Server error! ....server is overloaded or there was an error in a CGI script.

Hello,

Anybody have a clue why all of a sudden, when I try to download a file which is an attribute of a product, I get the following error page?
I changed permissions every which way


Server error!

The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request.ither the server is overloaded or there was an error in a CGI script.

The results page is http://www.mywebsite.com/store/pub/.smywmnzcctudlxmvzvp/123.zip

I am running on Apache/2.0.54 (Debian GNU/Linux) mod_auth_pgsql/2.0.1 mod_ssl/2.0.54 OpenSSL/0.9.7e mod_perl/1.999.21 Perl/v5.8.4
:lookaroun

Have you spoken to your host?

Kim:

Have you spoken to your host?

yes, indeedy. and there are server issues, so i'm relieved. :happy:

hope that's all there is.

thanks for your feedback.

cheers! :D

steely:

yes, indeedy. and there are server issues, so i'm relieved. :happy:

hope that's all there is.

thanks for your feedback.

cheers! :D

Well, I ain't happy. The problem is caused by the .htaccess file in the /pub/ folder. It contains the directive:

Options +FollowSymLinks -Indexes

which is actually forbidden directive on my host's machines.

once I've disabled the .htaccess, the system started returning 'Forbidden' error

Any way around this directive? I've spent a lot of time working w/the Zen Cart on a test site, not realizing it wouldn't work on this host's server, for whom I am actually reselling.

:P

You would have to turn off the Redirect in the Configuration ... Attribute settings ... which is less secure but should work ...

Ajeh:

You would have to turn off the Redirect in the Configuration ... Attribute settings ... which is less secure but should work ...

Life should be that simple. But it's not, and that didn't work. Getting this error:

Server error!
The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request.
Error message:
Premature end of script headers: index.php

surely there must be a fix for this, can't be that we have to find hosts that will specifically accomodate - i've seen many posts on the web w/this sort of problem from others

:(

Hosts that do not allow you to control your own server are diffcult to work with ...

I am not sure if this is an .htaccess issue or some other setting that your host has limited you to ...

Have you tried turning on Download by Streaming ?
If the server has a memory-configuration limitation, this should help get around it.

Ajeh:

Hosts that do not allow you to control your own server are diffcult to work with ...

I am not sure if this is an .htaccess issue or some other setting that your host has limited you to ...

Thanks for your reply.
I mentioned in my post that the directive
Options +FollowSymLinks -Indexes
in the htaccess file is 'forbidden' by my host. Possibly for security reasons.
how much control should I have over a remote server?

This would be an issue of price, and this hosting is fine for my humble needs.
Now, if I could get the originators of this Zen cart to give us something to work around this Apache issue without giving up on the program...:bored:

Without using the .htaccess file you described, use your Browser and go to the images dir. of your site. Do you see a blank page or a listing of sub-directories and files.

Could be, if your Hoster is smart, that they have already disabled directory indexing; which is what the -Indexes means. If so, you do not need to use it any .htaccess file and things might work properly by just using:
Options +FollowSymLinks

If you cannot use the Options directive for anything, then you could ask your Hoster why that is so. Could be they've got some Server-wide security setup in place and can suggest an alternative directive to use.

... or go for streaming downloads instead of redirects, which forces apache to serve the file in 2K chunks rather than via a direct file link fed to the browser.

steely:

Anybody have a clue why all of a sudden, when I try to download a file which is an attribute of a product, I get the following error page?> Now, if I could get the originators of this Zen cart to give us something to work around this Apache issue without giving up on the program...

It's worth noting that the issue you're experiencing appears to be caused by something your host did recently ... hence the "all of a sudden" comment you started this topic with ...

Perhaps "giving up on the program" is misdirected a little ...

When sending reviews I get this error:
CGI Error

The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers

The review itself does appear in admin as everything would work fine... however when I edit the reviews it shows this note:

NOTE: HTML is not translated!

Test site address:
http://www.time-co.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=

I would appreciate any help...

all4coffee:

When sending reviews I get this error:
CGI Error

The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers

The review itself does appear in admin as everything would work fine... however when I edit the reviews it shows this note:

NOTE: HTML is not translated!

Test site address:
http://www.time-co.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=

I would appreciate any help...

When I tried it again it seems that the problem went away...

I have another question: it seems to me that only registered customers can write a review - is there a way to enable review writing to all visitors?

all4coffee:

When I tried it again it seems that the problem went away...

I have another question: it seems to me that only registered customers can write a review - is there a way to enable review writing to all visitors?

The message
CGI Error

The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers

when sending the review is back again.

NOW I discovered that the error is displayed only when I change Admin settings to "Reviews Require Approval" to ON =1 setting

Please help!

all4coffee:

When sending reviews I get this error:
CGI Error

The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers

The review itself does appear in admin as everything would work fine... however when I edit the reviews it shows this note:

NOTE: HTML is not translated!

Test site address:
http://www.time-co.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=

I would appreciate any help...

The error msg. leads me to believe you are using an add-on Module. PHP code will not return a CGI error msg. -- unless perhaps, PHP is being run as CGI module.

You can find out for sure by using: Admin > Tools > Server Info and look for Server API. If it says CGI then PHP is being run as a CGI module and might explain the error msg. but not the problem. For that one would need to know the exact PHP file name used by Zen Cart and I don't know what it would be.

If the Server is running PHP as CGI and/or you are using an add-on Module that uses a file ending with '.cgi' or '.pl', then you need to make sure this code is used near the beginning or top of the file.

print "Content-type:text/html\n\n";

Thank you for response. It turned out to be a setting in Admin/Email which changed - literally by itself from SMTP to something else. When I changed it back to smtp all mail works fine including reviews.

Two days ago when I went to my site
http://www.time-co.com/zencart/

I noticed that my Academe template was gone and was replaced (not me!) with Classic template. I changed it back and it seems OK except that randomly some pages are scrambled to the right half of center column - when refreshed - goes away but then randomly happens again on another or the same page (if refreshing few times in a row)

WHAT COULD IT BE? Anyone had it happen I'm sure? Drives me nuts