Encountering unexplainable errors, or errors fixed in a prior version
Question:
Q: I am encountering an error or bug in iPanel/iHost, and the helpdesk staff indicated that this is the result of mixing files from disparate iPanel/iHost releases.
OR
Q: I am encountering an error or bug in iPanel/iHost, and the helpdesk staff indicated that this had already been fixed in the latest iPanel/iHost release. However, I am already running the latest iPanel release.
How is this possible, and how do I fix it?
Answer:
We receive reports of this nature practically every day, and in virtually all cases it's the result of having previously applied an upgrade which was missing some files. In most cases, this is caused by downloading an upgrade archive from the iHostDev client area, unpacking it on your personal computer, and then uploading the files to your server via FTP. Many FTP clients are notorious for "accidentally" missing some files while uploading, and/or encountering errors on certain files, but not prominently notifying the user about it.
To correct this issue, you need to replace ALL of your iPanel/iHost files with fresh copies from the latest iPanel/iHost release. Follow these steps to do so:
Backup your existing iPanel/iHost files and database in case you make a mistake. Download the latest FULL RELEASE of iPanel/iHost from your iHostDev client area. Note that you MUST use the latest FULL iPanel/iHost release -- NOT the upgrade release. Unpack the iPanel/iHost archive on your computer and delete the conf/ directory. Upload all of the iPanel/iHost files to your server, overwriting your existing files. If you're uploading via FTP, pay close attention to your FTP client to ensure that no errors are encountered during the upload. If errors are encountered while uploading any of the files, you MUST re-upload them. If you weren't already using the latest version of iPanel/iHost, perform the upgrade procedure described in the upgrade documentation included with iPanel/iHost. Usually that just involves launching the upgrade.php script in your web browser.
Once you've completed these steps, you should be up-to-date with the latest release and should no longer encounter any errors resolved in prior versions.
On a closing note, if you are an experienced administrator and know how to use SSH, we strongly recommend uploading the iPanel/iHost zip file to your server via FTP or scp, and then unpacking it directly on the server. That will avoid any possibility of individual files being missed by your FTP client, and will ensure reliable upgrades in future.