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Error_Log And Core Files - Safe To Delete?

I was planning on upgrading to 2.6, from 2.0.18.1 but for the life of me, I couldn't get it to work, no matter what I tried. After going through my file manager, I noticed that my "Error_log" file is almost 1GB in size, and i have a bunch of "core.******" files. I'm just wondering if these can be removed, or if they are needed for any reason? I suspect that if I delete the error log, that it'll just create a new fresh one to replace it, but I don't wanna risk it. I would just like a fresh error log, so I can follow/fix possible current errors. The error log is huge, but I'm not experiencing any errors with the forum itself, which is rather odd.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Comments

  • R_JR_J Ex-Fanboy Munich Admin

    I faintly remember that changing the cache folder leads to similar issues. Have you changed anything in /conf/constants.php?

  • Thanks for the reply R_J. I have not touched anything. But I do remember that the core files weren't there to begin with, and only started to appear after, one by one. They are around 3-3.45mb in size, with one being 80mb. They are generic text files, but I can't view them, as they seem to be encrypted somehow.

  • R_JR_J Ex-Fanboy Munich Admin

    I don't want to frighten you, but Vanilla 2.0.18 has security issues. I would consider starting from zero and only using the old database, but if possible no old files

  • Oh great, that's the last thing I wanted to hear. So those core files have to do with some sort of intrusion into my forum? See, I don't mind installing a newer version, but I tried that all of last week, and with no luck. Maybe it's easier if I already have the forum installed? Or maybe I should just not try 2.6. Thanks!

  • R_JR_J Ex-Fanboy Munich Admin

    No, they don't need to be evil, but they are not needed by Vanilla. There are several reasons to start with a fresh installation and some unexplainable relicts are only one more reason.

  • edited June 2018

    Ahh, yeah, that makes sense. I just had a hunch. Vanilla 6.2 requires PHP 7.0. I have mine set to 7.2, would that be the reason why it wasn't installing properly? Also there are a lot of boxes that are "unchecked" when I go to my PHP change page, maybe one of those have to be checked for the install to work properly? Here's an image of what I mean.

    Edit: I can get 6.2 to install, but when I change conf.php to my old db, I get the "something went wrong" message.

  • whu606whu606 I'm not a SuperHero; I just like wearing tights... MVP
    edited June 2018

    Did you run utility/update?

    When you reroute your DB via config, you need to clear the files in cache.

    When you get the 'Something has gone wrong' message, you need to turn on debug to get a detailed error message.

  • R_JR_J Ex-Fanboy Munich Admin

    curl is needed, too and I don't see it in the list.

  • To answer the question about the Error_Log, yes delete it. If it's 1GB, that means you have a lot of PHP Errors and it is probably good to look in there to see what is going wrong.

  • Ahh, yeah, that makes sense. I just had a hunch, Vanilla 6.2 requires PHP 7.0, correct? I have mine set to 7.2, would that be the reason why it wasn't installing properly? Also there are a lot of boxes that are "unchecked" when I go to my PHP change page, maybe one of those have to be checked for the install to work properly? Here's an image of what I mean

    https://ibb.co/ibNTx8

    Thanks!

  • Sorry about that last message. It wasn't posting, so I assumed something went wrong, but looks like it just had to be approved because I added a link. Also, i was away for the weekend, and only getting back now.

    Whu606, I cleared everything in the cache folder, and ran utility/structure, but you're saying utility/update? I did not run that. Is there a difference? Also, You guys were helping me in my other thread, and a posted the debug info there, it's pretty long so I won't repost it here.

    R_J, without curl it won't work? My host says it does support it, at least i think so. is it called libcurl? if so, it does.

    Alright Donovan, I'll take your word for it, and delete the error log, hopefully nothing goes wrong.

    Thanks again, guys.

  • Yes, it's safe to delete Error_Log.

    Seeing that you have mysqlnd enabled, you might want to take a look at this link:

    https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46414868/what-is-the-difference-between-the-nd-pdo-mysql-and-pdo-mysql-extensions

    Just an FYI. ^

    I don't really know what your issue/s is/are with upgrading.. but for cPanel, make sure you do a:
    php -v from within your forum root to make sure you meet the PHP7+ requirements. Don't simply trust your cPanel admin.

    cPanel, at least my version, requires an entry in the .htaccess when using the multi-php utility. You can make sure you are good by running that command-line within a shell and within the forum root to be sure.

    Sincerely,
    Donovan

  • Thanks Donovan!

    I really don't know how to run scripts via command-line, I assume i'd have to use another program to do it, and it can't be done through cpanel? Anyway, because you mentioned that, I decided to take a look at something, and went to phpmyadmin, and on the right-hand side, there is web server information, and mine appears as this:

    cpsrvd ..*.** (redacted the numbers because I don't know what they are)
    Database client version: libmysql - 5.1.73
    PHP extension: mysqli, curl, mbstring
    PHP version: 5.6.30

    Now, Since it says that the php version is 5.6.30, maybe that's the real version? If so, how do I change it to 7+?

    I want to point out again though, I have NO trouble installing Vanilla 2.6. it installs perfectly fine, without issue, but after it's installed, and I try to connect it to my old database, by editing conf.php, and I load the forum, it says "something went wrong". So I assume my php is 7.0 or above, considering it's installing properly initially.

  • Re: PHP 7:
    5.6 is likely your default PHP version. Vanilla has a check for PHP version 7 upon install, so the quick answer is, if Vanilla installs, you are running PHP v.7+ at that time.

    The longer answer is, if you are deleting / over-riding the .htaccess file that cPanel created, you could be changing your PHP to version 5.6x (the default).

    If you look at my working .htaccess file here

    You will see the cPanel created line near the top that is for PHP7. Without that line, my forum code would use PHP 5.6 (the default).. so I combined that into vanilla's .htaccess.

    Regarding my link I shared.. that was just to let you know that someone is suggesting using nd_pdo_mysql if you have mysqlnd enabled, which you do.

    Regarding editing the config.php file for your database... I have no idea and will leave that up to R_J... there is upgrade instructions in the README.md file.

    Cheers,
    Donovan

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