Broken Images (and file paths) All of a Sudden

Answered on Twitter but posting here for anyone who finds the thread from a search. The second set of rules is correct except it’s missing the rule for the media which is

subdomain install
RewriteRule ^files/(.+) wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$2 [L]

subfolder install
RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?files/(.+) wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$2 [L]

The rule should be added immediately after

RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]

Thanks so much Ron.

A couple things:

1. The .htaccess rules I used above were copied from the Codex page under the “WordPress 3.5+” heading. These don’t include the rule for media. Perhaps the Codex needs updating?

2. Adding that rule seems to have had no effect as of yet. This is the entire contents of .htaccess as it is now:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteRule ^files/(.+) wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$2 [L]

# add a trailing slash to /wp-admin
RewriteRule ^wp-admin$ wp-admin/ [R=301,L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule ^ - [L]
RewriteRule ^(wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $1 [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*\.php)$ wp/$1 [L]
RewriteRule . index.php [L]

Was also pointed to this thread by Angela Meeker and will be trying the file replace part of her solution.

https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/what-should-be-the-path-to-images-on-subsites-worked-for-years-seems-broken?replies=13#post-7203920

Update:

Using the .htaccess above and have replaced the wp-admin and wp-includes directories.

Still broken images.

Update:

Seems to be working now. Server cache perhaps?

Update: All is not well still.

On the frontend of the site, the Featured Image thumbnails images are showing, but not the Featured Images for pages using the Genesis Slider.

However, this seems to still be an issue with the image paths. I have uploaded new images to the Media Library and they still have the wrong image paths:

https://subdomain1.mywebsite.com/files/2011/11/bio_conscious_2701.jpg

In summary, I added the media rule to .htaccess as indicated above but that didn’t bring the images back.

The hosting company said it was the difference between a “1” and a “2” in that rule. I have no idea what that means, but when their email came in, I went to the site and most of the images were there…until I discovered the Slider Featured Image on pages and also the new image upload paths still being incorrect.

This was the hosting company email:

It should be fixed now. There was an issue with your .htaccess file:

RewriteRule ^files/(.+) wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$2 [L]

It should have been:

RewriteRule ^files/(.+) wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$1 [L]

I’m not sure why that was changed as we do not modify user files nor has any changes been made to the (global) web server configuration in weeks+ on that particular server.

Can you think of anything else that I can check or that I can go back to the host with to check on their end??

Adam, sorry about the $1 vs $2 thing. That was a result of missing changing it while copy/paste & editing the rule.

In a rewrite rule, $N is the pattern matched in the Nth set of parenthesis. For example

RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?files/(.+)

is

RewriteRule ^(will be $1)?files/(will be $2)

No problem at all Ron, I really do appreciate the help. I’m just glad to know that I have the correct rules and I suppose that’s a good catch by the host.

But this still hasn’t seemed to fix the image path issue as I described above. I’m really at a loss as to what to try next.

I’m strongly considering just moving this single site out of the Multisite network into a single WP install using the built-in export/import tool to see what happens with the media files and to avoid spending more time on troubleshooting…

What do the slider image URLs look like in the slider & what’s the URL for the images in the media library?

Hi Ron,

Sorry for the delay in replying. We decided that migrating this subdomain site into it’s own single WP install was the best thing moving forward.

I followed this tutorial and the site is back up now, and image paths have been fixed.
https://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/moving-wordpress-moving-a-site-out-of-a-multisite-network–cms-22772

However, now I am seeing something very strange. There is no Add New option for plugins or themes and I cannot run any updates seen with update nags (like Genesis).

It seems as though I’m still seeing subsite Admin pages within a single WP install.

I was able to add a new “Admin” user and still get the same result with that.

I also reinstalled WP with no success.

Can you think of anything that I can try to correct this? Perhaps some kind of user meta attached to my Admin user that could be changed or deleted?

This is super strange and if you need a better visual, I’m happy to make a video to show you what I’m seeing.

Install Justin Tadlock’s role manager plugin (I forget the name) and look at the capabilities on the admin user. You are likely missing a cap or two.

Ron, didn’t find a Role Manager in Tadlock’s plugin listing on .org
https://profiles.www.ads-software.com/greenshady/#content-plugins

But, last night I was working with some people on my AWP post on the same subject and ran a SQL Query that I think has the information I need and from what I’m told everything looks OK.

You can see the results of the original Admin user and the new Admin user below, both of which cannot see the “Add New” menus for plugins and themes.

https://picpaste.com/Screen_Shot_2015-07-29_at_7.56.18_PM-KrIKMgYj.png

https://picpaste.com/Screen_Shot_2015-07-29_at_8.00.44_PM-2FzAh0EO.png

Here’s my role management plugin: https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/members/

Thanks Justin,

Ok, so I’ve installed and have looked at the Administrator role and can see that it does not have the proper capabilities as it related to plugins and themes.

https://picpaste.com/Screen_Shot_2015-07-31_at_10.20.54_AM-2Vd9bPDJ.png

I’m going to edit this role and add those to see what happens, but the mystery still remains as to WHY the Admin role wouldn’t have these capabilities.

Perhaps it’s “just one of those things” when exporting a subsite from a Multisite?

SOLVED

Editing the Administrator Role using your Members plugin has brought back the Plugin/Theme capabilities!!!!

THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME ON THIS ONE GUYS!!!