After running tester.php which verified that it will run on my server I bought Amember. While the program itself seems to run ok, I can't get any folder protection whatsoever. new_rewrite (RewriteRule doesn't work in .htaccess files on this server) I checked with my ISP and apparently it is disabled for the next couple of months (bummer) Thought I'd settle for htaccess. I've been using that anyway for the past year or so but at least I wouldn't have to keep entering the passwords manually. Wrong! Every time I protect a file with amember's .htccess file I get a error 403 page. I tried changing the permissions as suggested in previous posts on this topic but with no joy. So, the only thing that is left is php_include. Tried that & all I get is an "error 500 problem running script". I've tried re-installing everything to start from scratch but still the same results. The files all point to the correct places as per previous posts. I've had enough, virtually 48 hours straight on this and to top it all I can't have any help from support because my ISP's server doesn't allow access from external connections. So, I'm off to bed and hopefully one of you clever guys from across the pond will have the very simple answer I'm missing by the time I wake up. Thanks in anticipation...
Just out of curiosity, who is your host provider so that others can avoid using them in the future I would suggest investigating MDD Hosting: http://www.mddhosting.com A couple of things that really stand out for me: 1) VERY PERSONAL attention that every customer gets. I really don't think those guys sleep. As a new customer, they will even migrate all of your data, databases, DNS, MX, etc. and update configuration files from your existing host to make sure everything is working like for like. (did I mention this is for free?) 2) They do NOT overload their servers. Unlike a number of hosting providers ( a few of which you have on your list ) they set reasonable limits and do not overload their servers. At the price you quoted you would get 3 gig storage and 30 gig bandwidth. While a number of hosts will give you 2 TB storage and unlimited bandwidth for $3/mo, first question do you need that and second questions how can they do that. You are most likely on a server with 3,000 other customers and are at high risk of being dropped if you see any real traffic. 3) Communication. They have near real time status updates of issues (if ever) and provide details to the level that you need. They have shared, virtual private and dedicated options available.
I agree with the others. Kick your host to the kerb. Its almost certainly quicker and easier to do a migration than continue with the morons that host it for you already. AFterall they were the ones that broke it so you should have a good case to get a refund for the month also. All good suggestions on replacement hosts. We use Inmotionhosting and find them great, so thats another suggestion for a host that works like clockwork with amember.
Erm... I was hoping for a little less drastic action than that. I'm based in the UK and I'm with Freeola (should have said that earlier) and I have about 15Gig on their servers with several hundred thousand images. I also use them for my broadband connection (from two properties) and domain hosting. I have always found them very helpful & reliable compared to the problems my friends have had with other providers. Htaccess works on my server (I've been using it manually for the past year or so) but not in amember. PHP also works fine for some other scripts I have but again, not with amember. As I said before, the "tester.php" script came back saying amember will work on this configuration so why would I want/need to change my ISP? The problem is clearly with the amember program (or the installation) and it is the only piece of software I have ever had that I've had any real trouble getting to work at all. I chose it despite being the most expensive of my options because it had all the features I wanted in one package and it should have saved me a lot of time setting up. Unfortunately, the time I have spent on it so far, I might as well have gone for one of the cheaper options. I am sure that all I need is some ideas on what checks I can do to make sure the software is looking in the right places for it's protection routines/pages because the CP itself works fine without any error messages. Thanks
Sorry for the mob rush to boot your host.. I personally misread your statement Couple of places I would start: 1) Is there a root level .htaccess file on your server? What is in it that could possibly be conflicting with Amember 2) Permissions issue with CHMOD of either Amember directories (data directory specifically) or the folder(s) / file(s) you are trying to protect Did you just install? Did you get any errors during installation? Do you get any errors in the Amember log? Do you have any error.log files in your root, amember dir or dir you are trying to protect?
No probs (I must admit that I did consider it for a nanosecond) & thank you for your time. I'll come back to Q1 in a mo... Chmod is 755 for all folders, I even changed them to 777 and with some folders it just stops the software running at all. I've just re-installed with no errors and there are no errors in the amember log. I cannot see any error.log files in any directories on the server and I've set my ftp to view hidden files just in case. Back to Q1. I have had a .htaccess file in my root (htdocs) folder which just redirects errors 403 & 404 to my own error pages. I have removed this and it makes no difference. The interesting thing is that even when the .htaccess file is there the error 403 comes up with my ISP's error page and not mine which, to me, suggests that the error is occuring outside my htdocs folder. However, amember is located in htdocs/amember so there shouldn't be any calls outside this area EXCEPT maybe for the MySQL database. As the database seems to work ok with all the sign on, log-in & email scripts working fine I can't think what could be happening. Oh, and one more thing, the htpasswd and htgroup files in amember/data/ are still empty. On the previous installation there was one entry in them after I started playing with chmods. As I'm not sure if these files are holding the membership log-in data (as in when I've used htaccess manually) or the MySQL database (or both) I'm not sure if this is right or not. Any clues there?
Update!!! I've noticed that the default permissions for the htaccess files are chmod 600. The permissions for htaccess files that I have used in the past have been chmod 644. So, I changed the permissions to 644 and I now get the grey log-in box when I try to access the protected folder. Unfortunately, it doesn't recognise the passwords I have setup. This is probably because the htpasswd and htgroup files are still blank. I tried putting an old password in from my old htpasswd file but amember just overwrote it with a blank file again. So at least we know that amember can access the amember/data/ folder and files. Thanks in advance for any replies....
While it may seem drastic to flip hosting companies, first consider this....your website lives and dies on the quality of your hosting. A company that simply shuts down services for 2 months without consultation with its clients is at best negligent. A company that takes 2 months to upgrade its security borders on inept. I'm not so sure which is the most dramatic event. Changing hosts or have them do this sort of thing again??????
I should expand on my first post. My ISP never has had the new_rewrite enabled. When I enquired they said a system upgrade is due in the next couple of months after which it will be enabled.
My apologies. BUT even that aside ..... I just checked up on Freeola hosting. Correct me if I am wrong but you have Free hosting with UNLIMITED disk space? If that's true, and you are trying to run a business, then my advice from 28 yrs experience in this industry is get a new host. It sounds like a great deal but its a maxim in business that you only get what you pay for.
Steve I appreciate what you are saying but in my experience of nearly 10 years with this company I can not find any fault with them. I have recommended them to many clients and friend who have had isp problems and they have also been happy customers. So I would need a very good reason to even consider changing. As for your last sentance, I think this is one of the exceptions that prove the rule. Please, anyone with any suggestions to make on my problem with amember. The whole point of this software is to protect folders and it just will not work for me. Surely I can't be the only one who's had this problem. I've run out of ideas now. Otherwise, I will have to ditch it and go with one of my previous options. Cheers...
It sounds like permissions are way out of whack here (first glance).. If this is all test data you are working with: 1) Set the Amember folder and everything under it to CHMOD 755 (specifically the amember\data folder containing the .htgroup and .htpassword files. 2) Set the folder you are trying to protect and everything under it to CHMOD 755 3) Create a user id and password IN AMEMBER, do not attempt to manually add them to the .htgroup / htpassword files yourself. (does the data end up in the file?) 4) Try to go to amember/ folder, you should get a login, does it allow you to login with the user id and password? 5) Then try to protect the folder you want to protect. Does an .htaccess file get written?