page not working – HTTP ERROR 500

Set the PHP version to 8.0 or newer. The error message refers to PHP’s own functions that are only available from these versions onwards.

Thanks for this Threadi, updated to PHP 8.3.1 but still getting the HTTP ERROR 500. Any other ideas?

This the error log now:

[24-Jan-2024 00:18:34 UTC] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function wp_unregister_GLOBALS() in /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-settings.php:39 Stack trace: #0 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-config.php(93): require_once() #1 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-load.php(29): require_once(‘/home1/mosheavn…’) #2 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-blog-header.php(12): require_once(‘/home1/mosheavn…’) #3 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/index.php(17): require(‘/home1/mosheavn…’) #4 {main} thrown in /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-settings.php on line 39

wp-ssettings.php line 39:

// Turn register_globals off.
wp_unregister_GLOBALS();

Hello,

Here are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the issue:

1. Validate WordPress Version Compatibility: Confirm that your WordPress version is compatible with the theme and plugins you’re using. Incompatibility could result in errors. Ensure that you are using the latest stable release of WordPress.
2. Reinstall WordPress Core Files: Verify that all WordPress core files are intact and not corrupted. You can reinstall WordPress to ensure that all files are in their proper place.
3. Verify File Permissions: Ensure that file and directory permissions are set correctly. Incorrect permissions can lead to various issues.

Best regards,
MilesWeb

The wp-settings.php file has not contained this line for many years. You have outdated files here that are not executable with the current PHP.

You should therefore upload the core files again by hand – not just wp-admin and wp-includes, but also in the main directory.

Thanks threadi, I think the problem began when WordPress was automatically updated, so can I reinstall an old version of wordpress and just keep the original wp-content folder?

You could do this when you get to the backend. There you can reinstall the current core under Updates. If you cannot access the backend, then re-upload the files in the main directory via FTP as described, as you have already done for wp-includes and wp-admin.

Just to clarify if I download WordPress 3.8.24 (this is a version that the site worked on) what do I upload – just wp-admin and wp-include folders – what else do I need to upload / edit? I have access via cPanel. Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

As already mentioned, the files in the main directory are also necessary. wp-load.php, wp-settings.php etc. Just be careful not to overwrite wp-config.php as it contains the database access data.

After installing WP- 3.8.24 getting: “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress.”, the ERROR-LOG reads:

[24-Jan-2024 05:56:58 America/Chicago] PHP Warning: require(/home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-includes/load.php): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-settings.php on line 21 [24-Jan-2024 05:56:58 America/Chicago] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Failed opening required ‘/home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-includes/load.php’ (include_path=’.:/opt/cpanel/ea-php83/root/usr/share/pear’) in /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-settings.php:21 Stack trace: #0 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-config.php(93): require_once() #1 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-load.php(29): require_once(‘/home1/mosheavn…’) #2 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-blog-header.php(12): require_once(‘/home1/mosheavn…’) #3 /home1/mosheavn/public_html/index.php(17): require(‘/home1/mosheavn…’) #4 {main} thrown in /home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-settings.php on line 21

wp-settings.php line 21: require( ABSPATH . WPINC . ‘/load.php’ );

Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

p.s. Not sure WP-3.8.24 is compatible with PHP7.3 but that’s the minimum option in the MultiPHP Manager list

What are you actually trying to achieve? Are you trying to get an ancient WordPress up and running again in order to update it? Because your question started with WordPress 6.4.2, now we’re at 3.8.24 and I’m quite confused.

To get such an old WordPress up and running again, you need a system that fulfils its requirements. I haven’t even found any documentation on this at www.ads-software.com. According to https://displaywp.com/version/38/ you need PHP 5.2.4 or newer (although my gut feeling is that it should be max. 5.6, not 7) and MySQL 5.0. I’m not aware of any environment that currently provides this in a simple form. You could perhaps put it together with ancient Linux distributions.

Making progress, installed WordPress 4.5.30 . Now getting error logging in to site: Warning: mysqli_real_connect(): (HY000/1045): Access denied for user ‘david’@’localhost’ (using password: YES) in?/home1/mosheavn/public_html/wp-includes/wp-db.php?on line?1555

The login user and password I’m using I entered into wp-config.php DB_USER and DB_PASSWORD.

Any help much appreciated

Hi threadi, sorry for the confusion. I would like to revive this site but it no longer works with current versions of WordPress. So I’m trying to get to a point where I can see the frontend and begin to update the backend so that it works on current version of WordPress. What do you suggest would be the best approach to achieve this? Thanks for your help

What is the starting point? Do you have a backup of WordPress 3.8.24? If so, in what form and what does it contain (database, plugins, themes)?