after upgrade to 4.4 I can no longer access site fatal error

Hi,
If you think you miss some core WP files, it is safe to delete old /wp-admin/, /wp-includes/ and upload fresh copy of them using FTP.

I am sorry you are experiencing this issue. First off, it looks like your WP version is not fully upgraded to 4.4, this process might have terminated preventing full execution; resulting in some core files missing.

3 approach that I personally think for you to try.

Approach 1. Find and fix

Try manually uploading those files that are shown missing in your error message and see if site goes back to normal.

Approach 2. Rollback and restart the upgrade

If you have earlier database and WP files backup, then rollback and restore it. If site runs fine from old installation then restart upgrading process from backend. Wait until process fully executes. Site should be UP that way.

Approach 3 : Check file permissions

If all required files and folders are there then please verify file permissions being set correctly or not. Could have been changed after upgrading.

Thanks

Thank you – but I dont know how to do any of these – I can only access my cpanel but dont know what to do in it! I cannot access and dashboard or even sign in in as admin!

Carol, I will help you. Use the contact form on [Link redacted] and we will take it from there. No charge or donation required.

Edited:
@leehodson, Please don’t solicit private support from these forums. If you have the solution then you can post it in this thread.

Try deactivating all of your plugins to explore whether any could be responsible. If none are, keep all plugins deactivated and switch to the Twenty Fifteen/ Fourteen theme to see whether it could an issue with your theme.

If you cannot access your dashboard, you can deactivate all of your plugins via FTP. FTP is just a name of the thing that lets you manage the files and folders of your website. This is not the WordPress dashboard, this is something that your hosting providers give you. It can just be a simple file manager that lets you edit files, upload new ones and rename folders.
To deactivate all of your plugins via FTP, you just need to rename the “plugins” folder (yes the “plugins” one). Then WordPress will automatically deactivate all of your plugins. You can rename the folder name straight back afterwards.

Your website should then be up and running.

Thanks Andrew – so I access these file through my cpanel? Where will I find the plugins files please?

If your website isn’t up an running, try a similar method to deactivate your theme…

Do you have the Twenty Fifteen/ Fourteen/ any standard WordPress theme inside your installation? These themes come with WordPress itself so unless you knowingly deleted them the answer should be “yes”. If so and you rename your active theme folder (you can name it back afterwards) then WordPress will automatically deactivate your theme and activate one of the default WordPress themes.

Your theme’s folder can be found inside the “wp-content/themes/” folder.

Your hosting providers should give you a tool to allow you to manage files; edit, update, remove files.

That is the tool you can use to rename the folder names

can i post a screen shot here Andrew? I have gone into Themes and yes – I have 2 themes in there – on Third-style and the other Third Style-Child

You can upload screenshots and link to them, but it’ll be public facing so just need to make sure nothing is sensitive: https://snag.gy

It sounds like you’ll need to upload one of WordPress’ default themes, Twenty Fifteen for example in the ‘themes/’ folder. Let’s leave this step until you’ve deactivated your plugins – see if that works first.

ah – to late – just renamed both those themes – but there was no change – still no access! So now I need to go where for plugins? … and thank you x

found plugins – how do I deactivate?

The “plugins” folder will be in the “wp-content” folder (I think). Renaming the whole “plugins” folder should deactivate all of your plugins automatically. You can rename it back afterwards.