I am unable to save my work. I keep getting an error: "Not Found" within the plugin each time I try to add an additional slide within the slider. I added 77 slides successfully. Slide 78 was a no-go. The goal is to get 222 slides into this slider.
I have spoken with the hosting provider for weeks now. Everything is running like it should. All plugins have been disabled. All uploading times and limits have been set higher. Still no luck. The problem appears to be within the LayerSlider. As a test, I added new slides to each of my other 7 sliders within LayerSlider. They all save additional slides. Only the current slider refuses to save additional slides.
As we've already discussed in the email earlier, there is no such issue in the plugin. If you've ruled out 3rd party incompatibilities on your installation, this is going to be a server configuration issue. The error message and the fact that this only happens after a certain amount of slides also confirms this. The plugin cannot just "not find" the same server anymore that was saving properly 1 extra slide ago. The plugin is accessing the server the same way, but your server settings -most likely a memory limitation- do not allow more content to be created and throws this error instead. If you enable the WP debug mode, and set up a temporary WP login for us, we can also look into this in your admin.
Thank you for your patience and sorry for the delayed response.
We've investigated this problem in your back-end and everything was working fine for us. We were able to add +1 slide to the problematic slider. Did you manage to solve it in the meantime ? In case the problem still persists for you, please explain what you're doing exactly to trigger it, so we can reproduce it as well.
Also, we believe that it would be easier for you if you did not add the images as layers, but as slide backgrounds. It is better for performance, easier to handle, provides more options to sizing the images and the slides would show them as preview/thumbnail.
We've also noticed that you have many empty slides. Were you setting up those as test ?
Unfortunately, the problem isn't resolved. Did you try to add more than one slide to the slider? I was able to add one and successfully save my work. When I added a second slide, and clicked "saved", I got an error prompt. The 222 slides you saw in the slider are meant to be there. I am still unable to save my work. Again, Godaddy says that it is an issue with your plugin, not the server. Login credentials are still open until this is fixed. Please advise.
We've managed to reproduce the error. Unfortunately we still cannot tell the exact source of the issue, as your site does not show the exact error message. You can only tell more from the server logs, that only your host can access. Or if you have an admin dashboard and cPanel, you could also check on it.
In any case, it is 100% certain that this is a serverside configuration issue. The fact that the plugin works without any problem with less content confirms this. There is simply a limit set by your server that prevents creating more content. As you can also see, the plugin perfectly works and saves until it hits that server limit and then it throws this error.
This limit can be a lot of things, for example a PHP memory limit or apache mod_security or some content filter. The last two (mod_security and content filters) can directly filter and limit based on the amount of data sent by the plugin to the server.
As LayerSlider is not a simple image viewing plugin and it has a lot of settings and animation options, it works with a lot of data. So in case of a few hundred slides, the server can easily disable the increased amount of data incoming from the plugin.
We've had problems with GoDaddy and their Apache mod_security in the past. These kind of cases are very tricky, as these errors cannot always be seen in the logs either. Furthermore, GoDaddy does not seem to be very helpful either, they have countless diagnostic tools for investigating this case that only they can access. But unfortunately they do not seem to be too eager to help, other than telling you that it's not them.
Regarding the 404 Not Found error. This error can be deceiving at first because of its name. But WordPress uses this error message when it faces an error during processing a request. So it's not a classic 404 error where the site/server cannot be found, instead it's about that something went wrong during saving. So there is definitely a serverside error, even if GoDaddy cannot see it. We recommend to disable the Apache mod_security as a test to see if that helps, it fits the error description and hard to debug normally.
Turning mod_security off had no effect. Nor did readjusting upload and timing limits. I renamed the php.ini file to .user.ini in order to make the changes I made within the cPanel override the php.ini file. The values I set in the cPanel and the values I saw in the php.ini file were not consistent. (Godaddy was very helpful and detailed with troubleshooting, just as you have been.) I have renamed my wp_siteurl as well as the wp_home url from http to https as we recently upgraded to a secure url. I thought that perhaps the errors were coming from outdated or mislabled http media files. I deleted all unneeded plugins and themes. I set a default theme within WordPress via the wp-config file as that had been overlooked. I checked and set my content security policy using https://securityheaders.com/ and a plugin called https://nl.wordpress.org/plugins/http-headers/. All of this but still the errors remain.
What I have learned today is that WordPress' version 4.7.1 has a bug that interferes with uploading non-image files. There are two MIME patches available to fix the bug until the next Wordpress update (4.7.3) https://wordpress.org/plugins/disable-real-mime-check/ and https://wordpress.org/plugins/blob-mimes/. However, they do not work on my site. My trouble is uploading images, not non-images. I am able to change everything in the slider. The only limitation is uploading.
At this point I can't rule out any one thing, as every one keeps sending me in circles saying it isn't coming from their side. The additional potential source for the error is Pagelines, a third-party theme. They have posted an announcement about trouble between their theme and Wordpress 4.7.1 and uploading non-image files.
Please keep this ticket open so that when I find the solution, others can benefit from it. I hope the answers come soon.
We have some additional details available after further discussions with the development team.
- The upload and timing limits cannot be relevant to this. The memory limit could be relevant, but it's not likely either as the System Status did not show it invalid.
- The site url and home url (or anything https related) are not relevant either. As we've mentioned this is not the classic 404 error, there is nothing wrong with the URL, this is a server side error during the processing of the request.
- The content security policy is a client side directive, it cannot be related to this in any way, neither can the HTTP headers.
- The WP MIME issue (or anything related to upload) is not relevant either, as this occurs without upload as well. This issue is related to the amount of data sent to the server. You can test it by deleting a couple of slides, and you will be able to save the slider again, even without refreshing the page. You can use this method to determine the exact server limit, the point where it does not let more content through anymore. Also, the upload would be related to WP Media Library and not to the slider.
- Your theme is most likely not related to this problem either.
We still believe that it's a mod_security issue. We wrote that earlier that GoDaddy isn't really helpful, because we had a similar case in the past where they simply told the concerned customer, that they do not offer any option to disable the shared hosting service. The customer moved the site to a different host and the issue was resolved immediately. Considering that hosting providers do not usually offer an option to configure or disable the mod_security, we are not sure that you did the correct thing. Usually it can only be changed by he host, not in the admin dashboard they provide for their users.
As only your host have access to the neccessary tools, log files, etc, we are completely in the dark and only guessing what might be wrong. It's not certain that the issue is related to mod_security, but we still think that it is the most likely possibility. But what is certain, is when and where does the issue occur. In your server. This is why it would be important for GoDaddy to investigate it in depth. Only GoDaddy can see what's really behind the curtain, what happens when you press the save button, what's in the logs, what's up with the HTTP request's lifecycle. They have access to every single step of this process.
We are really trying to help and what you did so far to troubleshoot is honorable, but we are quite sure that this issue is not related to your site, or to WP settings, or to plugins, or to anything that you can change on your own. This is a server side error, which only happens in an easily definable environment, that is why your hosting has a crucial role in finding and fixing this.
The last ditch efforts have included file compression and optimization as well as changing wp_content/uploads file attribute permissions from 755 to 744 as suggested in this article: https://fancythemes.com/fix-image-upload-issue-wordpress/, and opening relevant tickets. I followed these instructions to disable mod_security within the file manager in cPanel: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38474497/how-to-disable-mod-security. Perhaps it didn't work as you have mentioned. I have GoDaddy on the line now. Disabling mod_security in a shared-hosting environment is not allowed. They suggested buying VPN if I want fixed allocated resources instead of having neighbors. The price was steep. They are now trouble-shooting to see why uploading is not working. This help would have been more timely three weeks ago. Nonetheless, a solution is greatly welcomed.
...and the prize goes to mod_security! Godaddy will not turn mod_security off for the safety of everyone else on the shared server. Running the same test on a server with more room eliminated the error. Entering from backstage: the upgrade-sales-pitch. Screenshots are included. Popcorn is not.
Thank you for excellent support and the time you put into this.
I am unable to save my work. I keep getting an error: "Not Found" within the plugin each time I try to add an additional slide within the slider. I added 77 slides successfully. Slide 78 was a no-go. The goal is to get 222 slides into this slider.
I have spoken with the hosting provider for weeks now. Everything is running like it should. All plugins have been disabled. All uploading times and limits have been set higher. Still no luck. The problem appears to be within the LayerSlider. As a test, I added new slides to each of my other 7 sliders within LayerSlider. They all save additional slides. Only the current slider refuses to save additional slides.
Dear Rochelle,
As we've already discussed in the email earlier, there is no such issue in the plugin. If you've ruled out 3rd party incompatibilities on your installation, this is going to be a server configuration issue. The error message and the fact that this only happens after a certain amount of slides also confirms this. The plugin cannot just "not find" the same server anymore that was saving properly 1 extra slide ago. The plugin is accessing the server the same way, but your server settings -most likely a memory limitation- do not allow more content to be created and throws this error instead. If you enable the WP debug mode, and set up a temporary WP login for us, we can also look into this in your admin.
Dear Attila,
Were you able to take a look?
Thanks,
Rochelle
Thank you for the login. My colleagues and I will look into this to see what we can find, and get back to you shortly.
Thank you for your patience and sorry for the delayed response.
We've investigated this problem in your back-end and everything was working fine for us. We were able to add +1 slide to the problematic slider. Did you manage to solve it in the meantime ? In case the problem still persists for you, please explain what you're doing exactly to trigger it, so we can reproduce it as well.
Also, we believe that it would be easier for you if you did not add the images as layers, but as slide backgrounds. It is better for performance, easier to handle, provides more options to sizing the images and the slides would show them as preview/thumbnail.
We've also noticed that you have many empty slides. Were you setting up those as test ?
Unfortunately, the problem isn't resolved. Did you try to add more than one slide to the slider? I was able to add one and successfully save my work. When I added a second slide, and clicked "saved", I got an error prompt. The 222 slides you saw in the slider are meant to be there. I am still unable to save my work. Again, Godaddy says that it is an issue with your plugin, not the server. Login credentials are still open until this is fixed. Please advise.
Thank you for the feedback. We'll test this further.
We've managed to reproduce the error. Unfortunately we still cannot tell the exact source of the issue, as your site does not show the exact error message. You can only tell more from the server logs, that only your host can access. Or if you have an admin dashboard and cPanel, you could also check on it.
In any case, it is 100% certain that this is a serverside configuration issue. The fact that the plugin works without any problem with less content confirms this. There is simply a limit set by your server that prevents creating more content. As you can also see, the plugin perfectly works and saves until it hits that server limit and then it throws this error.
This limit can be a lot of things, for example a PHP memory limit or apache mod_security or some content filter. The last two (mod_security and content filters) can directly filter and limit based on the amount of data sent by the plugin to the server.
As LayerSlider is not a simple image viewing plugin and it has a lot of settings and animation options, it works with a lot of data. So in case of a few hundred slides, the server can easily disable the increased amount of data incoming from the plugin.
We've had problems with GoDaddy and their Apache mod_security in the past. These kind of cases are very tricky, as these errors cannot always be seen in the logs either. Furthermore, GoDaddy does not seem to be very helpful either, they have countless diagnostic tools for investigating this case that only they can access. But unfortunately they do not seem to be too eager to help, other than telling you that it's not them.
Regarding the 404 Not Found error. This error can be deceiving at first because of its name. But WordPress uses this error message when it faces an error during processing a request. So it's not a classic 404 error where the site/server cannot be found, instead it's about that something went wrong during saving. So there is definitely a serverside error, even if GoDaddy cannot see it. We recommend to disable the Apache mod_security as a test to see if that helps, it fits the error description and hard to debug normally.
Please read my previous message carefully. I've already explained the 404 error message, its meaning, its significance and what to look for.
I read your message thoroughly.
Turning mod_security off had no effect. Nor did readjusting upload and timing limits. I renamed the php.ini file to .user.ini in order to make the changes I made within the cPanel override the php.ini file. The values I set in the cPanel and the values I saw in the php.ini file were not consistent. (Godaddy was very helpful and detailed with troubleshooting, just as you have been.) I have renamed my wp_siteurl as well as the wp_home url from http to https as we recently upgraded to a secure url. I thought that perhaps the errors were coming from outdated or mislabled http media files. I deleted all unneeded plugins and themes. I set a default theme within WordPress via the wp-config file as that had been overlooked. I checked and set my content security policy using https://securityheaders.com/ and a plugin called https://nl.wordpress.org/plugins/http-headers/. All of this but still the errors remain.
What I have learned today is that WordPress' version 4.7.1 has a bug that interferes with uploading non-image files. There are two MIME patches available to fix the bug until the next Wordpress update (4.7.3) https://wordpress.org/plugins/disable-real-mime-check/ and https://wordpress.org/plugins/blob-mimes/. However, they do not work on my site. My trouble is uploading images, not non-images. I am able to change everything in the slider. The only limitation is uploading.
At this point I can't rule out any one thing, as every one keeps sending me in circles saying it isn't coming from their side. The additional potential source for the error is Pagelines, a third-party theme. They have posted an announcement about trouble between their theme and Wordpress 4.7.1 and uploading non-image files.
Please keep this ticket open so that when I find the solution, others can benefit from it. I hope the answers come soon.
Thank you as well for your detailed message.
Thank you for the detailed feedback. I'll leave this open.
We have some additional details available after further discussions with the development team.
- The upload and timing limits cannot be relevant to this. The memory limit could be relevant, but it's not likely either as the System Status did not show it invalid.
- The site url and home url (or anything https related) are not relevant either. As we've mentioned this is not the classic 404 error, there is nothing wrong with the URL, this is a server side error during the processing of the request.
- The content security policy is a client side directive, it cannot be related to this in any way, neither can the HTTP headers.
- The WP MIME issue (or anything related to upload) is not relevant either, as this occurs without upload as well. This issue is related to the amount of data sent to the server. You can test it by deleting a couple of slides, and you will be able to save the slider again, even without refreshing the page. You can use this method to determine the exact server limit, the point where it does not let more content through anymore. Also, the upload would be related to WP Media Library and not to the slider.
- Your theme is most likely not related to this problem either.
We still believe that it's a mod_security issue. We wrote that earlier that GoDaddy isn't really helpful, because we had a similar case in the past where they simply told the concerned customer, that they do not offer any option to disable the shared hosting service. The customer moved the site to a different host and the issue was resolved immediately. Considering that hosting providers do not usually offer an option to configure or disable the mod_security, we are not sure that you did the correct thing. Usually it can only be changed by he host, not in the admin dashboard they provide for their users.
As only your host have access to the neccessary tools, log files, etc, we are completely in the dark and only guessing what might be wrong. It's not certain that the issue is related to mod_security, but we still think that it is the most likely possibility. But what is certain, is when and where does the issue occur. In your server. This is why it would be important for GoDaddy to investigate it in depth. Only GoDaddy can see what's really behind the curtain, what happens when you press the save button, what's in the logs, what's up with the HTTP request's lifecycle. They have access to every single step of this process.
We are really trying to help and what you did so far to troubleshoot is honorable, but we are quite sure that this issue is not related to your site, or to WP settings, or to plugins, or to anything that you can change on your own. This is a server side error, which only happens in an easily definable environment, that is why your hosting has a crucial role in finding and fixing this.
The last ditch efforts have included file compression and optimization as well as changing wp_content/uploads file attribute permissions from 755 to 744 as suggested in this article: https://fancythemes.com/fix-image-upload-issue-wordpress/, and opening relevant tickets. I followed these instructions to disable mod_security within the file manager in cPanel: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38474497/how-to-disable-mod-security. Perhaps it didn't work as you have mentioned. I have GoDaddy on the line now. Disabling mod_security in a shared-hosting environment is not allowed. They suggested buying VPN if I want fixed allocated resources instead of having neighbors. The price was steep. They are now trouble-shooting to see why uploading is not working. This help would have been more timely three weeks ago. Nonetheless, a solution is greatly welcomed.
Thank you for the feedback. Hopefully they will locate the issue now. Please let us know of the results if you can.
Hey Attila,
...and the prize goes to mod_security! Godaddy will not turn mod_security off for the safety of everyone else on the shared server. Running the same test on a server with more room eliminated the error. Entering from backstage: the upgrade-sales-pitch. Screenshots are included. Popcorn is not.
Thank you for excellent support and the time you put into this.
Kind Regards,
Shelly
Thank you again for the feedback! We're glad that the issue is resolved now!