The Online Journal of Melissa Mularski

Maybe others can benefit from my mistakes. Or maybe I can, the next time it happens to me.

Intermittently over the past couple weeks I’ve been getting a ‘500 Internal Server Error’ on one or more pages of my blog. It’s very frustrating. Typically if I make an error in a site I know the cause and can fix it quickly. Every time this has happened to me with this blog though, it’s been something completely new. Luckily, each time I’ve been able to still log into the backend of the site. Incidentally, I’m using WordPress 2.1, and the 500 error is occurring in both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Suggestions to fix the 500 error if
(1) you’re using WordPress,
(2) you’re unexpectedly getting the 500 error message, and
(3) you can still log into the backend.

• Are you using the WP-Cache plugin and GoDaddy?
  + Read about the fix here.
• Have you recently added/edited a post, or added/edited a plugin or template file?
  + Post: change post to draft (see next bullet point).
  + Template/plugin files edited: revert to backup version. If reverting to backup doesn’t work: Plugin -> deactivate. Theme -> change to a default theme.
• If only the home page of your blog has the error message and your home page displays your latest posts (the default in WP):
  + Change the home page of your blog to be something other than displaying your latest posts. (Options > Reading > Front Page Displays > …)
  + Is your home page ok now? If so,
  - Change some of your most recent posts to drafts. Then, change your Front Page back to Your Latest Posts. (Options > Reading > Front Page Displays > …)
  - If you can figure out which post is the culprit, check for any oddities in the culprit post. Too many tags? Code issues?
• Delete and recreate .htaccess your root directory. Verify the CHMOD of .htaccess. Verify .htaccess is correct.
• Have you fixed whatever it was you think was wrong but you’re still getting the 500 error? Wait awhile, then check the site again. Sometimes it appears to take awhile for certain fixes to take effect.
• This is the e-mail support I received today from my host, GoDaddy. By the time they responded, I’d fixed the problem hours prior. Their statement is not correct in regards to the problem I had today (see ‘Today’s fix’, below), but it’s good to know anyway.

From GoDaddy: Thank you for contacting Online Support. Unfortunately we are unable to assist with this issue as there are no current issues with our servers at this time. A “500 internal server error” can be generated when you have reached the maximum number of concurrent connections allowed. Please note that you may only have up to 50 consecutive requests to your hosting account content within a given period or your site will go down temporarily.

Note: I’m not sure if GoDaddy’s referring to my hosting account content as a whole, of if requests are counted per database used, or what. I doubt they mean 50 consecutive requests over the entire hosting account — they probably mean consecutive requests per DB. This type of restriction would have started causing server errors for me long ago, and I’d have switched hosts. I will switch hosts, if this indeed is true and it does cause problems for me.

Today’s fix: I thought the 500 error was related to integrating a Coppermine gallery into the blog because this morning I was editing the Coppermine template I’m using to match my blog template. It turned out the error had nothing to do with Coppermine, nor what my host said. I’m still not sure why the 500 Internal Server Error occurred, but I know it has something to do with new posts. Posts with nothing extra in them - no weird code, not very long, no images even. When I set certain new posts to draft, the Home page comes back up. For whatever reason, after awhile the site came up even when I republished the new posts.