IPB 1.3 Troubleshooting Compendium

Contents:

1. Skin Css Isn't Working (CSS Cache)
2. Blank Pages
3. Can't Register
4. Users Say They Can't Register
5. Can't Search or Log In
6. Can't Back Up Database (Workaround)
7. Database Backup File Not Working (Workaround)
8. Can't Send Out Mail (Workaround)

Skin Css Isn't Working (CSS Cache)

Check for the Easiest Solution First: Hard Refresh
Force your browser to stop using its cached version and instead check for the newest resources with CTRL-F5.

If that doesn't work...
It may be the case that IPB's CSS cache got blown up. This creates a plain HTML page devoid of CSS. To fix it, you'll need to tell IPB to recreate the cache for each skin. Go back into each and every one of your CSS sheets and press SAVE. It re-creates the CSS sheet cache and makes it all happy and groovy again.


Blank Pages

When you're working with the source files of a forum software, that is, the files that make the forum work, there's always the chance that you'll mess up. Here's how to troubleshoot.

1. Save both the modified and unmodified versions
It's important to have both the modified and unmodified versions of the file. Because they'll be named the same, you can consider using a different folder to hold them, or renaming one of the files, say to ".old"

2. Save your work, re-upload working version
If you're on a live site, you do NOT want a nasty error that everyone sees and complains about. Uploading live files with mistakes does happen, so quickly re-upload the working version, so that your entire forum doesn't have to stop and wait for you.

3. Troubleshoot your file
Now that the forum's back up, you can spend time examining your code. Did you miss a semi-colon? Are all your IF/THEN/END statements closed? Did you escape quotemarks where needed? In the case of an error with a white page, it usually means there's a syntax error, so look carefully.


Can't Register

Not being able to register can be one of many, many things. The first step in fixing it is to log out and try to register for yourself.

Nothing happens when the button is clicked
Your tags are probably wrong, most likely your form and button tags. Check the HTML source and proceed from there.

Captcha is always wrong
You could have a problem with your captcha. If you're using a third party catpcha, the answer is simple, use a different one. If you're using a built-in captcha, I have no idea what to do. If it persists, contact your software support, as it's something on their end. If you're able, explore other ideas for preventing spambots, like a registration secret word, if you're able.

Validation email doesn't send
There's nothing you can do about this. It could have gotten gobbled up by their email provider, it might have gone to their spambox, the software might not have gotten around to sending the email, or maybe the software doesn't feel like sending emails at all. Validate the person yourself and set up a process so that new registrees don't feel so confused about it.

You are not permitted to view this board
If you get a permissions error, then you know there's a problem somewhere. First step, figure out what your IP is. The board will tell you, or you can check here: whatismyip.com. Next, log into the ACP and check the IP bans, is yours on there? Is there a range banned that covers your IP? (A range IP ban looks like this 127.127.1.* , as it has a star) If so, remove it. Are there any blank lines?If so, remove them.

Next step is to do the same thing with the email filters. Is there a range ban on your or their email address (such as *@gmail.com ?). Are there any blank lines?

Users Say That They Can't Register

1. Try to register yourself
Test it out and yourself. Can you register? If so, the problems most likely on their end.

2. Assess the prevalence
If many users are complaining, then it's probably widespread. Test the issue in as many browsers as you can. See if users are mobile or desktop users and test those platforms. If it's not prevalent, don't worry too much about it, but you still need to be helpful...

3. If it's not widespread, register the user yourself
There's many reasons why they may not be able to register. Perhaps they are failing a COPPA, perhaps they entered their email address wrong, perhaps the verification email went into their spam bin, perhaps the verification email got caught by their email's spam filters and wasn't even delivered into their inbox at all, or perhaps even your mail client isn't delivering mail properly at the moment. Users can get very frustrated because they don't understand what's happening and you'll loose a valid new member. Instead, simply take down their desired username and email address and pre-register them yourself. You can always change their username later via your cpanel.

Can't Search or Log In

Nothing happens when the button is clicked
Your tags are probably wrong, most likely your form and button tags. Check the HTML source and proceed from there.


Can't Back Up Database

It's more difficult to troubleshoot this problem than to work around it. Try these settings instead:

Database Backup File Not Working

There's really no specific fix for this one either, but really a work around. Refresh the page, use the settings above, and give it plenty of time to process. Don't leave the page, don't download anything else until it's finished. After this second time, take a look at the properties of the file. Is it bigger than 0 bytes? You should be able to open the backup file with a normal text editor, and it should be in readable, SQL text.


Can't Send Out Mail

If you find that you can't send out mail, if it stops in the middle, or if you're wanting to send out mail with HTML in it, you should stop there and try using a professional email sending service instead. Use your SQL panel to extract the email addresses of all the members, or if you're not saavy with that, try using your members page to get them there. Copy-paste the data into any text editor to remove formatting and then copy-paste that data into Excel to massage the data into what you're looking for. Many mail services are free, fast, and much, much better than what your IPB Mail page can offer.

I've found some glitches with the ipb1.3 mail system and the best workaround it to set up an smtp mail account and use that rather then the default. It solved all of my mail errors on I-Muse