Error 500

[anders_g]

My site's frontend works, but I can't open the backend (administrator). I get an error 500:
"Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, [no address given] and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Apache/2.2.8 (Ubuntu) Server at http://www.elct-ned.org Port 80"

I have been thinking of running the installation again, but of course I don't want to damage the contents of my site. Could this be done?

Any other clues?

/Anders

[numinousmedia]

Usually this sort of error is caused by an extension that is not compatible either with your site, or with your server configuration. Did you recently install or enable a new extension? Did you upgrade an extension recently, or upgrade the Joomla CMS? Has your server configuration been changed recently? If you are able to narrow it down to an extension that caused your trouble, you can disable the extension in your database, and get your site back.

Also, if you have FTP access, you can run the Forum Post Assistant and copy the report here. It may help diagnose what's going on with your site. You can download the FPA here: http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=621&t=582860

[anders_g]

To the best of my memory it happened when I updated to latest version - though I left it there a some time ago, and just now got time to mend with things. Here follows report:

Can\'t start admin page

500

Joomla! Instance :: Joomla! 2.5.24-Stable (Ember) 25-July-2014
Joomla! Platform :: Joomla Platform 11.4.0-Stable (Brian Kernighan) 03-Jan-2012
Joomla! Configured :: Yes | Read-Only (444) | Owner: ws2247 (uid: 1/gid: 1) | Group: ws2247 (gid: 1) | Valid For: 2.5
Configuration Options :: Offline: 0 | SEF: 1 | SEF Suffix: 0 | SEF ReWrite: 0 | .htaccess/web.config: No | GZip: 0 | Cache: 0 | FTP Layer: 0 | SSL: 0 | Error Reporting: default | Site Debug: 0 | Language Debug: 0 | Default Access: 1 | Unicode Slugs: 0 | Database Credentials Present: Yes

Host Configuration :: OS: Linux | OS Version: 2.6.18-308.8.2.el5.028stab101.1PAE | Technology: i686 | Web Server: Apache/2.2.8 (Ubuntu) | Encoding: gzip,deflate | Doc Root: /home/httpd/ws2247/elct-ned.org | System TMP Writable: Yes

PHP Configuration :: Version: 5.2.4-2ubuntu5.7 | PHP API: cgi-fcgi | Session Path Writable: Yes | Display Errors: 1 | Error Reporting: 6135 | Log Errors To: | Last Known Error: | Register Globals: | Magic Quotes: 1 | Safe Mode: | Open Base: | Uploads: 1 | Max. Upload Size: 30M | Max. POST Size: 20M | Max. Input Time: 60 | Max. Execution Time: 30 | Memory Limit: 64M

MySQL Configuration :: Version: 5.0.51a-3ubuntu5.1 (Client:5.0.51a) | Host: --protected-- (--protected--) | Collation: latin1_swedish_ci (Character Set: latin1) | Database Size: 102.04 MiB | #of Tables:  120

PHP Extensions :: zip (1.4.0) | xmlwriter (0.1) | libxml () | xml () | wddx () | tokenizer (0.1) | sysvshm () | sysvsem () | sysvmsg () | session () | SimpleXML (0.1) | sockets () | soap () | SPL (0.2) | shmop () | standard (5.2.4-2ubuntu5.7) | Reflection (0.1) | posix () | mime_magic (0.1) | mbstring () | json (1.2.1) | iconv () | hash (1.0) | gettext () | ftp () | filter (0.11.0) | exif (1.4 $Id: exif.c,v 1.173.2.5.2.20 2007/06/10 20:12:45 iliaa Exp $) | dom (20031129) | dba () | date (5.2.4-2ubuntu5.7) | ctype () | calendar () | bz2 () | bcmath () | zlib (1.1) | pcre () | openssl () | xmlreader (0.1) | cgi-fcgi () | imap () | mcrypt () | curl () | gd () | gmp () | imagick (2.0.1) | ldap () | mhash () | mysql (1.0) | mysqli (0.1) | PDO (1.0.4dev) | pdo_mysql (1.0.2) | tidy (2.0) | xmlrpc (0.51) | Zend Engine (2.2.0) |
Potential Missing Extensions :: suhosin |

Switch User Environment (Experimental) :: PHP CGI: Yes | Server SU: No | PHP SU: Yes | Custom SU (LiteSpeed/Cloud/Grid): Yes
Potential Ownership Issues: No

Core Folders :: images/ (755) | components/ (755) | modules/ (755) | plugins/ (755) | language/ (755) | templates/ (755) | cache/ (755) | logs/ (755) | tmp/ (777) | administrator/components/ (777) | administrator/modules/ (777) | administrator/language/ (777) | administrator/templates/ (777) |

Elevated Permissions (First 10) :: administrator/ (777) | administrator/includes/ (777) | administrator/modules/ (777) | administrator/modules/mod_feed/ (777) | administrator/modules/mod_feed/tmpl/ (777) | administrator/modules/mod_menu/ (777) | administrator/modules/mod_menu/tmpl/ (777) | administrator/modules/mod_popular/ (777) | administrator/modules/mod_popular/tmpl/ (777) | tmp/ (777) |

Components :: SITE :: WF_MEDIAPLAYER_JCEPLAYER_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_POPUPS_JCEMEDIABOX_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_POPUPS_WINDOW_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_AGGREGATOR_VIMEO_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_AGGREGATOR_[youtube]_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_FILESYSTEM_JOOMLA_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_LINKS_JOOMLALINKS_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_LAYER_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_INLINEPOPUPS_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_CONTEXTMENU_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_SPELLCHECKER_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_FULLSCREEN_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_XHTMLXTRAS_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_CLEANUP_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_IMGMANAGER_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_BROWSER_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_DIRECTIONALITY_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_SEARCHREPLACE_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_PRINT_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_VISUALCHARS_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_NONBREAKING_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_TABLE_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_PREVIEW_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_SOURCE_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_ARTICLE_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_TEXTCASE_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_LINK_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_AUTOSAVE_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_MEDIA_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_PASTE_TITLE (2.0.21) | WF_STYLE_TITLE (2.0.21) | com_mailto (2.5.0) | com_wrapper (2.5.0) |
Components :: ADMIN :: com_finder (2.5.0) | com_cache (2.5.0) | com_categories (2.5.0) | com_weblinks (2.5.0) | Editor - JCE (2.0.21) | JCE (2.0.21) | Unknown (-) | Akeeba (3.2.7) | com_banners (2.5.0) | com_login (2.5.0) | com_messages (2.5.0) | com_installer (2.5.0) | com_languages (2.5.0) | com_config (2.5.0) | com_media (2.5.0) | com_modules (2.5.0) | com_checkin (2.5.0) | COM_DATASAFE_PRO (2.1.1) | com_search (2.5.0) | JoomlaCK Pugin Manager Control (1.0.0 DEVELOP) | com_jckman (5.2) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | JTreeLink (1.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | com_plugins (2.5.0) | com_newsfeeds (2.5.0) | com_admin (2.5.0) | com_cpanel (2.5.0) | com_joomlaupdate (2.5.0) | com_content (2.5.0) | com_users (2.5.0) | com_templates (2.5.0) | com_menus (2.5.0) | com_redirect (2.5.0) |

Modules :: SITE :: mod_menu (2.5.0) | mod_footer (2.5.0) | mod_articles_latest (2.5.0) | mod_feed (2.5.0) | mod_languages (2.5.0) | mod_banners (2.5.0) | mod_search (2.5.0) | mod_custom (2.5.0) | mod_articles_categories (2.5.0) | mod_weblinks (2.5.0) | mod_login (2.5.0) | mod_wrapper (2.5.0) | mod_articles_category (2.5.0) | mod_articles_popular (2.5.0) | RokAjaxSearch (1.1) | mod_stats (2.5.0) | mod_users_latest (2.5.0) | mod_syndicate (2.5.0) | mod_finder (2.5.0) | mod_articles_archive (2.5.0) | mod_random_image (2.5.0) | mod_breadcrumbs (2.5.0) | mod_articles_news (2.5.0) | mod_related_items (2.5.0) | mod_whosonline (2.5.0) |
Modules :: ADMIN :: mod_menu (2.5.0) | mod_popular (2.5.0) | mod_feed (2.5.0) | mod_custom (2.5.0) | mod_submenu (2.5.0) | mod_login (2.5.0) | mod_multilangstatus (2.5.0) | mod_title (2.5.0) | mod_version (2.5.0) | mod_status (2.5.0) | mod_toolbar (2.5.0) | Akeeba Backup Notification Mod (3.2.7) | mod_quickicon (2.5.0) | JoomlaCK Pugin Manager Control (1.0.0 DEVELOP) | mod_latest (2.5.0) | mod_logged (2.5.0) |

Plugins :: SITE :: plg_finder_contacts (2.5.0) | plg_finder_categories (2.5.0) | plg_finder_newsfeeds (2.5.0) | plg_finder_content (2.5.0) | plg_finder_weblinks (2.5.0) | plg_authentication_joomla (2.5.0) | plg_authentication_ldap (2.5.0) | plg_authentication_gmail (2.5.0) | plg_captcha_recaptcha (2.5.0) | plg_user_joomla (2.5.0) | plg_user_profile (2.5.0) | plg_user_contactcreator (2.5.0) | plg_system_redirect (2.5.0) | System - JCK Modal (1.0) | plg_system_remember (2.5.0) | plg_datasafe_pro (2.1.3) | plg_system_highlight (2.5.0) | plg_system_sef (2.5.0) | plg_system_logout (2.5.0) | plg_system_p3p (2.5.0) | System - JCK Typography (3.5.0) | plg_system_languagecode (2.5.0) | Akeeba Backup Lazy Scheduling (3.2.7) | plg_system_cache (2.5.0) | plg_system_debug (2.5.0) | plg_system_log (2.5.0) | plg_system_languagefilter (2.5.0) | plg_search_contacts (2.5.0) | plg_search_categories (2.5.0) | plg_search_newsfeeds (2.5.0) | plg_search_content (2.5.0) | plg_search_weblinks (2.5.0) | plg_content_finder (2.5.0) | plg_content_loadmodule (2.5.0) | plg_content_pagebreak (2.5.0) | plg_content_vote (2.5.0) | plg_content_joomla (2.5.0) | plg_content_emailcloak (2.5.0) | plg_content_geshi (2.5.0) | plg_content_pagenavigation (2.5.0) | plg_editors_tinymce (3.5.4.1) | plg_editors_codemirror (1.0) | Editor - JCE (2.0.21) | Editor - JoomlaCK (6.5.6) | System - JCK Typography (3.5.0) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (1.0) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | Unknown (0.1) | JTreeLink (1.0) | Unknown (0.1) | plg_quickicon_extensionupdate (2.5.0) | plg_quickicon_joomlaupdate (2.5.0) | plg_editors-xtd_pagebreak (2.5.0) | plg_editors-xtd_article (2.5.0) | plg_editors-xtd_readmore (2.5.0) | plg_editors-xtd_image (2.5.0) | plg_extension_joomla (2.5.0) |

Templates :: SITE :: JA_Purity (1.2.0) | beez5 (2.5.0) | rhuk_milkyway (1.0.2) | atomic (2.5.0) | elctned (1.0) | beez_20 (2.5.0) | rhuk_milkyway (1.0.2) |
Templates :: ADMIN :: hathor (2.5.0) | bluestork (2.5.0) |

[numinousmedia]

Right off the bat, I'd recommend correcting your folder and file permissions. All of your folders should be set to 755 permissions. 777 permissions creates a huge security risk. I would also make sure all of your files have 644 permissions. You can use an FTP program like Filezilla to make all of these file and folder permissions changes in bulk.

It looks like your server meets minimum requirements, but just barely. Technically, your site should run with the settings you have, but it might not be a bad idea to upgrade your server at some point after you get your site running again.

I'm not super familiar with all of the extensions you are running, but from the ones I know of, many of them are pretty far behind. If just one of these extensions wasn't compatible with the latest version of Joomla, it could potentially cause this 500 error. I just dealt with a similar problem on one of my sites this week.

What I also find a little disconcerting is that FPA found so many "Unknown" extensions. This could be nothing, or it could represent a problem with your database, or at worst, it could indicate a hack. With your folders set to 777, I wouldn't necessarily write that possibility out.

Do you have a backup of the site from before you upgraded your site?

[anders_g]

Thanks, disabling extensions put the admin page back! I will investigate what I can do for the future.

/Anders