dwstore/

[mprough]

In your admin directory .htaccess file add the following at the very top

RewriteEngine Off

Then refresh login page

~Melanie