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404 Error started recently

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

Not urgent – my forum is not live yet.

I’ve recently set the forum up with the intent of offering subscriptions. It was working fine and I was able to enter all the topics without issue. Then about a week or so ago, I couldn’t get into the topics. I can see the main forum, but clicking on any topic gets me the 404 error.

I’ve tried to figure out what I might have done to cause this, but the time between when I last viewed a topic and when I noticed this was too long for me to really be certain. I’m implementing membership services, so perhaps there’s an issue there (s2Member). I have attempted to map the membership roles, but it didn’t help.

All plugins have been deactivated, but that didn’t help either. I do have Super Cache, but I had it before I built the forums and they were working fine. I did add the /forum/ string to the ignore list. And I’ve updated forum permalink, with no change.

I’ve tried reading through other posts here about 404 errors, but I can’t seem to find a solution. Ideas?

 

Thanks!

46 Answers

New Answer

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

In trying to figure this out, I’m having some issues with my buttons too.

I can get the WP profile to work, but nothing else. All I get is 404 errors, or it just refreshes the forum.

The Members button gets 404.

I’m assuming it’s related, but am still maintaining my ignorance regarding what to do. :s

 

YS Yellow Swordfish
Yellow Swordfish
Member

Let’s see if we can fix up the 404 issue for starters.

Go to the forum admin > Integration > Page and Permalink.

Make sure the correct page to display the forum in is selected in the top. if it is not then select and update the panel. And then click on the Update Forum Permalink button about  half way down the form. Let’s see if that solves the 404s…

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

Thanks Mr. Swordfish,

It’s set to the correct page – forum. I can see the forum just fine on that page. It’s just not letting me go to the topics now.

EDIT: I should probably mention that I did have WP SEO set up as well. But it was installed when the forums were working. More recently it interfered with a couple other plugins (virtual pages blank), so I deactivated it.

YS Yellow Swordfish
Yellow Swordfish
Member

If it is continuing to 404 after an ‘update forum permalink’ action then something yuou have installed is probably forcing redirection. So – any redirection plugins recently activated? Or perhaps the WordPress SEO (Yoast) plugin? Any others added?

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

I might have added the s2Member plugin after I initially set up the forum, though I think I activated them both at the same time. I certainly configured the membership plugin later.

XYZ WP Social Media Auto Publish. I don’t think it has any redirects. 

WP Exclude From Homepage maybe – does that redirect though? I think I was having issues with the forum before I installed that one anyway.

I checked the SP error log and found this

December 7, 20137:00 am | spaErrError | 2 | database


file: 
line: 
function: sp_pm_add_to_user_class
error: Table ‘escapeam_wp1.wp_sfbuddies’ doesn’t exist

SELECT buddy_id FROM wp_sfbuddies WHERE user_id=1

That id would be me.

Does that help?

MP Mr Papa
Mr Papa
Member

no caching plugins, right?

whats a link to your site?

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

As I noted above, I did have Super Cache working before I set the forum up. SP was working fine at the time. Since then I deactivated it, hoping it would help with this.

Oh, I just remembered – originally I had set /forum/ as an ignore string in Super Cache. But I had made the forum a sub-page for a little bit, to see how I liked it, before moving it back. But SP kept asking me to add another string to the Super Cache exceptions. I couldn’t ever figure out why, since I had moved it back from being a sub. Maybe that has something to do with it?

I’ve tried to set up a mock member. So far I haven’t even been able to see the forums from that profile, though I can get to the page.

The site is http://escapeamericanow.info, however you won’t be able to access the forums since they’re hidden behind the membership. Trying to get all this lined up and working correctly is a bit over my head. But I’m reading and trying. This part just has me buried though – clueless. :)

I can try to set up an account for you if that would help – admin access or whatever you think would be helpful. Don’t take time away from your family this week for this though. I have time.

Thanks,
Joe

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

Okay, I was just going through settings and trying to make something shake lose. Apparently I did.

Integration>Page and Permalink>Integration Options – I chose “Force the strict use of the WP API” and turned off “Filter WP list pages” and it seems that things are now working.

The buttons seem to be working now too. I have some images not showing up correctly now, but that’s a lot better than the 404! Buttons aren’t showing up right now, like RSS and Unread topics. The toolset won’t open for me now.

I can access my profile now. Clicking on any of the tabs takes me to a plain white page where I am able to change settings. It just doesn’t match the theme at all.

I’m encouraged. It’s a step in the right direction anyway. :)

Any insight into what happened and how I can fix the images and otherwise make this cleaner would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

MP Mr Papa
Mr Papa
Member

first, odd that the strict api setting would correct 404’s – dont think we have seen that before…

and an fyi, but you ARE showing cached pages…

<!– Dynamic page generated in 3.168 seconds. –>
<!– Cached page generated by WP-Super-Cache on 2013-12-28 00:07:18 –>

<!– super cache –>

so if you think your super cache is disabled, it is not…  suspect you still have a advanced-cache.php file in your wp-content directory…

 

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

I suppose it’s entirely possible that it was something else I did earlier, but there was a lag in me detecting the change. I started at the top and that’s where I noticed it. If it’s something else that’s likely, I’ll gladly test it.

I’ve reactivated Super Cache to see what would happen. The forum is still working like it was before I deactivated it.

Still don’t have images though… they just disappeared, though the buttons there still work. And the pages to edit settings are working, but just white pages with no theme influence.

Heh, I don’t even know what questions to ask at this point.

TI TIMM
TIMM
Member

Well, I keep trying to play with the settings, but can’t seem to find any consistency. Sometimes the profile tabs work. Sometimes they take me to a white screen (where the correct data is, but it’s a new page without theme). A couple of the buttons don’t work no matter what. 

I was hoping to just find a setting that would work consistently, but it’s eluding me. 

Super Cache is deactivated again, just in case. But I’ve not seen any change in performance based on whether it’s on or off. I still haven’t tried to reactivate WP SEO, and may not since it messes with too many plugins anyway.

YS Yellow Swordfish
Yellow Swordfish
Member

I think to help further we really are going to need access to your forum page. So can we take yopu up on the offer of an account?

Please PM credentials to both myself and to ‘Mr Papa’. Please include in the PM a link to your site, a link to this thread and brief reminder of the problem. And one of us will take a look for you.

YS Yellow Swordfish
Yellow Swordfish
Member

OK – the first thing to say is that your WP theme is throwing a JavaScript error. Once an error has been encountered it is common for other scripts to just stop working and I reckon this is the probable case here. The reported error is:

TypeError: settings.data is undefined

and it is being encountered in the /wp-content/themes/wpmu-dixi/lib/scripts/wpmudev-theme.js file

There are two problems here. First – getting that fixed is really a matter for your theme author. Second – because scripts do just stop running there is no telling if there are other errors lurking and waiting to be found. That we find out when the first error gets fixed.