I can't get PHP 5.2 to work on my machine.

I can't get PHP 5.2 to work on my machine. When is there going to be a version of zen cart that will work with PHP 5.3, which installs just fine?

zen cart will not get passed the database setup using PHP 5.3.

No release dates determined as yet.

But ... if PHP 5.2 won't work on your computer, it seems odd that PHP 5.3 would be any more likely to work.

5.3 works like a champ.

The problem is installing the Apache 2.3 module.

I got PHP 5.2.11 module based to work on my Apache finally and is working fine. Zencart, on the other hand, isn't working. When I was using PHP 5.3, I couldn't get passed the Database setup screen. Now, with 5.2, I can't even get to the Prerequisites screen. The Zencart recommended versions of PHP, MySql and Apache are no longer even available on their sites. What does it take to get Zencart installed? This is making me look bad at work and it isn't my fault!! There are several other carts on the conference table right now. Unless a new version of Zencart comes out FAST that works with the newer available versions of tools, my suggestion is going to be to use one of the carts that will actually work and work on a less restrictive combination of tools.

This is me trying to install Zencart ---> :frusty: & :censored:

The claims of easy to configure/setup are FALSE!!!!

bthrower:

I can't even get to the Prerequisites screen.Perhaps you can be a little less vague about what exactly you mean by that?

bthrower:

The Zencart recommended versions of PHP, MySql and Apache are no longer even available on their sites.And your point? If you read those details closely, the "recommended" versions are "minimums", not "requirements". And, as such, Zen Cart is compatible with probably the widest combination of server configurations of such "tools" (as you call them).

bthrower:

What does it take to get Zencart installed?On hundreds of live webservers running traditionally-configured versions of PHP, MySQL, Apache, I have clients happily using Zen Cart simply by uploading the files via FTP, creating a database, and running the installation.

Have you actually tried installing Zen Cart on a live webserver? Or have you only tried it on your local PC?

bthrower:

This is making me look bad at work and it isn't my fault!!This comment is NOT intended to be finger-pointing, but rather an observation borne out of tens of thousands of discussions I've had with people getting started with an online store for the first time: Most of the time when someone can't get it running on a webserver they've built themselves, the problem is traced back to the server's configuration ... especially when that so-called "server" is actually a standalone PC and not a real webserver.

bthrower:

There are several other carts on the conference table right now. Unless a new version of Zencart comes out FAST that works with the newer available versions of tools, my suggestion is going to be to use one of the carts that will actually work and work on a less restrictive combination of tools.I can't make you use Zen Cart. You apparently are sticking with it for a reason.

bthrower:

The claims of easy to configure/setup are FALSE!!!!No, they're not. But it's true that a handful of people have had more difficulty than others.

1. I am an IT professional, I know what I am doing. I have built hundreds, if not thousands, of servers and workstations over the course of my career.
2. I get to the license screen, click the radio button that says "I have read and agree to abide by the Terms and Conditions as stated above." and I click continue. The webserver crashes. On 5.3 the webserver didn't crash until the Database Setup screen.
3. I am installing this on an Windows XP Virtual Machine, though that shouldn't matter. Apache, PHP and MySql are all operating properly on the VM, only the Zencart install is failing. I have another cart working on this VM, which will also run on a server. Does Zencart really have some special code that would prevent it from running on a workstation?
4. I have tried every combination of versions available on the websites that provide the webserver, programming language and database (tools) and zencart will not install with any combination of what is available from the company sites. The "minimums" aren't available and "or higher" has proven to not be true. Zencart only works module based with a certain combination, which I have yet to discover. CGI is not acceptable for our use.
5. I'm not sticking with it. I was told to install it and get a sample site up using Zencart. Sounds like a simple task but it has proven to not be.
6. Zencart probably is easy to configure when you have the correct certain combination of Apache, PHP and MySql, but that combination is not clearly defined anywhere on the Zencart site. If you go and download what is available on the Apache, PHP and MySql sites, Zencart is NOT going to be easy to setup and configure.
7. This is not even close to my first experience with an online store and shopping cart software.

bthrower:

1. I am an IT professional, I know what I am doing. I have built hundreds, if not thousands, of servers and workstations over the course of my career.And so have I.
   bthrower:

2. I get to the license screen, click the radio button that says "I have read and agree to abide by the Terms and Conditions as stated above." and I click continue. The webserver crashes. On 5.3 the webserver didn't crash until the Database Setup screen.
   Given your expertise, I'm sure you know that saying "it crashed" is a subjective statement.

By "crashed", do you mean:

• BSoD?
• Segmentation Fault?
• Apache threw an error?
• a blank page appeared?
• your virtual machine abended?

Oh, and ... is your /cache/ folder set as writable so Apache/PHP can write some session content there?

Apache threw an error. The server and VM are still running, but the Zencart page is shut down by the server. I have attached a picture of the error details and the related appcompat.txt file inside the zip. I tried to attach the crash dump but the attachment was 45kb too big.

Yes, Apache/PHP has write permissions to /cache/. For purposes of this demo, I have given that permission to the Everyone user. I can alter that later after everything else is working properly.

I notice you appear to be running the threadsafe version of PHP? Have you tried the non-threadsafe version? I seem to recall having troubles even getting the threadsafe version to run at all when setting up a new Windows server last month. On recommendation from folks on the PHP mailinglists, the I used the non-threadsafe version and it worked just fine.

With the non-thread safe PHP 5.2, Apache wouldn't start up. Non-thread safe PHP 5.3 worked fine. With 5.2 NTS, I was getting this error in the Apache log, so I switched to the thread safe version 5.2 and Apache started again...

Fri Oct 02 14:15:48 2009] [crit] Apache is running a threaded MPM, but your PHP Module is not compiled to be threadsafe. You need to recompile PHP.
Pre-configuration failed
[Fri Oct 02 14:15:48 2009] [warn] (OS 995)The I/O operation has been aborted because of either a thread exit or an application request. : winnt_accept: Asynchronous AcceptEx failed.

I am more than willing to switch versions of any of these programs. I didn't find success with the suggested routes, so I have started trying the renegade approaches too.

Ya, there were a lot of issues about windows and thread-safe and non-thread-safe on the PHP discussion lists.
For what it's worth, is there a particular reason why you're choosing a windows host over linux in this case?
The latest PHP versions appear to be more stable on Linux, and more problematic on Windows.

All of our main development is in .Net, so I installed an XP VM because some of the other things I am working on need to be Windows based in the VM too. I will try to install a linux VM next week and see if I have better luck with this there. We have both linux and MS webservers in prod, so either solution would most likely be fine.

Linux install went without a hitch. I was never able to get windows version to work after many attempts with many different combinations of server, database and php versions.

Thanks for the update.
I've been similarly frustrated with the Windows versions of PHP on a few servers lately. Not sure the exact cause, but I think it's something to do with the steps Zend is taking to try to partner with MS more ... and MS has a way of messing things up when it comes to web.