my 1.5.3 sites refuse to install any extensions

[mandville]

Could we also check & clarify that everyone who has had problems with this issue has now had it resolved (eg Ilox) before marking this topic solved as it was him who originated this problem.
If Ianmac or Ami wish to have space or an account to replicate the issues on Ilox server space then please let me or him know.

[Jenny]

Could we also check & clarify that everyone who has had problems with this issue has now had it resolved (eg Ilox) before marking this topic solved as it was him who originated this problem.
If Ianmac or Ami wish to have space or an account to replicate the issues on Ilox server space then please let me or him know.

Didn't Ian (ilox) go through and follow the instructions given to him and at that point was able to install extensions? I think we already went over that.

The issue is file ownership and file permissions due to how people have their server set up, and how they install their site and then further interact with it. The documentation provided shows a clear path on best practices to avoid these problems, and how to resolve them once problems start to occur with a mix of file owners.

The link again to the documentation.

[Toli]

OK My host had a look at this and even tried to install the extension themself with no luck.

The host said they only run PHP as CGI and use we have suexec enabled. You are currently running the domain using Php4 and its possible the component needs PHp5 but again contacting the script vendor/author is always the best way to identify any possible requirements.

The only option I have is to upgrade PHP with the host is to 5.0.4, but in the link provided in this thread below it states it will not work with this version of PHP. http://docs.joomla.org/Troubleshooting_ ... ensions.3F

Do I go back to them and tell the to upgrade it to a higher version then 5.0.4?

I will have some spare time on the weekend to go through the other suggestions made in the link above and what Ianmac suggested. I belive it is a permissions thing, I do not mind if I have download the files and start again.

I will let you know how I go.

[Jenny]

Toli what are the specific errors that you get when you try to install an extension?

[ianmac]

Okay... a couple of things to check:
First... can you tell us what PHP 4 version you are running? (shouldn't be an issue, but it is good to check)
Second... can you go to Help->System Info->Directory Permissions and tell us what you see there?
Third... can you tell us what FTP server software you are running? The easiest way to check is to go to the command line and type ftp <server_address> where <server_address> is the host name of your ftp server. Record the string that it reports.

Thanks,
Ian

[user deleted]

Could we also check & clarify that everyone who has had problems with this issue has now had it resolved ....

Just a small suggestion as moderator: if you have a problem similar to the one in this thread, make sure you start your own thread, not hook on to this one. It makes it complicated for those who try to give support and answer questions

[mandville]

Could we also check & clarify that everyone who has had problems with this issue has now had it resolved ....

Just a small suggestion as moderator: if you have a problem similar to the one in this thread, make sure you start your own thread, not hook on to this one. It makes it complicated for those who try to give support and answer questions

sorry but i had been involved in this topic, my intention was trying clarify the current situation for people, not creating or reporting a new issue.
Many apologies for the confusion

[Toli]

OK

I have fixed my issue, I deleted the website reinstalled Joomla with my hosts on click installs, then I used a backup to bring back most of my articles.

Thanks for all the help.

I think this issue is not just a 1 point solution. It depends on many factors from the way you installed it, to your hosts servers configuration, and to basic permissions.

Maybe it would be good for someone to create a basic checklist, starting from the easiest to the most time consuming.

Once again thanks for all of those people who helped.

[tuffyg]

hi.

could you please let me know what ianmacs told you to do? i think i have the same problem.

thanks

[AmyStephen]

OK

I have fixed my issue, I deleted the website reinstalled Joomla with my hosts on click installs, then I used a backup to bring back most of my articles.

Thanks for all the help.

I think this issue is not just a 1 point solution. It depends on many factors from the way you installed it, to your hosts servers configuration, and to basic permissions.

Maybe it would be good for someone to create a basic checklist, starting from the easiest to the most time consuming.

Once again thanks for all of those people who helped.

Excellent Toli! I am glad you have your site working now.

Regarding someone creating a checklist, we're it - those of us who use Joomla!, so I invite you and everyone else in this thread to review the wiki resource: Why can't I install extensions? for your own situation. Add to it (It's a wiki - "be bold" as they say) if you think things are missing. Share with others this checklist that you would make for yourself. If others do so, together, this idea of yours will happen.

Thanks for considering - we welcome (and really need!) your contributions.
Amy

tuffyg - please check out that wiki - Ianmac's words are in there. Read the past two pages, or so, of this thread. Ianmac has explained this a few times already. His words will not change and there is no sense for him to type them in again. It is simply not right to ask people to repeat themselves over and over.

[jimporter]

Now I have struggled with this problem for a few days and looked at all relevant posts I could find and could not get this to work. Then being an old coder, decided to look at the code although I know very little PHP and found the solution that works for me.

If someone who has better source knowledge than me could confirm this I would appreciate it.

In the file \root-dir\libraries\joomla\installer\installer.php, in the findmanifest function, where this message is issued from it appears that a check is done to confirm whether or not the .xml manifest file is valid or not, however the error message and a fail condition are set no matter what the outcome.

So I have changed the code from (line 1100):

function _findManifest()
{
// Get an array of all the xml files from teh installation directory
$xmlfiles = JFolder::files($this->getPath('source'), '.xml$', 1, true);
// If at least one xml file exists
if (!empty($xmlfiles)) {
foreach ($xmlfiles as $file)
{
// Is it a valid joomla installation manifest file?
$manifest = $this->_isManifest($file);
if (!is_null($manifest)) {

// If the root method attribute is set to upgrade, allow file overwrite
$root =& $manifest->document;
if ($root->attributes('method') == 'upgrade') {
$this->_overwrite = true;
}

// Set the manifest object and path
$this->_manifest =& $manifest;
$this->setPath('manifest', $file);

// Set the installation source path to that of the manifest file
$this->setPath('source', dirname($file));
return true;
}
}

// None of the xml files found were valid install files
JError::raiseWarning(1, 'JInstaller::install: '.JText::_('ERRORNOTFINDJOOMLAXMLSETUPFILE'));
return false;
} else {
// No xml files were found in the install folder
JError::raiseWarning(1, 'JInstaller::install: '.JText::_('ERRORXMLSETUP'));
return false;
}
}

to:

function _findManifest()
{
// Get an array of all the xml files from teh installation directory
$xmlfiles = JFolder::files($this->getPath('source'), '.xml$', 1, true);
// If at least one xml file exists
if (!empty($xmlfiles)) {
foreach ($xmlfiles as $file)
{
// Is it a valid joomla installation manifest file?
$manifest = $this->_isManifest($file);
if (!is_null($manifest)) {

// If the root method attribute is set to upgrade, allow file overwrite
$root =& $manifest->document;
if ($root->attributes('method') == 'upgrade') {
$this->_overwrite = true;
}

// Set the manifest object and path
$this->_manifest =& $manifest;
$this->setPath('manifest', $file);

// Set the installation source path to that of the manifest file
$this->setPath('source', dirname($file));
return true;
} else {
// None of the xml files found were valid install files
JError::raiseWarning(1, 'JInstaller::install: '.JText::_('ERRORNOTFINDJOOMLAXMLSETUPFILE'));
return false;
}
}
} else {
// No xml files were found in the install folder
JError::raiseWarning(1, 'JInstaller::install: '.JText::_('ERRORXMLSETUP'));
return false;
}
}

This works for me, but I am surprised that given the amount of hassle this has been causing that it has not been tracked down by a Dev.

In actual fact this error message 'ERRORNOTFINDJOOMLAXMLSETUPFILE' is misleading and should not read that the manifest file is missing (that is what the 'ERRORXMLSETUP' message is for) but should say that that the manifest file is present but invalid. Currently both messages read very similarly.

ERRORNOTFINDJOOMLAXMLSETUPFILE=Error! Could not find a Joomla! XML setup file in the package.
ERRORNOTFINDXMLSETUPFILE=Error! Could not find an XML setup file in the package.

Hope this works for you.

Jim

[AmyStephen]

This works for me, but I am surprised that given the amount of hassle this has been causing that it has not been tracked down by a Dev.

Jim -

I will ask a developer to review your code. Perhaps you might share the error code you received, what extension you were installing, and use the Forum Post Assistance to provide that technical background important to debugging.

But, again, and forever, these were the same old Unix ownership issues that people have had for years. If you read the posts closely, you know that these errors were resolved when people used IDs consistent with the owner of the files.

Everyone is looking for that magic bullet. System administration can be difficult. That is why there are professionals in the field. Don't be afraid to hire this work done in the same way you hire a mechanic to work on your car. If you choose to do it alone, expect to invest time learning.

Jim - we really need a bit more on your problem, as I asked. I will try to get a developer to look at that situation and respond. Thank you for sharing your code.

Amy

[ircmaxell]

Now I have struggled with this problem for a few days and looked at all relevant posts I could find and could not get this to work. Then being an old coder, decided to look at the code although I know very little PHP and found the solution that works for me.

If someone who has better source knowledge than me could confirm this I would appreciate it.

In the file \root-dir\libraries\joomla\installer\installer.php, in the findmanifest function, where this message is issued from it appears that a check is done to confirm whether or not the .xml manifest file is valid or not, however the error message and a fail condition are set no matter what the outcome.

Your patch will break extensions which have multiple XML files. If you look the way it does it, once it finds a valid xml file, it returns true (which halts execution of the function). So no errors are thrown if it can find a valid manifest file.

Don't let this be discouraging, keep looking!!! But what you found here isn't a bug. It's intended behavior. It's so that you can have multiple XML files within the package (say, a layout xml file, a metadata xml file, etc). If you find anything else that you question, PLEASE post it!!!

Thanks again,
Anthony

[jimporter]

amystephen - never say again and forever, I am using apachetriad on XP not unix and I have successfully been using the machine for years with different versions of joomla without issue as I have full administrator priviliges, now I have issues. I will check whether the fact that I was working remotely via laptop has had any impact but again I have done this in the past with no issue. However I will check some more.

Also if there were a file permission issue then my solution still should not have worked as the manifest file would not have been read however all installations I have performed since changing this have completed successfully, suggesting that the manifest file could be read, so why the error?

ircmaxell - I understand what you are saying regarding multiple files and the return however this in itself will be wrong will it not. If there are multiple XML files and one later on in the FOREACH loop is invalid this will not be spotted as the return will be actioned after the first valid file??? Surely it would be better to set a variable on an invalid file and check after the loop has completed and if no invalid files have been encountered then RETURN, alternately rotate the logic to allow the loop to complete and only issue the error message and return within the loop when there is an error. Just a thought

[ircmaxell]

ircmaxell - I understand what you are saying regarding multiple files and the return however this in itself will be wrong will it not. If there are multiple XML files and one later on in the FOREACH loop is invalid this will not be spotted as the return will be actioned after the first valid file??? Surely it would be better to set a variable on an invalid file and check after the loop has completed and if no invalid files have been encountered then RETURN, alternately rotate the logic to allow the loop to complete and only issue the error message and return within the loop when there is an error. Just a thought

Well, the design is that it needs to find one good xml file, not all good xml files. So once it finds the first valid install file, then we can process it and return. If we were looking for invalid files, there's a problem with that, in that any xml file would trigger a warning. All we care about is one valid install file, not all valid (or multiple valid) files.

[karagamber]

Having the same issue, I read this forum and tried the solution posted:

Postby ilox on Mon May 26, 2008 7:52 am

And it worked!

Thanks! The key I believe are the settings in the FTP Settings in the Server tab of the Global Configurations. At least they were for me. When i entered my ftp info, i was able to install a mod. from my desktop

Kara Design Group
Joomla 1.5.3
Linux Php 4.3

[ilox]

Hi folks, sorry for my non-appearance. I have been ill, still under the weather, and chasing through my filing system for my small business because 30 June was End-Of-Financial-Year for us down under folks. The PC has hardly had a look in and I am really sorry but Real Life has a way of intruding into what we really wanted to do.

@Amy: I am still not convinced that I have found the answer to my problems and the angst displayed in your last post to me really didn't win you any brownie points. I respect you and your views, what's wrong with getting a little respect back.

I seem to have lucked on some solutions to some of the problems, but not a solution that can be relied on for all of us. I don't believe there is a silver bullet to the problems and part of this is because of the changes made between .1 and .3. Yes, I have read the quotes from others about "nothing changed". If that was the case then working backwards by installing .1 onto the previously mentioned server, then applying the 777 permissions to the /tmp folder should have resolved the issue, same as it did for .3. Instead I got new errors that I have no idea how to fix because everything else looks good to me.

Now to my twisted definition of logic that tells me that there is something different in the way that .1 and .3 handles the installation of software. It might not be the Installer routine but it is very hard to refute that something is different when they are installed the same way within the same environment and running on the same server etc.

Again, the offer is there, still not taken up, for open access to anybody of the Core who wants to find out what is wrong. Just drop me a line and I'll make it happen. Heck, I'll even wreck my whole server's working environment if it helps define the cause. You cant ask much more out of me than that

@jimporter, Thanks very much for your contribution. Whether you have found the answer or just clarified the cause doesn't matter, by working together on this we just might get to the seat of the problem and perhaps so many of the participants of this thread wont have had our weeks of grief in vane.

Folks, I'm still up to my neck in paperwork and wont be free for a few days yet. I will try to keep in contact but this isn't about me. This thread is about each and every one of you that have reported problems with installing. Very few of you have come forward with the detailed information needed to track down the problems. Please, read the requirements for information and share what your system environment is, maybe there is some commonality not yet explored. None of us will know unless all of you participate and share the information.

[Jenny]

Nothing changed in the installer between .1 and .3 . The changelog is available to everyone to look at and you can compare the files yourself at any time. Please stop spreading misinformation.

[ilox]

Wouldn't it be nice if people responded to the message in the posts instead of winding themselves up so much that they cant even talk nicely to each other.

Nothing changed in the installer between .1 and .3 . The changelog is available to everyone to look at and you can compare the files yourself at any time. Please stop spreading misinformation.

And here I was just finished saying...

Now to my twisted definition of logic that tells me that there is something different in the way that .1 and .3 handles the installation of software. It might not be the Installer routine but it is very hard to refute that something is different when they are installed the same way within the same environment and running on the same server etc.

How can that be misinformation when I am reporting what happened to me. What, you think it didn't happen? You were there? Oh, you know that it couldn't have happened because you have been told that the files are the same. And you can be 100% certain that there isn't anything else that might have somehow impacted on how the program worked? Fine. I'm just a user, what would I know.
So why cant you be nice about it instead of sending me nastygrams like that?
Why not show me why my simplistic logic must be wrong? What else can it be if everything else is the same?
Please tell me what I can do to be sure that all has been fixed because at the moment I cant reproduce the same solution even though you and others are adamant that the programs are the same. If the programs are the same then the solution should have the same effect. Shouldn't it?
If the programs are not the same then applying the solution will bring about different effects. So perhaps we need to find a more effective solution, or packet of solutions so we can be sure we are fixing the problem and leaving solid information for the others that follow us.

I don't want to just find something that band-aids one of my sites and then clear off leaving others to flounder while they try solutions that don't work for them. I floundered for an agonising number of weeks before a solution was offered to me. I intend to stay here and work at this until we can together say that we have solutions, that do work, every time, for every situation. There could well be a package of solutions, but at the end of it we want to be confident saying to others, this cause and effect can be fixed by application of this solution.

[mcsmom]

Ian,

I very rarely do this.

I want you to watch this video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... rgKbte2KDw

And then I want you to reflect on your behavior in this thread.

[SpacePyrit]

Thanks again everyone for their help. I know this may be a nerving issue. I myself am trying to find the initial cause, not the problem itself.

Nothing changed in the installer between .1 and .3 . The changelog is available to everyone to look at and you can compare the files yourself at any time. Please stop spreading misinformation.

Where are these chanelogs? I could find them for 1.0.15, but not J1.5.

[mcsmom]

The change log is in your joomla directory. It is changelog.php.
You can also access subversion by following the instructions here:

http://developer.joomla.org/code.html


That way you can trace every single change that has happened.

Good for you for being willing to actually put in the time to explore this question.

[ianmac]

Note that you can also browse the source tree online at http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/joomla ... s%2F1.5%2F

By browsing through here, you can see when each file was last changed, and you can view individual files, and you can also see the entire history of the file since original checkin.

Ian

[mandville]

The change log is in your joomla directory. It is changelog.php.

small note, you must be logged in to see this file and it is accessed from your HELP screen in joomla administrator, it can not be accessed directly

[ilox]

Ian,I very rarely do this. I want you to watch this video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... rgKbte2KDw
And then I want you to reflect on your behavior in this thread.

I cannot believe that you would possibly relate my working in this thread to resolve problems with a statement like this,

How Open Source Projects Survive Poisonous People
Every open source project runs into people who are selfish, uncooperative, and disrespectful. These people can silently poison the atmosphere of a happy developer community.

I just cannot believe that somebody with your experience would resort to name-calling of such a nature.
I reject that absolutely and totally.
I am committed to Joomla! Look at the date that I joined here. I started with Mambo back in February of 2005. I have worked hard to build a business relying on Joomla! I have worked within the community of Joomla! to support it and build it where I can.

I have questions, I have results that don't seem to fit within the parameters of the solutions offered. So I ask those questions because this is the place to get them answered. I ask them in what I think are clear and open questions giving information so that they can be answered without putting a workload on the other volunteers.

And instead of getting answers to my questions, or even a simple response being told where I am going wrong with my assumptions, I get told - by association - that I am "poisonous", "selfish, uncooperative, and disrespectful". In other messages I get insinuations that I am sexist and chauvinistic. I get terse impolite messages like "confirm or deny".

I have not attacked one person. I have openly apologised where it has been shown I was in error or where my words were taken by others as improper. I am not a "selfish, uncooperative, and disrespectful" person, I never have been and I do not intend to ever be seen as one of those.

Why would you possibly feel the need to associate my posts with such an awful thing as a "poisonous" person setting out to destroy an open source community. It is just not true! Balderdash!

[AmyStephen]

Ian -

Today is a GREAT day! We are going to freeze Joomla! 1.5.4 after many weeks of fighting bugs. We are BEAT. Many long nights - early mornings - more hours invested than any of us want to know. But, it's worth it because there are a number of bugs fixed, some really important consistencies pounded into the interface, and, for developers a couple of awesome opportunities that is going to translate into mega fun for end users.

The last few weeks have been very busy around Joomla!. At least as busy as the initial 1.5 release, IMO. The two PBFs (thanks to those of you who took a couple of hours out of your busy schedule to help), the new community site, new community magazine, answering questions in the forums, frontpage articles, press releases, new FAQs, and dealing with the non-technical issues in this thread that burned a ton of time and enthusiasm. And, still, after all of these weeks, the beat goes on and on!

When you have smart people who care, they can explain how things work. Sometimes, you can convince someone who is convicted the problem has nothing to do with anything they did, to at least try a different approach. That person can follow those instructions and see it work with their very own eyes. But, you can never make anyone believe or acknowledge what they refuse to believe or acknowledge.

Ian - since you no longer have a Web site that is unable to install extensions, and since you have repeatedly rejected any advice given, and since you do not know how to help those who have this problem, would you please stop posting in this thread?

You seem to recognize the frustration we are showing with your approach but you keep doing it. You have attacked people. Look back at your response to the assistance given you at the tracker to your Bug report. Since that time there have been threats. Name calling. Perhaps without realizing it, but these actions are discouraging the people who contribute to this project in a big way and for a long time, now. If you have seen the video, then you understand the point. Watch the whole video - not everyone intends to have that impact.

I've had to adapt, too, Ian, because my impact has not always been good, either. It's hard but it's important.

Now, stop. Please.
Amy

[mcsmom]

Ian,

I asked you to reflect, which means you should spend some time thinking about it and re reading the 8 pages of posts on this thread. Wait a day and think about how you can try to be an energy source rather than an energy and emotional drain for 6 people. As they point out in the video, most poison people do not do so intentionally. However they are destructive and sap the energy out of a project.

You say you have been here since the beginning. Great, wonderful, but now is the chance for you to become a positive force in the community.

Please, go to the general forum and answer a question from a beginner every day. Just one a day and you would have almost 1100 posts since you joined. Not close to the experience of the people who have endeavored to help you for the last weeks, but it would at least show some seriousness about being a positive member of the community. You posting and posting about a problem you don't have and about which you have no new information are keeping us from helping other people.

I don't believe you have yet added to the wiki despite my suggestion that you start a page on this. Yes, because you didn't I probably served as an enabler for your continued acting out by creating that page (http://docs.joomla.org/Troubleshooting_ ... ensions.3F) when you did not. But that's what people like me do, we try to make contributions even when we are frustrated. Turn lemons into lemonade.

I also don't believe you joined us for either PBF or tested any issues in the tracker on your own. I don't believe you have looked through the records to find the things you have imagined happened, as all of the rest of us have done and Space proposes to do. What have you done? Nothing besides make long , incorrect, and hostile posts in this thread.

You say you are busy. Guess what? The rest of us are too. We all have websites to run and day jobs. The ONLY reason knowledgeable people are posting in this thread at this point is to stop you from continuing to spread misinformation.

I'm going to ask that anyone who has a problem not addressed by the pages and pages of advice given in this thread and in the wiki start a new thread. I am also asking members of the jbs to stop feeding the energy monster and end their participation in this thread. I'd really recommend EVERYONE watch that video, because it really helped me to remember the enabling behaviors that i've had in this thread. So no more feeding the energy monster for me.

[Barrya]

Dear All
I thought that a Forum was there to help people, some of these posts should have been private messages in my view.
Let's keeps forums for what they should be used for, helping people!

I don't want to come to a forum, and find I have to read through loads of irrelevant articles, which do not provide relevant information to the subject matter. Wheres the Moderators?

As a newbie to JOOMLA, I look for help and by looking through posts, that is what I hope to find, not comments etc about others, who all give their time to help each other, if someone is frustrated, because they have a unsolved problem, please let's understand this, and try to help, no hinder!
Yours
A very surprised Newbie
Barry

[ircmaxell]

I'm asking to have this tread locked. It has gone well past the realm of usefulness, and is becoming a melting pot of bad vibes. Please, only open a new thread if you are actually having the problem!!!

[user deleted]

Moderator note; topic locked