install failed because MODx could not unpack . . . core.transport.zip package

I thought this was going to be a problem - Windows servers usually are - but thought I’d give it a stab, and will be a good feedback on IIS7 installations if I can pull it off. The specs:

Server is iiS7.
Attempting install of Revo 2.0.8-advanced-pl (see below, off to try basic)
I have tested MS Rewrites, present, looks like it will work for friendly URL’s.
All the necessary PHP goodies are in place.
I have no console access (as usually is the case with windblows servers,) just FTP and phpMyAdmin.

- On initial install, only "New Installation" and "core package has been manually unpacked" are available, everything else is grayed out. This gets important considering the topic. At first, they weren’t.

- Database login fine, and I thought for sure it would choke at checking permissions but lo and behold, it didn’t, green lights all the way down.

- Hit install, creates the tables fine, but get the error that is the topic of this thread.

- <facepalm> well, even though I had checked "has been unpacked," it hadn’t, so unpacked core_transport it and uploaded the core directory to /setup/packages/ (correct?)

- Dropped tables, ran setup, same result. Now I’m wondering, because the /setup/packages/core directory was in place, why does it keep attempting to unpack the zip?

Last ditch effort, uploaded a fully operational copy of 2.0.8-pl from another site, emptied out the config.inc.php, ran setup again, and now get a 500 error but I think it’s coming from modX, not the OS (Looks different.)

Looks like it’s writing the config file OK, just won’t get past "could not unpack core.transport.zip" even if it’s unpacked.

Off to kill everything and try again with 2.0.8 basic, all ideas welcome.

Traditional distro fails with the same error.

I had a merry dance with this just lately using IIS5 on XP with an SQL Server 2005 backend database , the revo root directory itself is marked as ’read-only’ permanently, so when it came to unpack the transport.zip(which like you I had ticked to say it was already unpacked as this was from git so I did a build) it said it couldn’t write into the packages directory, after googling a bit, changing some IIS login stuff, logging out and logging back in as administrator I eventually got the install to run.

Front end was OK, couldn’t log into manager, 500 error, so I went to install Xdebug(was going to do this anyway), found it doesn’t play well with IIS using the fast-cgi mode(which is apparently how you run PHP on IIS). Ran out of time and patience at this point.

IIS now binned, Xampp installed and box configured to be like my existing XP test box which has been running for a few years now like this with never a peep from it. We use IIS at work but only with ASP/.NET backends, not PHP, now I know why.

SUCCESS.

I have an email in to the sysAdmin on this server asking him what he did, will report back before marking this solved. I was pretty skeptical at first, but you guys pulled it off . . . and . . .

Checked the package installs (used breadcrumbs to test . . . ) success.

Tested interface upload . . . success.

Microsoft Rewrites are working fine, have tested some extensionless and aliased URL’s. Success. Die query strings, die.

I actually had to install it in c:\Users\Public\www\revo to get it work with IIS 7.5, when working with the IIS engineers directly, so don’t feel bad. Permissions in Windows are just getting harder to understand IMO. =)

Would be great to get some feedback on how to properly deal with this though...

Well, I asked the admin specifically what he did to "fix" it and allow setup to proceed. His reply was "you were right. It was permissions."

:-P

I imagine that’s not very helpful but am guessing it was permissions on the setup/packages directory **or** permissions for PHP to execute whatever unzipping software it needs to use. Otherwise it went pretty smoothly, and continues to fly.

Permissions are all I read about when it comes to IIS. I know what they are in LAMP environments, so what are they in IIS environments?

One thing I know right now that one must have an Administrator account on IIS if the permissions are going to work. I feel stupid for typing that.

It's be great to have a basic install for IIS, particularly about permissions - which as OpenGeek states "are getting harder to understand".

I just got this error while upgrading from 2.0.8 to 2.1.4 Advanced install:


The core.transport was manually unpacked but the Advanced Install option doesn't allow me check it as being manually unpacked. I changed permissions to make it that directory writeable....

Hi,

For some reason, I have the same problem with 2.1.5 on plesk linux it drives me crazy until I tried to install 2.1.3, that installedc like a charm ....

Philippe

But... this thread is about Windows IIS, not linux, and not a Plesk control panel, so not sure how your issues with 2.1.5 a relevant to IIS??

But maybe I'm missing something about that, so please explain.