problem uploading videos

I am suddenly having trouble uploading video files to my website.  I've uploaded images and videos in the past with no trouble, but suddenly I am getting mostly an HTML 500 error (sometimes an HTML 0 error).  I've tried uploading this video in both the downloads area as well as the galleries area but experience the same HTML error in both places.  I've checked the uploads and galleries folder via File Manager in cPanel and everything looks fine (file permissions, etc).  This video file is much bigger than prior videos (I'm working on a video training series for my community) but should still work.  Video file is 293mb in size.  I believe the upload file size limit is 500mb...so this is well below the limit as far as I can see.  Any ideas as to what may be going on?

I also attempted to upload the video via cPanel and that worked just fine.  I placed in "uploads/galleries".  Then I attempted to create a Gallery entry for the video file supplying the video URL as "uploads/galleries/TORHOA%20-%20Session%201%20-%20Home%20Page%20and%20security-test.mp4".  This should just save the entry by pointing to the existing file but I am getting a message stating "The specified URL to a local file doesn't point to an existing file."  This isn't true as the file does exist and it is in the correct folder location.  Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.  I've spent hours on this one and am completely lost now.

Best,
Christopher
 

Hi Christopher,

Is the filename "TORHOA - Session 1 - Home Page and security-test.mp4" or "TORHOA%20-%20Session%201%20-%20Home%20Page%20and%20security-test.mp4"?

For what you are specifying it should be the former. If it's the latter, somehow URL encoding has saved into the filename and I'd recommend renaming it to the former.

What happens if you access the URL directly, does it work then?

As for uploading and getting '500' errors, anything in the Composr error log? (Admin Zone > Audit > Error log).
 

Chris Graham said

Hi Christopher,

Is the filename "TORHOA - Session 1 - Home Page and security-test.mp4" or "TORHOA%20-%20Session%201%20-%20Home%20Page%20and%20security-test.mp4"?

For what you are specifying it should be the former. If it's the latter, somehow URL encoding has saved into the filename and I'd recommend renaming it to the former.

What happens if you access the URL directly, does it work then?

From “Post #7,183”, 20th October 2020, 2:38 am

Thanks Chris.  You are correct, the filename should be the former.  The URL encoding must have occurred while I was testing via direct URL which does work.  Once uploaded everything is fine.  And if I specify the local URL reference in Downloads or Gallery it does work (once I took the URL encoding out).  Uploading via Composr is still a problem, however.

Chris Graham said

As for uploading and getting '500' errors, anything in the Composr error log? (Admin Zone > Audit > Error log).

From “Post #7,183”, 20th October 2020, 2:38 am

Thanks for pointing me to the Error log.  This is all I see:

This is an older message from September 1st.  The Upload problem I'm experiencing I noticed just a couple of days ago…so I don't think they are related.  I read through your FAQ and noticed the topic of PHP upload file limits and the recommended_htaccess file.  Is this something I should try?  I'm trying to be careful with 'testing/debugging' as my site is live.

Thanks for all your help!  Looking forward to what you think I should do next?

Best,
Christopher

(I just fixed the bug in that error message, it's a very minor one.)

You could try adding this to your .htaccess file:

You could also try looking at the web server error log, as it may provide more details of what is behind the '500' error if it happened at the web server level.

Chris Graham said

(I just fixed the bug in that error message, it's a very minor one.)

You could try adding this to your .htaccess file:

Code

LimitRequestBody 0


From “Post #7,185”, 20th October 2020, 4:30 pm

Thanks for fixing that error    I did apply your suggestion but didn't see any change, so I think the settings on the web server are okay.

Chris Graham said

You could also try looking at the web server error log, as it may provide more details of what is behind the '500' error if it happened at the web server level.

From “Post #7,185”, 20th October 2020, 4:30 pm

Not sure where to find my web server error log, but I was still thinking there was an upload file size limitation being imposed.  I did some research and noticed that I did not have a php.ini file in my root web folder so I suspect I was inheriting the server defaults (which I think is 50mb).  I created a php.ini file in my site folder and increased the limits for memory_limit, post_max_size, and upload_max_filesize — effectively setting my upload file size limit to 360mb.  Most upload file sizes should not exceed 300mb but I wanted to give myself some wiggle room.  This worked  

Thanks for your help and for pointing me in the right direction.  Much appreciated!

Best,
Christopher

Oh ok, glad it's fixed. Composr should have told you those PHP upload limits were low in the configuration (it quotes the post_max_size and upload_max_filesize setting values in the upload limit configuration).

For other users reading this, you may want to try naming a file like this .user.ini, as on most PHP servers a php.ini file only operates in the directory it is in and not subdirectories.

Chris Graham said

Oh ok, glad it's fixed. Composr should have told you those PHP upload limits were low in the configuration (it quotes the post_max_size and upload_max_filesize setting values in the upload limit configuration).

From “Post #7,195”, 22nd October 2020, 5:32 pm

I don't recall seeing anything like that.  Where exactly is the 'upload limit configuration' located so that I can double-check?

Chris Graham said

For other users reading this, you may want to try naming a file like this .user.ini, as on most PHP servers a php.ini file only operates in the directory it is in and not subdirectories.

From “Post #7,195”, 22nd October 2020, 5:32 pm

Right now I have the php.ini in my web root folder.  Not sure if that is propagating down the sub-directories but I can say that uploading in both Downloads and Galleries appears to be working fine with the upgraded default values.  While it seems to be working, should I be doing this differently?

Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Feature Options > Upload

If it works as you have it, great.

Chris Graham said

Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Feature Options > Upload

From “Post #7,198”, 23rd October 2020, 1:19 am

Thanks Chris.  Just checked and PHP upload limits are indeed displayed in the Uploads configuration settings.  I guess I didn't think to look there, as once the site was setup and configured I have not had a need to go back and look at them  

Chris Graham said

If it works as you have it, great.

From “Post #7,198”, 23rd October 2020, 1:19 am

Got it     "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it"