I installed MODx 2.2.14 on a Lunarpages server (shared hosting) using PHP 5.3.28 and MySQL 5.3.36. I used the Softaculous installer which seems to work brilliantly for everything on its list of software. The install completes without error, and I am given links to the 'view site' page and to the manager page.
The 'view site' page is a blank white screen that says only "This is my new MODx site" in the upper left corner.
The manager page takes me to a menu bar with some fairly normal options. There is something about the latest version of MODx in a left column and some other news in a right column. They are normal widths, but only about 2-3 lines tall. The entire rest of the page is blank white, with no side menus, footer, or anything. I can scroll through the columns, but cannot shake the feeling that they were meant to be a little bigger than that.
Every other page I can get to through the menu system on the manager page is completely blank. I cannot change the options or do anything because the pages are all blank. The memory limit is set by the host to 32Mb, and I have never had any issues with any software meant to run on 32 or less.
I am viewing the pages on Safari using OSX all latest versions. Any help to point me in the right direction would be appreciated. I am getting ready to try a manual install now, but do not hold out a ton of hope.
That said, I believe it would be worth some effort to get the basic Softaculous install sorted out so people looking to try this software are not left with an immediate bad first impression.
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☆ A M B ☆
- 24,524 Posts
You can try changing the compress_js and compress_css settings to 0 to turn off the compression. If you can't access the System Settings in the Manager, you'll have to go to the database to make the changes directly.
I changed those settings using phpmyadmin to no avail. Manual install has the problem also.
I am attaching an image of what I see on the manager landing page. All others are blank.
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☆ A M B ☆
- 1,780 Posts
I see this every once in a while too, on existing installs with compress_css and compress_js turned off. Try clearing your browser cache, and if that fails try logging in via private browsing or incognito window (FF and Chrome respectively) and see if you get the same result. It usually resolves eventually.
Also clear the core/cache folder manually. Softaculous works almost all the time, I've not had an install go bunk with it but I have had an update gork (lost a few hours on that one, when all it took was a fresh modx.zip file and manual reinstall). Realize that much of the issues with a Softaculous setup relies on your server configuration, and furthermore when you run into these issues, you gotta default back to a manual install, with a freshly downloaded copy of MODX.
Additionally, NEVER use FTP to load extracted MODX files to the server for installation, always use your control panel file manager and extract the files on the server itself.
FWIW - Softaculous is nice and simple, but not infallible. Manual install is not difficult, nor particularly time consuming, and the installer does nothing except install MODX initially, while updates are simply a matter of Softaculous uploading extracted MODX files. You still have to run setup for an update. It does not eliminate the requirements for updating, such as logging out all users, updating packages, and clearing core/cache files. All that still needs to be done prior to clicking the little blue update icon but there are no instructions to do so in Softaculous.
I recently took an opportunity to play with Softaculous's "clone" tool, and it's nice... but not without some issues with the config, and had to re-run an install manually because I couldn't log in. So be aware of that should you try it.
I'd read about the ftp of compressed files in the documentation so avoided that speed bump. That said, I am still getting nowhere. I have tried multiple installs, and checked from different computers, my phone, and tablet. They all do the same thing, regardless of browser settings.
My hope for an easy fix is fading fast, and I am starting to think this is a server configuration issue. While I am not married to Lunarpages, I have been with them for several years and they have been quite reliable.
Thank you both for taking the time to help. I really do appreciate it.
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☆ A M B ☆
- 24,524 Posts
What kind of hosting do you have? Is it one of their regular web hosting plans?
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☆ A M B ☆
- 24,524 Posts
Ok. I just signed up for a minimal plan, I'll see what I can do to it.
I have a Revolution site at Lunarpages (on their cheapest shared plan) that has always run well. The original install was a long time ago, but I seem to recall having trouble with the auto install and having to do it manually.
It's also quite possible that the overhead of Softaculous is making the install run out of memory. 32M is cutting it pretty close. Exhausting the available memory can cause corrupted or truncated files and that would fit your symptoms.
A manual install is really not that difficult. This page is about updgrading, but most of it applies to new installs as well:
http://bobsguides.com/modx-upgrade-faq.html
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☆ A M B ☆
- 24,524 Posts
If they allow url_fopen, the install.php script from here would make it a lot easier. It does need to be edited to upload the latest 2.2.14, though. Just change the 2.2.13 to 2.2.14
https://github.com/evolution-cms/installer
