HTTP 500 error when trying to create new thread

[XYZ500]

Moved to a new VPS.
Everything else seems to be working fine. Whenever I try to post a new thread, it gives HTTP error 500 on Chrome. On Firefox, it just displays a blank (white) page.

On Chrome, the error is:
The website.com page isn't working
website.com is currently unable to handle this request.
HTTP ERROR 500

When I try to reply to a thread from 'Go Advanced' option. Same error. However, the 'quick reply' option is working.

The host says they cannot help with this (can't diagnose the problem) as this is not covered by the support. Until I can tell them what exactly is wrong in the VPS.

What is causing this? And how to fix this?

[Dave]

Take a look at the PHP or Apache/nginx error logs (somewhere in /var/logs on the server), that will tell you exactly why it's causing the 500 internal server error.

[XYZ500]

Take a look at the PHP or Apache/nginx error logs (somewhere in /var/logs on the server), that will tell you exactly why it's causing the 500 internal server error.

Thank you. Can you tell me in a little bit more detail what exactly I should be looking for in the logs directory?

[DivisionByZero]

the reason text of the error.

[XYZ500]

Take a look at the PHP or Apache/nginx error logs (somewhere in /var/logs on the server), that will tell you exactly why it's causing the 500 internal server error.

Found two error log files in /var/log/httpd.
No file that contains the word 'error' found in /var/log/

The two files found in /var/log/httpd are named "error_log" and "error_log-20161121". I downloaded them. Changed the extension to .txt so I could open them. They have the following text in them.

error_log file:
[Mon Nov 21 04:02:01 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Mon Nov 21 04:02:01 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Mon Nov 21 04:02:01 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Mon Nov 21 20:26:13 2016] [error] [client 94.102.49.xxx] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/sitemap.xml
[Tue Nov 22 17:59:27 2016] [error] [client 191.96.249.xxx] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/phpmyadmin


error_log-20161121 file:
[Tue Aug 05 22:12:27 2014] [notice] suEXEC mechanism enabled (wrapper: /usr/sbin/suexec)
[Tue Aug 05 22:12:27 2014] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Tue Aug 05 22:12:27 2014] [notice] Digest: done
[Tue Aug 05 22:12:27 2014] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Tue Aug 05 22:16:21 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.146] File does not exist: /var/www/html/calendar
[Tue Aug 05 22:18:44 2014] [notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down
[Tue Aug 05 22:18:44 2014] [notice] suEXEC mechanism enabled (wrapper: /usr/sbin/suexec)
[Tue Aug 05 22:18:44 2014] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Tue Aug 05 22:18:44 2014] [notice] Digest: done
[Tue Aug 05 22:18:44 2014] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Tue Aug 05 22:31:39 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.91] File does not exist: /var/www/html/featured-events
[Tue Aug 05 22:35:10 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.135] File does not exist: /var/www/html/schedule
[Tue Aug 05 23:23:43 2014] [notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down
[Tue Aug 05 23:23:50 2014] [notice] suEXEC mechanism enabled (wrapper: /usr/sbin/suexec)
[Tue Aug 05 23:23:50 2014] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Tue Aug 05 23:23:50 2014] [notice] Digest: done
[Tue Aug 05 23:23:50 2014] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:52 2014] [notice] SIGHUP received. Attempting to restart
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:52 2014] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:52 2014] [notice] Digest: done
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:52 2014] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:53 2014] [notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:53 2014] [notice] suEXEC mechanism enabled (wrapper: /usr/sbin/suexec)
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:53 2014] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:53 2014] [notice] Digest: done
[Tue Aug 05 23:32:53 2014] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Tue Aug 05 23:34:09 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.75] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/photo-gallery
[Tue Aug 05 23:35:14 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.234] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Wed Aug 06 00:35:46 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.135] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Wed Aug 06 00:51:30 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.148] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Wed Aug 06 01:02:52 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.93] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 01:21:39 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.135] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 01:51:38 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.148] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/featured-events
[Wed Aug 06 02:02:59 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.234] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 03:06:37 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.75] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 03:44:43 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.184] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 03:45:05 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.234] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/secreteve
[Wed Aug 06 04:00:37 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.132] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 04:05:22 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.234] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 05:15:44 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.142] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Wed Aug 06 05:32:39 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.79] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/meters-2
[Wed Aug 06 05:35:53 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.153] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Wed Aug 06 06:02:50 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.234] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 07:13:50 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.142] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 08:15:15 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.93] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/home
[Wed Aug 06 08:34:15 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.91] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Wed Aug 06 08:48:12 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.142] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Wed Aug 06 09:44:14 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.75] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 10:25:07 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.75] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 10:39:50 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.135] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 11:03:36 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.234] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 11:55:04 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.132] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/schedule
[Wed Aug 06 11:57:07 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.184] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/home
[Wed Aug 06 15:13:10 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.236] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/about
[Wed Aug 06 15:30:40 2014] [error] [client 37.58.100.236] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/meters
[Thu Aug 07 22:35:11 2014] [error] [client 195.2.240.103] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/calendar
[Thu Aug 07 23:03:43 2014] [error] [client 195.2.240.103] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/component
[Thu Aug 07 23:33:54 2014] [error] [client 82.221.109.194] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/api
[Fri Aug 08 17:40:31 2014] [error] [client 222.190.118.224] File does not exist: /etc/zpanel/panel/manager
[Fri Aug 08 20:53:24 2014] [notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down
[Sun Nov 20 17:42:09 2016] [notice] suEXEC mechanism enabled (wrapper: /usr/sbin/suexec)
[Sun Nov 20 17:42:09 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Sun Nov 20 17:42:09 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Sun Nov 20 17:42:09 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Sun Nov 20 17:44:54 2016] [notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down
[Sun Nov 20 17:44:54 2016] [notice] suEXEC mechanism enabled (wrapper: /usr/sbin/suexec)
[Sun Nov 20 17:44:54 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Sun Nov 20 17:44:54 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Sun Nov 20 17:44:54 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Sun Nov 20 18:40:10 2016] [error] [client 108.162.238.xxx] script '/etc/zpanel/panel/forumdisplay.php' not found or unable to stat
[Sun Nov 20 18:45:02 2016] [notice] SIGHUP received. Attempting to restart
[Sun Nov 20 18:45:02 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Sun Nov 20 18:45:02 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Sun Nov 20 18:45:02 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Sun Nov 20 18:50:01 2016] [notice] SIGHUP received. Attempting to restart
[Sun Nov 20 18:50:01 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Sun Nov 20 18:50:01 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Sun Nov 20 18:50:01 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Sun Nov 20 18:55:01 2016] [notice] SIGHUP received. Attempting to restart
[Sun Nov 20 18:55:01 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Sun Nov 20 18:55:01 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Sun Nov 20 18:55:01 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Sun Nov 20 19:10:01 2016] [notice] SIGHUP received. Attempting to restart
[Sun Nov 20 19:10:01 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Sun Nov 20 19:10:01 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Sun Nov 20 19:10:01 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Sun Nov 20 19:10:10 2016] [error] [client 108.162.238.xx] script '/etc/zpanel/panel/forumdisplay.php' not found or unable to stat
[Sun Nov 20 19:10:35 2016] [error] [client 162.158.167.xx] script '/etc/zpanel/panel/wp-login.php' not found or unable to stat
[Sun Nov 20 19:17:16 2016] [error] [client 162.158.51.xx] script '/etc/zpanel/panel/wp-login.php' not found or unable to stat
[Sun Nov 20 19:20:01 2016] [notice] SIGHUP received. Attempting to restart
[Sun Nov 20 19:20:01 2016] [notice] Digest: generating secret for digest authentication ...
[Sun Nov 20 19:20:01 2016] [notice] Digest: done
[Sun Nov 20 19:20:01 2016] [notice] Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) DAV/2 configured -- resuming normal operations
[Sun Nov 20 20:22:02 2016] [error] [client 64.207.238.xxx] PHP Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 60 seconds exceeded in Unknown on line 0, referer: http://104.168.xxx.xxx/etc/apps/phpmyadmin/
[Sun Nov 20 23:49:12 2016] [error] server reached MaxClients setting, consider raising the MaxClients setting
[Mon Nov 21 04:02:01 2016] [notice] SIGHUP received. Attempting to restart


I purchased the server on November 20th 2016 so any errors dated before that can be ignored I guess. After looking at these logs, can you tell me what exactly is wrong so I can tell my host to fix it?

P.S. I crossed out some IPs as this is a public forum.

[DivisionByZero]

ok so what's the timestamp closest to when you encountered the error?

[XYZ500]

ok so what's the timestamp closest to when you encountered the error?

I am not sure what time zone the server is using. But I encountered this error 10 minutes before I created this thread. So you can say I encountered this error at 12:30 PM Melbourne time. I really can't tell you what the closest time of the server would be. But I think you can assume that the server is in CST time zone as the host operates in CST time zone as well.

[Dave]

Do you use some kind of control panel to manage your server? Maybe there's a PHP error log viewer somewhere.
The log files you pasted here don't really contain anything related to your error.

[XYZ500]

Do you use some kind of control panel to manage your server? Maybe there's a PHP error log viewer somewhere.
The log files you pasted here don't really contain anything related to your error.

zPanel is used on the server.

I just created a new user account and tried creating a thread. This account is being able to create threads without any problem. But at the same time, the admin account is giving the error I mentioned. Seems like this error is exclusive to the admin account. Any ideas?

[Paul M]

Enable debug more and then try, see if any error is displayed.

[Lynne]

What version of vBulletin is installed? What version of PHP and MySQL are on the server? Do you have suhosin or mod_security enabled (you will probably need to ask your host this question)?

Also, if only the admin account is having the problem, try disabling your modifications/plugins and see if you still have this problem.
Note: To temporarily disable the plugin system, edit includes/config.php and add this line right under <?php

define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true);

[XYZ500]

Now its working. All of a sudden today its working. I didn't do anything, didn't make any changes. Isn't it weird?

[mrt_547]

I had this problem, every topic had this issue. I turned off the "Thumbs-up" add-on and the forum started working. :)