Mailing List Archive: Linux install == blank page

Linux install == blank page

Apr 21, 2004, 2:04 PM

Post #1 of 5 (1621 views)

Hi All

I have run through the install process on my Debian box using the web
installer thing, and all I get for my troubles is a blank page...well
not entirely blank, it contains the following:

<html><body></body></html>

The install process seems to work OK, it indicates success and
everything. I've just run it again so I could copy and paste the info I
get back, and the same thing happens. Here is what I see:

MediaWiki 1.2.4 installation

Checking environment...

* PHP 4.3.3 ok

* PHP server API is apache; ok, using pretty URLs
(index.php/Page_Title)

* Have zlib support; enabling output compression.

* Found ImageMagick: /usr/bin/convert; image thumbnailing will be
enabled if you enable uploads.

* Installation directory: /var/www/internal/wiki

* Script URI path:

* Connected to database... 4.0.18-log; enabling MySQL 4 enhancements

* Database wikidb exists

* There are already MediaWiki tables in this database. Checking if
updates are needed...

...ipblocks is up to date.

...already have interwiki table

...indexes seem up to 20031107 standards

...have linkscc table.

...have hitcounter table.

Initialising "MediaWiki" namespace...

Reading....done

Setting up....Done

Processing...Done

Writing...Done

Writing to MediaWiki:All_messages

Finished

* Finished update checks.

Creating LocalSettings.php...

Success! Move the LocalSettings.php file into the parent
directory, then follow this link to your wiki.

...which I dutifully do, resulting the aforementioned blank page. I'd
debug it if I could find *any* info on how to turn on debugging, or
where debugging messages go to :-( certainly nothing is going in the
webserver logs.

Anyone seen this before? Is it a database thing?

...Mike

Re: Linux install == blank page [ In reply to ]

brion at pobox

Apr 21, 2004, 2:55 PM

Post #2 of 5 (1612 views)

Permalink

On Apr 21, 2004, at 14:04, Mike Dickson wrote:
> I have run through the install process on my Debian box using the web
> installer thing, and all I get for my troubles is a blank page…well
> not entirely blank, it contains the following:
>
> <html><body></body></html>

Does the page actually output that, or is that just what Mozilla shows
in View Source? (Mozilla will show <html><body></body></html> when
there is *no output at all* from the web server.)

> * Installation directory: /var/www/internal/wiki
>
> * Script URI path:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ahh, that's interesting.... but seems ok.

> …which I dutifully do, resulting the aforementioned blank page. I’d
> debug it if I could find *any* info on how to turn on debugging, or
> where debugging messages go to L certainly nothing is going in the
> webserver logs.

You could set $wgDebugLogFile = "/tmp/wikilog"; or such. (Must be
writable by the web server.)

> Anyone seen this before? Is it a database thing?

We've had vague reports which no developer has been able to reproduce,
and nobody experiencing it has debugged it themselves. :(

Check that everything in LocalSettings.php is correct. Check the
hostname. Check the paths. Check the permissions on the directories.
Check that the mysql user account was set up and that you can log in
with those settings. Use a packet sniffer, the "Live HTTP headers"
extension for Firefox, or just telnet to port 80 to poke at it and see
exactly what it returns. Try different pages. Try special pages. Try
edit pages. Try changing the $wgArticlePath to "$wgScript?title=$1".
Try stepping through with a debugger. Try adding die("Got to this
point") statements all over the place until you see where it stops.
Check your PHP configuration. (Any non-standard settings? Safe mode?
File open limitations? Etc?) Try running the script from the command
line. Try turning error reporting settings up or down.

-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)

RE: Linux install == blank page [ In reply to ]

mdickson at entechnologies

Apr 22, 2004, 5:54 AM

Post #3 of 5 (1611 views)

Permalink

>On Apr 21, 2004, at 14:04, Mike Dickson wrote:
>> I have run through the install process on my Debian box using the web
>> installer thing, and all I get for my troubles is a blank page...well
>> not entirely blank, it contains the following:
>>
>> <html><body></body></html>
>
>Does the page actually output that, or is that just what Mozilla shows
>in View Source? (Mozilla will show <html><body></body></html> when
>there is *no output at all* from the web server.)
>

That would explain why the tags dissapear when I put print statements in index.php to try to figure out where it's dying.

>> * Installation directory: /var/www/internal/wiki
>>
>> * Script URI path:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ahh, that's interesting.... but seems ok.

>> ...which I dutifully do, resulting the aforementioned blank page. I'd
>> debug it if I could find *any* info on how to turn on debugging, or
>> where debugging messages go to L certainly nothing is going in the
>> webserver logs.
>
>You could set $wgDebugLogFile = "/tmp/wikilog"; or such. (Must be
>writable by the web server.)
>

Where? Index.php?

>> Anyone seen this before? Is it a database thing?
>
>We've had vague reports which no developer has been able to reproduce,
>and nobody experiencing it has debugged it themselves. :(

I'll do the suggested stuff/ Would it help if I posted the files you mention to the list for examination? Do you have examples of "different page/special page/edit page" in an empty wiki, like the direct URL that I can type in?

>Check that everything in LocalSettings.php is correct. Check the
>hostname. Check the paths. Check the permissions on the directories.
>Check that the mysql user account was set up and that you can log in
>with those settings. Use a packet sniffer, the "Live HTTP headers"
>extension for Firefox, or just telnet to port 80 to poke at it and see
>exactly what it returns. Try different pages. Try special pages. Try
>edit pages. Try changing the $wgArticlePath to "$wgScript?title=$1".
>Try stepping through with a debugger. Try adding die("Got to this
>point") statements all over the place until you see where it stops.
>Check your PHP configuration. (Any non-standard settings? Safe mode?
>File open limitations? Etc?) Try running the script from the command
>line. Try turning error reporting settings up or down.
>
>-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)
>_______________________________________________
>MediaWiki-l mailing list
>MediaWiki-l@Wikimedia.org
>http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l
>

RE: Linux install == blank page [ In reply to ]

mdickson at entechnologies

Apr 22, 2004, 8:22 AM

Post #4 of 5 (1616 views)

Permalink

>You could set $wgDebugLogFile = "/tmp/wikilog"; or such. (Must be
>writable by the web server.)

Adding this line does nothing in either LocalSettings.php or index.php.
Do I also have to turn on debugging somehow? Anyone?

Re: Linux install == blank page [ In reply to ]

brion at pobox

Apr 22, 2004, 12:31 PM

Post #5 of 5 (1609 views)

Permalink

On Apr 22, 2004, at 08:22, Mike Dickson wrote:
>> You could set $wgDebugLogFile = "/tmp/wikilog"; or such. (Must be
>> writable by the web server.)
>
> Adding this line does nothing in either LocalSettings.php or index.php.
> Do I also have to turn on debugging somehow? Anyone?

LocalSettings.php is the only place you should have to add it. (Add it
*after* the include() of DefaultSettings.php, of course.)

-- brion vibber (brion @ pobox.com)