Cannot Deactivate TML After Upgrade

What is the nag that doesn’t go away?

The nag only appears when I manually delete Theme My Login from my plugins directory since I can’t deactivate it any other way. The nag says that the files for the plugin don’t exist. I imagine that – if I can actually figure out how to deactivate the plugin normally the nag will not be an issue, so for the time being I’d like to focus on why I can’t deactivate the plugin and how to troubleshoot that. Thanks!

Sounds like a very peculiar issue. When you delete a plugin in that manner, you should only see that nag once, letting you know the plugin has been deactivated because the files are missing.

Regarding why you can’t deactivate it – can you check you web server error log after you attempt to?

I did. The server error log is completely empty. The nag never goes away (it was there for several days the last time I tried). I eventually put the directory containing the files back and TML was immediately activated without me having to do anything, which tells me it was never really deactivated in the first place by moving the plugin directory away. No matter what I try I cannot actually deactivate this plugin.

Can you delete the active_plugins option from the wp_options table in your database? (Note, if you do this, you’ll have to reactivate all the plugins you want active.)

That disabled the plugin, however the nag returned at the top of every admin screen (“The plugin theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php has been deactivated due to an error: Plugin file does not exist.”) and isn’t going away. This is true with both the default twenty-seventeen theme and Storefront (the one I normally use).

Does this happen with any other plugin?

Not that I’m able to identify so far.

I thought this was interesting. After I deactivated all my plugins by running an update query on wp_options, I deleted TML from the plugins page in WordPress. I never reactivated it. However when I looked at wp_options again just now (after reactivating all my other plugins), this is what I found (pay particular attention to the end):

a: 69: {
i: 0;s: 41: “wc4bp-premium/wc4bp-basic-integration.php”;i: 1;s: 45: “ac-addon-woocommerce/ac-addon-woocommerce.php”;i: 2;s: 39: “admin-columns-pro/admin-columns-pro.php”;i: 3;s: 34: “advanced-custom-fields-pro/acf.php”;i: 4;s: 63: “auctioninc-shippingcalc-for-woocommerce/shipping-auctioninc.php”;i: 5;s: 81: “auto-terms-of-service-and-privacy-policy/auto-terms-of-service-privacy-policy.php”;i: 6;s: 33: “bbp-style-pack/bbp-style-pack.php”;i: 7;s: 19: “bbpress/bbpress.php”;i: 8;s: 61: “booster-plus-for-woocommerce/booster-plus-for-woocommerce.php”;i: 9;s: 24: “buddypress/bp-loader.php”;i: 10;s: 31: “code-snippets/code-snippets.php”;i: 11;s: 27: “coming-soon/coming-soon.php”;i: 12;s: 27: “connections/connections.php”;i: 13;s: 79: “contact-form-7-dynamic-text-extension/contact-form-7-dynamic-text-extension.php”;i: 14;s: 36: “contact-form-7/wp-contact-form-7.php”;i: 15;s: 26: “css-hero/css-hero-main.php”;i: 16;s: 31: “custom-css-js/custom-css-js.php”;i: 17;s: 56: “easy-bootstrap-shortcode-pro/osc_bootstrap_shortcode.php”;i: 18;s: 39: “easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/init.php”;i: 19;s: 27: “fb-reviews-widget/fbrev.php”;i: 20;s: 41: “groups-woocommerce/groups-woocommerce.php”;i: 21;s: 17: “groups/groups.php”;i: 22;s: 29: “health-check/health-check.php”;i: 23;s: 37: “iconic-woothumbs/iconic-woothumbs.php”;i: 24;s: 47: “jwt-authentication-for-wp-rest-api/jwt-auth.php”;i: 25;s: 25: “maxbuttons/maxbuttons.php”;i: 26;s: 33: “nav-menu-roles/nav-menu-roles.php”;i: 27;s: 35: “oa-social-login/oa-social-login.php”;i: 28;s: 35: “perfect-woocommerce-brands/main.php”;i: 29;s: 29: “postman-smtp/postman-smtp.php”;i: 30;s: 59: “price-match-for-woocommerce/price-match-for-woocommerce.php”;i: 31;s: 25: “relevanssi/relevanssi.php”;i: 32;s: 31: “sg-cachepress/sg-cachepress.php”;i: 33;s: 57: “storefront-blog-customiser/storefront-blog-customiser.php”;i: 34;s: 51: “storefront-blog-excerpt/storefront-blog-excerpt.php”;i: 35;s: 45: “storefront-powerpack/storefront-powerpack.php”;i: 36;s: 33: “theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;i: 37;s: 56: “wc-hide-shipping-methods/hide-shipping-free-shipping.php”;i: 38;s: 27: “widget-yelp-reviews/yrw.php”;i: 39;s: 33: “woo-add-gtin/woocommerce-gtin.php”;i: 40;s: 70: “woo-calculate-shipping-in-product-page/ewc-woo-shipping-calculator.php”;i: 41;s: 50: “woo-variations-table-grid/woo-variations-table.php”;i: 42;s: 73: “woocommerce-accommodation-bookings/woocommerce-accommodation-bookings.php”;i: 43;s: 73: “woocommerce-advanced-free-shipping/woocommerce-advanced-free-shipping.php”;i: 44;s: 73: “woocommerce-advanced-notifications/woocommerce-advanced-notifications.php”;i: 45;s: 61: “woocommerce-auto-added-coupons/woocommerce-jos-autocoupon.php”;i: 46;s: 45: “woocommerce-bookings/woocommerce-bookings.php”;i: 47;s: 67: “woocommerce-conditional-content/woocommerce-conditional-content.php”;i: 48;s: 58: “woocommerce-create-customer-on-order/create-user-order.php”;i: 49;s: 57: “woocommerce-gateway-stripe/woocommerce-gateway-stripe.php”;i: 50;s: 55: “woocommerce-group-coupons/woocommerce-group-coupons.php”;i: 51;s: 43: “woocommerce-jetpack/woocommerce-jetpack.php”;i: 52;s: 81: “woocommerce-shipping-local-pickup-plus/woocommerce-shipping-local-pickup-plus.php”;i: 53;s: 49: “woocommerce-shop-as-customer/shop-as-customer.php”;i: 54;s: 45: “woocommerce-waitlist/woocommerce-waitlist.php”;i: 55;s: 47: “woocommerce-wishlists/woocommerce-wishlists.php”;i: 56;s: 27: “woocommerce/woocommerce.php”;i: 57;s: 51: “woopos-store-credit-points/woopos_credit_points.php”;i: 58;s: 23: “wordfence/wordfence.php”;i: 59;s: 40: “wordpress-seo-premium/wp-seo-premium.php”;i: 60;s: 28: “wp-disable/wpperformance.php”;i: 61;s: 23: “wp-rocket/wp-rocket.php”;i: 62;s: 39: “wpseo-woocommerce/wpseo-woocommerce.php”;i: 63;s: 33: “theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;i: 64;s: 33: “theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;i: 65;s: 33: “theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;i: 66;s: 33: “theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;i: 67;s: 33: “theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;i: 68;s: 33: “theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;
}

Update: I manually modified the wp_options value for active_plugins to this:

a:62:{i:0;s:41:”wc4bp-premium/wc4bp-basic-integration.php”;
i:1;s:45:”ac-addon-woocommerce/ac-addon-woocommerce.php”;
i:2;s:39:”admin-columns-pro/admin-columns-pro.php”;
i:3;s:34:”advanced-custom-fields-pro/acf.php”;
i:4;s:63:”auctioninc-shippingcalc-for-woocommerce/shipping-auctioninc.php”;
i:5;s:81:”auto-terms-of-service-and-privacy-policy/auto-terms-of-service-privacy-policy.php”;
i:6;s:33:”bbp-style-pack/bbp-style-pack.php”;
i:7;s:19:”bbpress/bbpress.php”;
i:8;s:61:”booster-plus-for-woocommerce/booster-plus-for-woocommerce.php”;
i:9;s:24:”buddypress/bp-loader.php”;
i:10;s:31:”code-snippets/code-snippets.php”;
i:11;s:27:”coming-soon/coming-soon.php”;
i:12;s:27:”connections/connections.php”;
i:13;s:79:”contact-form-7-dynamic-text-extension/contact-form-7-dynamic-text-extension.php”;
i:14;s:36:”contact-form-7/wp-contact-form-7.php”;
i:15;s:26:”css-hero/css-hero-main.php”;
i:16;s:31:”custom-css-js/custom-css-js.php”;
i:17;s:56:”easy-bootstrap-shortcode-pro/osc_bootstrap_shortcode.php”;
i:18;s:39:”easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/init.php”;
i:19;s:27:”fb-reviews-widget/fbrev.php”;
i:20;s:41:”groups-woocommerce/groups-woocommerce.php”;
i:21;s:17:”groups/groups.php”;
i:22;s:29:”health-check/health-check.php”;
i:23;s:37:”iconic-woothumbs/iconic-woothumbs.php”;
i:24;s:47:”jwt-authentication-for-wp-rest-api/jwt-auth.php”;
i:25;s:25:”maxbuttons/maxbuttons.php”;
i:26;s:33:”nav-menu-roles/nav-menu-roles.php”;
i:27;s:35:”oa-social-login/oa-social-login.php”;
i:28;s:35:”perfect-woocommerce-brands/main.php”;
i:29;s:29:”postman-smtp/postman-smtp.php”;
i:30;s:59:”price-match-for-woocommerce/price-match-for-woocommerce.php”;
i:31;s:25:”relevanssi/relevanssi.php”;
i:32;s:31:”sg-cachepress/sg-cachepress.php”;
i:33;s:57:”storefront-blog-customiser/storefront-blog-customiser.php”;
i:34;s:51:”storefront-blog-excerpt/storefront-blog-excerpt.php”;
i:35;s:45:”storefront-powerpack/storefront-powerpack.php”;
i:36;s:56:”wc-hide-shipping-methods/hide-shipping-free-shipping.php”;
i:37;s:27:”widget-yelp-reviews/yrw.php”;
i:38;s:33:”woo-add-gtin/woocommerce-gtin.php”;
i:39;s:70:”woo-calculate-shipping-in-product-page/ewc-woo-shipping-calculator.php”;
i:40;s:50:”woo-variations-table-grid/woo-variations-table.php”;
i:41;s:73:”woocommerce-accommodation-bookings/woocommerce-accommodation-bookings.php”;
i:42;s:73:”woocommerce-advanced-free-shipping/woocommerce-advanced-free-shipping.php”;
i:43;s:73:”woocommerce-advanced-notifications/woocommerce-advanced-notifications.php”;
i:44;s:61:”woocommerce-auto-added-coupons/woocommerce-jos-autocoupon.php”;
i:45;s:45:”woocommerce-bookings/woocommerce-bookings.php”;
i:46;s:67:”woocommerce-conditional-content/woocommerce-conditional-content.php”;
i:47;s:58:”woocommerce-create-customer-on-order/create-user-order.php”;
i:48;s:57:”woocommerce-gateway-stripe/woocommerce-gateway-stripe.php”;
i:49;s:55:”woocommerce-group-coupons/woocommerce-group-coupons.php”;
i:50;s:43:”woocommerce-jetpack/woocommerce-jetpack.php”;
i:51;s:81:”woocommerce-shipping-local-pickup-plus/woocommerce-shipping-local-pickup-plus.php”;
i:52;s:49:”woocommerce-shop-as-customer/shop-as-customer.php”;
i:53;s:45:”woocommerce-waitlist/woocommerce-waitlist.php”;
i:54;s:47:”woocommerce-wishlists/woocommerce-wishlists.php”;
i:55;s:27:”woocommerce/woocommerce.php”;
i:56;s:51:”woopos-store-credit-points/woopos_credit_points.php”;
i:57;s:23:”wordfence/wordfence.php”;
i:58;s:40:”wordpress-seo-premium/wp-seo-premium.php”;
i:59;s:28:”wp-disable/wpperformance.php”;
i:60;s:23:”wp-rocket/wp-rocket.php”;
i:61;s:39:”wpseo-woocommerce/wpseo-woocommerce.php”;}

That got rid of the nag momentarily, but it also deactivated (???) all 62 of the plugins in the list. Not sure why that happened. As soon as I reactivated the plugins the nag returned as did the entries (as active plugins) for 3 instances of TML. Just to be clear, the directory containing the TML files does not exist since I deleted it after originally updating wp_options as you suggested earlier:

a:65:{
i:0;s:41:”wc4bp-premium/wc4bp-basic-integration.php”;
i:1;s:45:”ac-addon-woocommerce/ac-addon-woocommerce.php”;
i:2;s:39:”admin-columns-pro/admin-columns-pro.php”;
i:3;s:34:”advanced-custom-fields-pro/acf.php”;
i:4;s:63:”auctioninc-shippingcalc-for-woocommerce/shipping-auctioninc.php”;
i:5;s:81:”auto-terms-of-service-and-privacy-policy/auto-terms-of-service-privacy-policy.php”;
i:6;s:33:”bbp-style-pack/bbp-style-pack.php”;
i:7;s:19:”bbpress/bbpress.php”;
i:8;s:61:”booster-plus-for-woocommerce/booster-plus-for-woocommerce.php”;
i:9;s:24:”buddypress/bp-loader.php”;
i:10;s:31:”code-snippets/code-snippets.php”;
i:11;s:27:”coming-soon/coming-soon.php”;
i:12;s:27:”connections/connections.php”;
i:13;s:79:”contact-form-7-dynamic-text-extension/contact-form-7-dynamic-text-extension.php”;
i:14;s:36:”contact-form-7/wp-contact-form-7.php”;
i:15;s:26:”css-hero/css-hero-main.php”;
i:16;s:31:”custom-css-js/custom-css-js.php”;
i:17;s:56:”easy-bootstrap-shortcode-pro/osc_bootstrap_shortcode.php”;
i:18;s:39:”easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/init.php”;
i:19;s:27:”fb-reviews-widget/fbrev.php”;
i:20;s:41:”groups-woocommerce/groups-woocommerce.php”;
i:21;s:17:”groups/groups.php”;
i:22;s:29:”health-check/health-check.php”;
i:23;s:37:”iconic-woothumbs/iconic-woothumbs.php”;
i:24;s:47:”jwt-authentication-for-wp-rest-api/jwt-auth.php”;
i:25;s:25:”maxbuttons/maxbuttons.php”;
i:26;s:33:”nav-menu-roles/nav-menu-roles.php”;
i:27;s:35:”oa-social-login/oa-social-login.php”;
i:28;s:35:”perfect-woocommerce-brands/main.php”;
i:29;s:29:”postman-smtp/postman-smtp.php”;
i:30;s:59:”price-match-for-woocommerce/price-match-for-woocommerce.php”;
i:31;s:25:”relevanssi/relevanssi.php”;
i:32;s:31:”sg-cachepress/sg-cachepress.php”;
i:33;s:57:”storefront-blog-customiser/storefront-blog-customiser.php”;
i:34;s:51:”storefront-blog-excerpt/storefront-blog-excerpt.php”;
i:35;s:45:”storefront-powerpack/storefront-powerpack.php”;
i:39;s:56:”wc-hide-shipping-methods/hide-shipping-free-shipping.php”;
i:40;s:27:”widget-yelp-reviews/yrw.php”;
i:41;s:33:”woo-add-gtin/woocommerce-gtin.php”;
i:42;s:70:”woo-calculate-shipping-in-product-page/ewc-woo-shipping-calculator.php”;
i:43;s:50:”woo-variations-table-grid/woo-variations-table.php”;
i:44;s:73:”woocommerce-accommodation-bookings/woocommerce-accommodation-bookings.php”;
i:45;s:73:”woocommerce-advanced-free-shipping/woocommerce-advanced-free-shipping.php”;
i:46;s:73:”woocommerce-advanced-notifications/woocommerce-advanced-notifications.php”;
i:47;s:61:”woocommerce-auto-added-coupons/woocommerce-jos-autocoupon.php”;
i:48;s:45:”woocommerce-bookings/woocommerce-bookings.php”;
i:49;s:67:”woocommerce-conditional-content/woocommerce-conditional-content.php”;
i:50;s:58:”woocommerce-create-customer-on-order/create-user-order.php”;
i:51;s:57:”woocommerce-gateway-stripe/woocommerce-gateway-stripe.php”;
i:52;s:55:”woocommerce-group-coupons/woocommerce-group-coupons.php”;
i:53;s:43:”woocommerce-jetpack/woocommerce-jetpack.php”;
i:54;s:81:”woocommerce-shipping-local-pickup-plus/woocommerce-shipping-local-pickup-plus.php”;
i:55;s:49:”woocommerce-shop-as-customer/shop-as-customer.php”;
i:56;s:45:”woocommerce-waitlist/woocommerce-waitlist.php”;
i:57;s:47:”woocommerce-wishlists/woocommerce-wishlists.php”;
i:58;s:27:”woocommerce/woocommerce.php”;
i:59;s:51:”woopos-store-credit-points/woopos_credit_points.php”;
i:60;s:23:”wordfence/wordfence.php”;
i:61;s:40:”wordpress-seo-premium/wp-seo-premium.php”;
i:62;s:28:”wp-disable/wpperformance.php”;
i:63;s:23:”wp-rocket/wp-rocket.php”;
i:64;s:39:”wpseo-woocommerce/wpseo-woocommerce.php”;
i:65;s:33:”theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;
i:66;s:33:”theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;
i:67;s:33:”theme-my-login/theme-my-login.php”;}

You have something very peculiar going on. Can you possibly set up a test server and see if you can get the same thing to happen?

Haven’t had time to do this today. I just checked the active_plugins entry in wp_options though and found (I’m not kidding) nearly 700 entries for TML.