Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Get help with installation and running phpBB 3.3.x here. Please do not post bug reports, feature requests, or extension related questions here.
Locked
User avatar
shortmort37
Registered User
Posts: 656
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA, USA
Name: Dan Morton
Contact:

Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by shortmort37 »

Support Request Template
What version of phpBB are you using? phpBB 3.3.3
What is your board's URL? www.54plymouth.net/54test
Who do you host your board with? inmotionhosting.com
How did you install your board? I used the download package from phpBB.com
What is the most recent action performed on your board? Fresh Install
Is registration required to reproduce this issue? No
Do you have any MODs installed? No
Do you have any extensions installed? No
What styles do you currently have installed? prosilver
What language(s) is your board currently using? English
Which database type/version are you using? MariaDB
What is your level of experience? Comfortable with PHP and phpBB
What actions did you take (updating your board; installing a MOD, style or extension; etc.) prior to this problem becoming noticeable? The problems occur during a fresh install of phpBB 3.3.3.
Please describe your problem. I encounter "The installer detected a timeout" consistently at the 77% install mark, during "Installing packed extensions...". I have doubled the max_execution_time in php.ini from 60 to 120, to no avail - it continues to fail at 77%.

During each attempt, I do the following:
1) delete config.php;
2) purge all but .htaccess and index.htm from the cache and store directories;
3) drop the database from the previous attempt, and reinstantiate an empty database;
4) completely supply the installation data for the building of the config.php file.
Generated by SRT Generator
Capture.JPG
User avatar
EA117
Registered User
Posts: 2158
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:23 am
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by EA117 »

It's been true all along, but the Knowledge Base - Debugging "The installer detected a timeout" article was only recently updated to acknowledge that "timeout" during installation really means "any PHP execution failure, and not necessarily a timeout."

So what you may want to do is check the PHP error log to see if there is a specific error and maybe even a call stack being recorded, which might help point to a specific cause or at least give clues as to what to try next. If you're unsure where PHP errors get logged on your hosting account, you might want to check with your hosting support or at least their documentation. To confirm where specifically PHP errors are logged, as opposed to web server error or activity logs.

For example, it may be there is a specific PHP feature or extension which isn't enabled on the hosting account, and is implied or directly referenced by the error being logged. And the installation will proceed fine once the PHP options or enabled extensions list is updated.
User avatar
3Di
I've Been Banned!
Posts: 17538
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:09 pm
Location: I'm with Ukraine 🇺🇦
Name: Marco
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by 3Di »

The user has got issues with his own server as it seems, I personally followed him, you can trace the history looking at his posts.
I'd suggest him to get a free account somewhere and try the same, in case... to change hosting.

I am done here. :)
🆓 Free support for our extensions also provided here: phpBB Studio
🚀 Looking for a specific feature or alternative option? We will rock you!
Please PM me only to request paid works. Thx. Buy me a coffee -> Image
My development's activity º PhpStorm's proud user º Extensions, Scripts, MOD porting, Update/Upgrades
User avatar
shortmort37
Registered User
Posts: 656
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA, USA
Name: Dan Morton
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by shortmort37 »

Apologies - I neglected to add that to the request.

I have E_ALL set in php.ini, and I can force an error message into error_log by calling a php script that loads a nonexistent module. But nothing gets entered by running the install script - nor, in the Apache log for my shared server account. I won’t get any help, either, from my ISP in changing the log settings other than what they are.
User avatar
shortmort37
Registered User
Posts: 656
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA, USA
Name: Dan Morton
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by shortmort37 »

I should point out - I am using a bare bones install of phpBB to diagnose issues I am having when I clear the cache. I can demonstrate this to my provider with a Softaculous install of phpBB, as described here:

viewtopic.php?f=661&t=2592471

Despite having these cache issues on my production board (not installed with Softaculous), someone suggested that perhaps Softaculous was implicated - and that I should try a manual install from this site. I’ll leave no stone unturned, so that’s the point of this present exercise.

...and now I am wondering if the two issues are related.
User avatar
shortmort37
Registered User
Posts: 656
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA, USA
Name: Dan Morton
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by shortmort37 »

3Di wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 5:35 pm I'd suggest him to get a free account somewhere and try the same, in case... to change hosting.
I suppose there is value to saying to provider X, I don’t have these issues with the same base install with provider Y. Perhaps they would dig a little deeper... perhaps not.

But as I have already mentioned, I am grandfathered with a plan that provides unlimited disk space. Most current plans - even on shared servers - offer 80GB, and you pay for what you use in excess.

I have 120GB of content + my email archive, and I’d hoped to add a lot more. Any move I make ends up costing this retiree money. If I’m forced to living with annoying, but ephemeral 500 issues when I clear the cache, I will.
User avatar
3Di
I've Been Banned!
Posts: 17538
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:09 pm
Location: I'm with Ukraine 🇺🇦
Name: Marco
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by 3Di »

You are making a small problem a big deal. You are trying to find a needle in a haystack when simply changing hosts for a few quid would solve all your problems, the same new host would transfer all your data in a matter of a few tens of minutes and for free, of course you should know which new host to choose. I don't advertise but I know a few. The fact that you are a loyal customer to someone who doesn't follow you seems to me masochistic to say the least, if you allow me. Here nobody can solve your problems, we have already spent too much time, for free by the way, without solving anything. What do you expect now?
🆓 Free support for our extensions also provided here: phpBB Studio
🚀 Looking for a specific feature or alternative option? We will rock you!
Please PM me only to request paid works. Thx. Buy me a coffee -> Image
My development's activity º PhpStorm's proud user º Extensions, Scripts, MOD porting, Update/Upgrades
User avatar
EA117
Registered User
Posts: 2158
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:23 am
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by EA117 »

shortmort37 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 5:47 pm I have E_ALL set in php.ini, and I can force an error message into error_log by calling a php script that loads a nonexistent module. But nothing gets entered by running the install script - nor, in the Apache log for my shared server account.
One thing that does come to mind in response to this, if the error_log was successfully created when executing your intentionally-invalid PHP file, is to check whether the error_log file is being created under the /install/ folder when the installation fails.

If the error_log file specification is an absolute path, the log will always be in the same place. But if the error_log specification is just a file name, it will be "in whatever folder the executing PHP module was in." e.g. Could have been at the root of your board when executing the test file, but would be in the /install/ folder when executing the install/update of phpBB.

I do not believe that the way phpBB is "catching" the PHP execution error from the install code would "eat it" such that nothing would be logged, on systems where logging is enabled. And at least a quick test just now of putting a an invalid statement in one of the database upgrade modules indeed logged the specific PHP error in the PHP error log, in addition to phpBB's installer showing "a timeout occurred."
User avatar
shortmort37
Registered User
Posts: 656
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA, USA
Name: Dan Morton
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by shortmort37 »

Hmmm... Interesting thought. OK, I will scrounge around! I’ll also check my browser w/DevTools, per the suggestion in the article you provided. Thanks!
User avatar
shortmort37
Registered User
Posts: 656
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA, USA
Name: Dan Morton
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by shortmort37 »

Nope; no error* file in the domain hierarchy, except for 54plymouth.net/54test/error_log.

And Dev Tools in my Chrome browser was not particularly helpful on the Network tab:
install.JPG
status.JPG
I'll be adding this to the open ticket with my service provider. As they say, that and $1.97 gets you one of these:
wawa.jpg
User avatar
shortmort37
Registered User
Posts: 656
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA, USA
Name: Dan Morton
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by shortmort37 »

EA117 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 11:01 pm ...And at least a quick test just now of putting a an invalid statement in one of the database upgrade modules indeed logged the specific PHP error in the PHP error log, in addition to phpBB's installer showing "a timeout occurred."
Say... I know how to throw an error in PHP that gets logged in error_log - invoke a nonexistent module, e.g.,

Code: Select all

asd();
. Perhaps there would be value in me recursing on subdivisions of the database upgrade module involved in the "installing packaged extensions" task, to localize the error? That's what it was doing when the failure occurred. If error_log is blank when the failure occurs, I've placed my thrown error past the failure point.

Is there a way to know what php script was installing packaged extensions?

[Edit: phpbb/install/module/install_finish/task/install_extensions.php appears to be the script]
User avatar
thecoalman
Community Team Member
Community Team Member
Posts: 5871
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:52 am
Location: Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Contact:

Re: Yet Another "The installer detected a timeout" during a fresh install

Post by thecoalman »

If the host is unwilling to provide you information on the error you might as well be blindly throwing darts at dart board. If it's a 500 error being logged to Apache log you don't have access too it would take them no longer than minute to look it up. It's entirely possible it cannot be resolved by you. Since you are a car guy the analogy here is you are trying to fix an engine that won't start without being able to open the hood and do something as simple as checking if the battery is connected.

Based on this topic and others you have started it appears you have exhausted all possible avenues of support that can be provided here other than guessing. I'm going to close this topic. If you determine what the logged error is you can send me or another moderator a PM to reopen it.

As side note I understand your reason for sticking with the host but if they are unwilling to provide you with basic error information it's time to move.
“Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results! I have found several thousand things that won’t work.”

Attributed - Thomas Edison
Locked

Return to “[3.3.x] Support Forum”