Smart Characters And Timeouts

Yes, I see that, too. But it's the newest log file, and a different error message than I was getting before.

That message usually includes no log; it's simply telling you that that one of the database-related settings isn't correct.

Review your admin/includes/configure.php settings:

/**
 * The following settings define your database connection.
 * These must be the SAME as you're using in your non-admin copy of configure.php
 */
define('DB_TYPE', 'mysql'); // always 'mysql'
define('DB_PREFIX', ''); // prefix for database table names -- preferred to be left empty
define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8'); // 'utf8' or 'latin1' are most common
define('DB_SERVER', 'database-server-name');  // address of your db server
define('DB_SERVER_USERNAME', 'database-username');
define('DB_SERVER_PASSWORD', 'database-password');
define('DB_DATABASE', 'database-name');

Yes, they're both exactly the same.

Can you access the site via the storefront?

No, I'm getting the same error message on http://earcandyaudiobooks.com/studio/ as http://earcandyaudiobooks.com/studio/admin-1538838053/login.php?:

ERROR 0071: There appears to be a problem with the database. Maintenance is required.

I suggest that you review those settings on your website's cPanel, then. One or more values are not correct for your site.

P.S. Also check to make sure that there are not configure.php files present in either the /admin/includes/local or /includes/local sub-directories, noting that the storefront /local normally does not exist.

There is a /admin-xx/includes/local folder, but the only thing inside is skip_version_check.ini.

There is no /includes/local subdirectory.

I'm looking at phpMyAdmin for that particular database, but the honest truth is I don't know what I'm looking at. That's way above my knowledge level. :-/ What, specifically, should I be looking for?

The settings you need are in your cPanel's "MySQL Databases" (your cPanel might title that differently).

If you made a backup copy of the store's files prior to the upgrade, you can just copy those settings to the updated configure.php files.

If not, you'll find your current databases in the above tool and will most likely need to create a new password for the database's current user. Check your webhost's FAQs to find the value to use for the database-server.

I changed the password for the database, and now instead of being able to load up www://earcandyaudiobooks.com/studio/admin-blah blah blah, now it defaults to http://earcandyaudiobooks.com/studio/nddbc.html My situation has not improved.

Am I going to have to blow away all the work I've done and start fresh with a clean installation? :-/

DK_Scully:

Am I going to have to blow away all the work I've done and start fresh with a clean installation? :-/

No. All of the basics just need to align. When the password was changed in cPanel did the change get carried over to the includes/configure.php and admin/includes/configure.php files (remembering to chmod 0644 on includes/configure.php before uploading).

And do all of the other parts of the DB_ fields match the database credentials?

I edited the two configure.php files and re-uploaded them, and now the error message is back to "ERROR 0071: There appears to be a problem with the database. Maintenance is required." So at least we're back to where we were earlier.

I removed zc_ from both files as previously instructed. What else should I be looking for?

See this Zen Cart FAQ: https://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?334-ERROR-0071-There-appears-to-be-a-problem-with-the-database-Maintenance-is-required

I'd already read that, but to be honest it's not telling me anything useful. I had over 100 entries in the shopping cart so the tables shouldn't be empty unless the upgrade process destroyed them, and I didn't migrate the cart to or from a different server.

DK_Scully:

I'd already read that, but to be honest it's not telling me anything useful. I had over 100 entries in the shopping cart so the tables shouldn't be empty unless the upgrade process destroyed them, and I didn't migrate the cart to or from a different server.

OK, so you've been into the database manager already. How many tables are in the database associated with this installation? I would expect around 100.

When you look through the tables, let's assume that you have one that is just named admin, how many records are in it? Does the admin user name look familiar to you?

Was zc_install run against this database having the same DB_PREFIX as currently entered and where UPGRADE was selected instead of Install?

The FAQ provided was one I too was going to suggest, but see from the response that it doesn't spark ideas for you on what may have caused this change in condition.

You've mentioned changes in the configure.php files. Don't you still have the original ones? Use of them should make it possible to at least reference the original condition of the store...

To be perfectly honest, I don't really know what I'm looking at. I'm not a programmer; I'm just an author who was pressed into the job because I know more than anyone else around here. Which isn't all that much. I was originally an html coder, and have learned bits and pieces of php very slowly and painfully...just enough to be able to modify settings to make the ZenCarts look the way the site owners wanted. That's where my coding knowledge ends.

I don't really understand databases at all; I know how to use the MySQL Database Wizard wizard to create one, but beyond that I don't know what to do with them. (I'm very good at populating the carts with listings, though. I'm much more of an end-user than a steam-tunnel person.)

Yes, I still have the original configure.php files as part of the complete zencart backups I did before risking this upgrade. When I modified them, I created a new folder that mirrored the Zencart structure and saved the altered copies there. (I'm not totally clueless. LOL)

What should I be looking for? I'm happy to pore through the files and give you what answers I can if I know what I'm looking for...I just need some guidance.

Thank you to EVERYONE who's responded and tried to help! I'm sorry I'm not being much help in return. I am trying!

OK. So, then you haven't totally shot yourself in the foot is what I am understanding. You have a new fileset in a place other than your live store. I say that, though I hope that the database being used for this upgrade is actually a different storage location but has the same data as your live store.

So, step back a moment. The store is basically made up of two things. A set of files and a database. You have created a new set of files in a slightly different location. That is very much like addressing what is in this FAQ: http://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?160-i-have-installed-zen-cart-to-a-directory-how-do-i-rename-or-move-that-directory

Following the above allows you to understand what changes are necessary to accomodate the file aspect of locating the store on the same server but somewhere slightly different.

Now though, the database side. Usually the database will have the same DB_SERVER between two installs on the same server. For a situation like this and doing an upgrade as commented upon several times, it is easiest to use the same DB_PREFIX between two installs where one is an upgrade. (here easiest can mean fastest also). To have the same DB_PREFIX between two installs either the host or the database references must be different from each other if they are both on the same server.

So. Both of these things (file locations and the database) are governed by the configure.php files. The DIR_ type defines are about file/folder locations, the DB_ type defines are about the database.
DIR_FS_ is about the file system or file server where DIR_WS_ is about the Web site or web server.

The issues currently are about DB_ type things.

Now, understand that the username and passwords are to remain private so if questions are asked about them now or in your future, it is suggested that you review them and perhaps answer back that they are the same, or different in some way... but it is not advised that those portions of the credentials get posted....

So, would want you to compare the two sets of DB_ credentials. There are two major comparisons of interest. Compare the two files within a store (includes/configure.php to admin/includes/configure.php) and a set of files to the same on the "other" install (includes/configure.php to includes/configure.php and then the two admin files to each other).

In the first comparison, typicalltrying to make sure that the admin is connecting to the same database as the catalog. so if the catalog is working but the admin doesn't sem to be, then that first comparison can be very telling.

In the case of neither admin/nor catalog is working on a single site, then more than likely a problem with some other aspect of the DB_ data. As suggested, start with DB_PREFIX. Then branch out to the other DB_ fields. How do they compare, what do you know about whatever extra things have been setup. Remember, you don't want to prevent the active store from working, so don't make everything match exactly between the two sites yet... also if haven't done so recently, suggest making a backup of the database for your live store.

Someone PM'd me and offered to troubleshoot the code. I don't know what he did, but he got it working. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! to everyone who responded and tried to help this pitiful php moron, but especially thanks to him for fixing it for me!!!!

One last question (I hope):

Is the directory structure supposed to be a long hard-to-read list down the left side of the screen instead of drop-down menus along the top like before? If not, something is still wrong and needs to be fixed, because it's very difficult to work with.

Monday 29 Jul 2019 01:32:15 PM -0500 GMT [97.103.136.248]
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...and so on. The first and last several are all white text on the white background, which makes them even more difficult to work with...and then the actual fields I need are way down at the bottom of the screen.

When I click Toggle Navigation, it doesn't especially help...the fields I need do move up the screen, but the long list remains and overwrites them so it's even harder to read. Then if I change the screen or refresh it, they move back down to the very bottom again.

Added to that, when I create a duplicate listing so I can reuse the template we've created, there's no way to edit the new entry. It just shows M, C, and A to the right of the listing. I can only toggle it active or inactive; I can't edit it at all. The only way I can edit anything is to create a new listing from scratch, which just isn't acceptable.

Thank you for your help!

...AND there's no way to edit existing entries, either. What gives???