PHP Version Error: 7.0.31 Obsolete?! Topic is solved

[mikidudle]

Hi,
I've tried to get rid of this backend error message. I Updated php from 5.6 to 7.0.31. Just the version in the message changed. I deleted an obsolete plugin (Custom CSS). The error message persists. Does anyone know why I'm getting this php version error?
Joomla! 3.9.1
Virtuemart 3.4.2

FPA output below:

PHP Version Error 7.0.31 Obsolete?

Error We have detected that your server is using PHP 7.0.30 which is obsolete and no longer receives official security updates by its developers. The Joomla! Project recommends upgrading your site to PHP 7.1 or later which will receive security updates at least until 2019-12-01. Please ask your host to make PHP 7.1 or a later version the default version for your site. If your host is already PHP 7.1 ready please enable PHP 7.1 on your site's root and 'administrator' directories – typically you can do this yourself through a tool in your hosting control panel, but it's best to ask your host if you are unsure.

Removed Custom CSS plugin. Still getting error. FPA says theres a php display error but I can't figure out what it is.

Joomla! Instance :: Joomla! 3.9.1-Stable (Amani) 27-November-2018
Joomla! Platform :: Joomla Platform 13.1.0-Stable (Curiosity) 24-Apr-2013
Joomla! Configured :: Yes | Read-Only (444) | Owner: --protected-- . (uid: 1/gid: 1) | Group: --protected-- (gid: 1) | Valid For: 3.9
Configuration Options :: Offline: false | SEF: true | SEF Suffix: false | SEF ReWrite: false | .htaccess/web.config: Yes | GZip: false | Cache: false | CacheTime: 15 | CacheHandler: file | CachePlatformPrefix: false | FTP Layer: false | Proxy: false | LiveSite: | Session lifetime: 15 | Session handler: database | Shared sessions: false | SSL: 0 | Error Reporting: default | Site Debug: false | Language Debug: false | Default Access: 1 | Unicode Slugs: false | dbConnection Type: mysqli | PHP Supports J! 3.9.1: Yes | Database Supports J! 3.9.1: Yes | Database Credentials Present: Yes |

Host Configuration :: OS: Linux | OS Version: 2.6.32-896.16.1.lve1.4.53.el6.x86_64 | Technology: x86_64 | Web Server: LiteSpeed | Encoding: gzip, deflate | Doc Root: --protected-- | System TMP Writable: Yes | Free Disk Space : 724.62 GiB |

PHP Configuration :: Version: 7.0.30 | PHP API: litespeed | Session Path Writable: Yes | Display Errors: 1 | Error Reporting: 0 | Log Errors To: error_log | Last Known Error: | Register Globals: | Magic Quotes: | Safe Mode: | Open Base: | Uploads: 1 | Max. Upload Size: 32M | Max. POST Size: 64M | Max. Input Time: 60 | Max. Execution Time: 30 | Memory Limit: 32M

Database Configuration :: Version: 10.0.34-MariaDB-cll-lve (Client:10.0.34-MariaDB) | Host: --protected-- (--protected--) | default Collation: latin1_swedish_ci (default Character Set: latin1) | Database Size: 12.66 MiB | #of Tables: 184

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Potential Missing Extensions :: pdo_mysql |

Switch User Environment (Experimental) :: PHP CGI: No | Server SU: No | PHP SU: No | 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/ (---) | tmp/ (755) | administrator/components/ (755) | administrator/modules/ (755) | administrator/language/ (755) | administrator/templates/ (755) | administrator/logs/ (755) |

Elevated Permissions (First 10) ::

Database statistics :: Uptime: 16800540 | Threads: 9 | Questions: 4583042998 | Slow queries: 7284 | Opens: 2802532 | Flush tables: 621 | Open tables: 8191 | Queries per second avg: 272.791 |

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3rd Party:: VirtueMart Administrator Menu (3.4.2) ? |

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[leolam]

Well the message is very clear isn't it? We warn you that your PHP-version is out-of-date and obsolete and that you need to upgrade to Joomla 7.1. You can disable these warnings by disabling tthe plugin "Quick Icon - PHP Version Check" Still though you need to update your PHP version!

Leo

[toivo]

BTW, the setting for Memory Limit 32M looks rather low. You should get your host to increase it at least to 64M.

At the same time, the following two selections should have the same value, which is equal to or less than the Memory Limit:
- Max. Upload Size: 32M
- Max. POST Size: 64M

If the Error Reporting in Joomla is set to 'Default' and in the php.ini file the directive error_reporting is 0, you are not going to see any errors displayed on the pages or added to the PHP error log. Before you start troubleshooting and debugging, change the level of error reporting in Global Configuration to 'Maximum'.

[mikidudle]

LOL. I doubt that version 7.0.31 is past end of life and is no longer supported. Leolam's answer is quick witted but changing things to 7.0 or 7.1 from the CPanel "Select PHP Version" breaks the site. That's the problem.

In looking at the Apache CPanel I've found several places (MultiPHP & MultiPHP ini editor) where php 5.6 is being inherited. If I use MultiPHP to turn off inheritance, php 7.0 and 7.1 displays a 403 error when attempting to view the web site. So just changing it to 7.1 is not the answer. There's some inheritance in the htaccess file but it says edit it from MultiPHP. Love circular problems.

When I set Error Reporting at Maximum I get no errors every since I uninstalled the Custom CSS plugin (I'm using the user.css method instead). Sadly I have no idea what's causing the web site to reject php 7.0 and 7.1. What to adjust?! Is there a php version setting in Joomla! 3.9.1 that I'm missing?

Anyone have any suggestions?

[sozzled]

LOL. I doubt that version 7.0.31 is past end of life and is no longer supported.

See http://php.net/supported-versions.php. PHP 5, PHP 7.0 and PHP 7.1 are all at end-of-life. PHP 7.1 is no longer "actively supported" (i.e. there may be security-related patches released in future but only until 30 November this year).

PHP 7.0 (and all previous releases of PHP) are dead in the water; at this time there will be no new releases including security-related patches for this version of PHP as well as all older versions. I hope this information dispels any "doubts" you may have that the warning message about PHP 7.0.31 being obsolete is something you can ignore. Of course you may continue to use PHP 7.0.31 for as long as you wish; there is no reason to change from PHP 7.0.31 until your website crashes and dies because you are unable to obtain other software that operates on an outdated and obsolete version of PHP.

[mikidudle]

Hey Sozzled. Your right! Thanks. So ... as I asked earlier ... how do I fix this so I can upgrade to 7.1 which you indicate is a good idea? Any ideas )

[sozzled]

What is it you want to fix, specifically?

[leolam]

Hey Sozzled. Your right!

Thanks for confirming that I was right before as well php 7.0 is end of life as per 3rd Dec 2018.

You have extensions that are either not up-to-date with latest version or not compatible with PHP7.1. You need to address these extensions. Start with setting error reporting in your Joomla configuration to maximum (see what Toivo wrote though) , set to php7.1 and see what error is shown. Often you see a referral to the extension that is not compatible. If that does not gives clarity you will need to address the modules, components and plugins you have from 3rd party extension developers and I would start to look at your 3rd party modules. Start with disabling "ARI Image Slider (2.2.4) 1". We know that they had to update each module to work with PHP7....

Leo

[mikidudle]

Thank you. The Error I get when I switch on php 7.1 is:
Warning: session_start(): Failed to read session data: user (path: /tmp) in /home/myroot/public_html/mywebsite.com/libraries/joomla/session/handler/native.php on line 260
Error: Failed to start application: Failed to start the session


Here's the code that is above through line 260 in native.php:
/**
* Performs the session start mechanism
*
* @return void
*
* @since 3.5.1
* @throws RuntimeException If something goes wrong starting the session.
*/
private function doSessionStart()
{
// Register our function as shutdown method, so we can manipulate it
register_shutdown_function(array($this, 'save'));

// Disable the cache limiter
session_cache_limiter('none');

/*
* Extended checks to determine if the session has already been started
*/

// If running PHP 5.4, try to use the native API
if (version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '5.4', 'ge') && PHP_SESSION_ACTIVE === session_status())
{
throw new RuntimeException('Failed to start the session: already started by PHP.');
}

// Fallback check for PHP 5.3
if (version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '5.4', 'lt') && !$this->closed && isset($_SESSION) && $this->getId())
{
throw new RuntimeException('Failed to start the session: already started by PHP ($_SESSION is set).');
}

// If we are using cookies (default true) and headers have already been started (early output),
if (ini_get('session.use_cookies') && headers_sent($file, $line))
{
throw new RuntimeException(sprintf('Failed to start the session because headers have already been sent by "%s" at line %d.', $file, $line));
}

// Ok to try and start the session
if (!session_start())
{
throw new RuntimeException('Failed to start the session');
}

// Mark ourselves as started
$this->started = true;
}
}

[sozzled]

You have Session Handler set to database and the database has the wrong collation/character encoding for your version of J!. I don't know if it would assist to change the Session Handler = PHP.

Might also be an idea to change the database collation/character encoding.

[mikidudle]

Thanks sozzled.
I'm assuming Session Handler is in the global config file. Yes?
What is the correct collation/character encoding setting? Is that also in the global config?

[sozzled]

Session Handler is in Global Configuration, yes. Database collation/character-encoding, no; see viewtopic.php?f=706&t=959475#p3514639 for my thoughts relating to that.

[mikidudle]

Update - When I change the Session Handler I get the following error:
Error: Call to a member function getActive() on null: The MySQLi extension for PHP is not installed or enabled.

[sozzled]

At least it's nice to know what the error was. Because you're using MariaDB and you don't have the module pdo_mysql , these may be the reasons for the problems I'm out of my depth here. A lot seems to point to problems in connecting/using the database, doesn't it?

[mikidudle]

To change the db char-encoding I went to my CPanel. I get some choices after opening CPanel
While at phpMyAdmin/Operations/Collation I get a few check boxes when I change the db character-encoding. Should I check one, both, none? They are:
Change all tables collations?
Change all tables columns collations?

This looks like it's a major db rebuild and so won't be done during business hours and only after a complete backup ... which I'm doing. Is my site going to be functional after I do this with our without going to php 7.1? I'm thinking I may do it off line on my XAMPP local host to test it. Also, there's another much newer Joomla site on this server. It's having the same issues and is set to the 'wrong' char-encode. Any further suggestions?

[mikidudle]

So the clue is that error messages indicated that there are modules missing for php 7.1 If you are having this problem and have access to your CPanel, which I do, then go to the "Select PHP Version" under "Software" in the CPanel. Click the "Switch to PHP Extensions" link at the top right of the table. I compared what extensions were checked in php 7.0 and 7.1 and found quite a few (19) boxes checked in 7.0 and only 5 in 7.1; including but not limited to mysqli, pdo_sqlite, sockets, xmlreader and many more. I matched all the boxes in 7.0 to 7.1 and viola, all my Joomla web sites work perfectly. I'm surprised that the default extensions for 7.1 are so limited. Thanks for the help and for sticking with me on this one.

[JAVesey]

I’m surprised that the default extensions for 7.1 are so limited.

You should raise this with your hosting provider as you nearly embarked upon unnecessary dB work.

Now you’re at PHP7.1 and you know what you did to get your site functioning again you should really have a look at moving to PHP7.2.x as it will be actively supported and updated further into the future and your site will get a small speed-boost too

Possibly nothing more than a few clicks in your cPanel

[mikidudle]

Hey John,
Sadly my hosting service rejected my suggestion that their php 7.1 default extensions were too limited. Since the highest php version they provide is 7.1, I didn't know 7.2 existed until you just mentioned it. I'm thinking they're not a good fit going forward.

Seriously, any suggestions on where to look for a good hosting service? One of my sub-domains is a big site - Virtuemart - BreezingForms - 1000's of products and all that. It's ready to have its own hosting. I'd like to make sure that I find a good reliable host for it. Thanks in advance! Any serious suggestions greatly appreciated.

[sozzled]

Three points to make:

1) Changing the database collation/character encoding is a three-second job with Akeeba Admin Tools (yes, the free version) as I mentioned in viewtopic.php?f=706&t=959475#p3514793

2) PHP 7.0 and PHP 7.1 are both obsolete; I provided you with that information earlier in http://php.net/supported-versions.php.

3) Different webhosting companies offer their customers differing PHP configurations: different companies have different "default" configurations. That's just the nature of the business. If your webhosting provider doesn't offer you PHP 7.2 and they have no plans to do this in the next 3-6 months then it's probably time to go elsewhere. There are hundreds of good webhosting companies offering very competitive packages. Your webhosting provider's comment that their PHP 7.1 default extensions were "too limited" is partly correct; as you discovered, when you added the missing PHP modules—and everything started to work again—it's your business, it's your responsibility, to learn. We weren't born with this knowledge; we all had to learn these things ourselves. Anyway, now that you've learnt what was needed, there's no point in blaming anyone.

As far as suggestions about "good hosting companies" are concerned, this forum is literally full of suggestions. There's no point in us repeating what we've written dozens of times before. Use the search feature of the forum: look for "good hosting companies" (as well as other keywords) and see what you discover.

[mikidudle]

Well said. I agree fully. Thanks

[Maigrey42]

Mikidudle: I am having the exact same issue I think; but for some reason I cannot see the current 7.0 extensions because they are "native." There is just a message stating that they can't be changed. If I look at 7.0 without the (native) designation, the extension selections are the same as 7.1. Any suggestions?

[mikidudle]

Hey Maigrey42,
So you're getting the same error message which means your php is working but it won't be receiving updates by the end of year - if not already. Is your problem that you don't know what extensions to set?
Lemme know. If so, I'll post the ones I have set. I can't guarantee they're right for you but you can try them out.
M

[Maigrey42]

Thanks Mikidudle! Maybe that will help. Hopefully, the extensions will be the same for many Joomla installations unless there was a lot of previous customization on the site. Mine did not, except for some Regular Labs stuff and JCE Editor.

[Maigrey42]

Mikidudle, re: your host - I recently switched some sites to Blue Host and I have had success with others on Green Geeks, in case you are looking for new options.

[Maigrey42]

OK. I've checked 7.1-7.3 and compared the error messages:

7.1 & 7.2 does this for all pages:

Oop's, we have a 0
Using $this when not in object context

in large letters!

Plus the Administrator still works. Could this mean that my design template is what is causing the problem? It's pretty old.

For 7.3 I get a similar error message that others have reported (...line 260). Administrator is down too.

[sozzled]

@Maigrey42: How does this "$this problem" relate to the discussion about the advisory message shown in the Joomla control panel about PHP 7.0.31 being obsolete? If your "$this problem" is not related to the advisory message shown in the Joomla control panel about PHP 7.0.31 being obsolete, please start a new topic to discuss that problem.

This topic is about the advisory message, shown in the Joomla control panel, about PHP 7.0.31 being obsolete. That issue has been resolved. OK?

[mikidudle]

To all - as usual, sozzled is gruff but correct. The "$this problem" can be associated with your php version but is not actually the same problem. I'd suggest that you start a new thread or find a Joomla chat. I wish you the best.