"core.1234" files keep appearing

PHP version: 5.2.8
Apache or IIS version: 2.2.11
Operating System and version: Linux
MySQL version: 4.0.27 standard
List of any tables over 1MB in size: Jot_content, manager_log, site_content
MODx Version: 0.9.6.3
Any changes you’ve made: I recently did a reinstall of the CMS and may have adversely adjusted the database language to utf-8 in the config file from what it was prior.
Any snippets you’re running on the page that is not working properly: Not applicable to my knowledge.
Any plugins you’re running: Not applicable to my knowledge.

I am continually getting "core.####" files appearing in my public_html folder.  I asked my server support about it and they referred me back to ModX.  I have one of the "Core" files available to download if you need to look at it.  Needless to say this is a problem as I don’t want these files being generated continually as they will eventually make me run out of server space.  Download the core file at http://www.sendspace.com/file/q1qvl7

This is what I got from my service provider support: "Thank you for contacting us. We have removed all core files from your account. Please note that core files are being generated when a php script stops its execution unexpectedly due to compilation errors. Please contact your script developer and try to get an update regarding this issue. Please feel free to get back to us if you need any further assistance. "

Thanks for any help.

Sounds like core dump files from a server misconfiguration. What snippets and plugins are you running, with specific versions.

----Plugins----
Bottom Button Bar (1) - Adds a set of buttons to the bottom of all manager pages
Forgot Manager Login (16) - Resets your manager login when you forget your password.
Google Analytics (13)
Image TV Preview (30) - 1.2.0.4 - Show preview of any images loaded into image Template Variables
Inherit Parent Template (3) - New docs automatically select template of parent folder
ObfuscateEmail (15) - 0.9.1 Anti-spam email plug-in.
QuickEdit (4) - Front-end Content Editor.
Search Highlighting (29) - 1.3 - Show search terms highlighted on page linked from search results. (Requires AjaxSearch snippet)
SEO Strict URLs (8) - 1.0 Strict URLs, part of FURLs
TemplateSwitcher (7) - Changes templates used on all pages in your site.
TinyMCE (28) - 3.2.0.1: TinyMCE RichText Editor Plugin

----Snippets----
*AjaxSearch (16) - 1.8.1 Ajax enabled search form with results highlighting.
*Breadcrumbs (2) - 1.0.1 Configurable breadcrumb page trail navigation.
*Ditto (46) - 2.1.0 Aggregates documents to create blogs, article/news.
*eForm (4) - 1.4.4.5 Robust form parser/processor with validation, multiple sending options, chunk/page support for forms and reports, and file uploads.
*FeedX (35) - 0.1.2 General purpose XML feed reader
FirstChildRedirect (5) - 1.0 Automatically redirects to the first child of a folder document.
*Jot (47) - 1.1.4 User comments with moderation and email subscription.
ListIndexer (7) - 1.0.1 Shows the most recent documents, highly flexible.
MemberCheck (8) - 1.0 Selectively show chunks based on logged in Web User’ group memberships.
MollioMenu (17) - Used for right side menu
mPlayer (20) - 1.2 Flash MP3 Player with URL encryption.
NewsPublisher (45) - 1.4 Publish news articles directly from the web.
Personalize (10) - 2.0 Basic personalization for web users.
Reflect (18) - 2.1 Used with Ditto, creates archives of articles, blog entries, image galleries and more.
*SiteMap (24) - 1.0.8 Outputs Google readable site map.
UltimateParent (11) - 2.0 beta - Travels up the document tree from a specified document and returns the "ultimate" parent.
*Wayfinder (12) - 2.0 Completely template-driven menu builder that’s simple and fast to configure.
WebChangePwd (13) - 1.0 Web User Change Password Snippet.
WebLogin (14) - 1.0 Web User Login Snippet.
WebSignup (15) - 1.1 Web User Signup Snippet.
*youtube (21) - 1.2 Easy YouTube video embedding.

* = I know these are in use on all or some pages.


I’m not necessarily calling all of these scripts.  I did also update Ajaxsearch not too long ago which may be a culprit as when I look through the core file I can see that ModX is having trouble connecting to the database.

Is the site apparently working? Can you determine if these files are generated by manager activity, or front-end page generation?

The TemplateSwitcher plugin has been know to cause trouble; try disabling that one. Also I would be a bit suspicious of the SEO Strict URLs plugin.

Youtube embedding I’m not familiar with, but I’d take a hard look at anything that is dependent on external input like that.

Also try updating to the latest Ajax Search code.

"Is the site apparently working? Can you determine if these files are generated by manager activity, or front-end page generation?"
Not sure about this one, the site is working generally fine, with some slightly higher rates of non-loading pages. But that could also be my server as I’ve been having an equal share of trouble logging into cPanel. I can’t tell if it’s front or back end of ModX.

"The TemplateSwitcher plugin has been know to cause trouble; try disabling that one. Also I would be a bit suspicious of the SEO Strict URLs plugin.
Youtube embedding I’m not familiar with, but I’d take a hard look at anything that is dependent on external input like that."
My guess is no on either of these as they’ve been in use since I started the site two years ago and haven’t made any changes to them that I’m aware of.

"Also try updating to the latest Ajax Search code."
This might be where the problem lies. I had installed the latest version of it but had to revert to the next oldest version as the new one caused parser errors. Sadly, I’m not completely knowledgeable as to why the new version didn’t work and the older one did.

I think I’ll try out a different version of AjaxSearch and see what it does. Is there any other information you can give me about this file and problem? Or is it just as simple as a script failing?

I have the same problem. Have you find the solution?

Your MySQL version is way out of date; I recommend upgrading that first. It’s likely being caused by the older MySQL client libraries.

Jason’s absolutely right... newer MySQL will very likely work better.

If that’s not in the offing right now, if you have PHPAdmin, you can do a Repair on your tables. This has worked for me before.