Issues after upgrading to IPS 4.7.4 and php 8 problems

[Ford Doctor]

I changed my database tables to InnoDB yesterday and had no issues this time. My site was running on php 8 when I began the upgrade and as soon as the upgrade completed my site went dead - ERROR 500. I contacted my host and revisited the .htaccess problem that occurs when I make changes or clear my caches. Bluehost support fixed the .htaccess concern and had to revert php back to 7.4.33 because I am getting errors when going to my gallery or going to forum posts and that is where we left it because they said I need to check my scripts. (?) This is now over my head. One note if it matters - my site is located in a subdirectory in my root directory where it has been for years without any issues. Here is what I am getting when I go to my gallery and forum posts:

https://www.forddoctorsdts.com/gallery/

ParseError: syntax error, unexpected '|', expecting variable (T_VARIABLE) (0)
#0 [internal function]: IPS\IPS::autoloader('IPS\\Content\\Con...')
#1 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/applications/gallery/modules/front/gallery/browse.php(24): spl_autoload_call('IPS\\Content\\Con...')
#2 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/init.php(749): require_once('/home1/forddoct...')
#3 [internal function]: IPS\IPS::autoloader('IPS\\gallery\\mod...')
#4 [internal function]: spl_autoload_call('IPS\\gallery\\mod...')
#5 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/system/Dispatcher/Dispatcher.php(142): class_exists('IPS\\gallery\\mod...')
#6 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/index.php(13): IPS\_Dispatcher->run()
#7 {main}

 

And in my forums (membership required to view)

ParseError: syntax error, unexpected '|', expecting variable (T_VARIABLE) (0)
#0 [internal function]: IPS\IPS::autoloader('IPS\\Content\\Con...')
#1 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/applications/forums/modules/front/forums/topic.php(24): spl_autoload_call('IPS\\Content\\Con...')
#2 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/init.php(749): require_once('/home1/forddoct...')
#3 [internal function]: IPS\IPS::autoloader('IPS\\forums\\modu...')
#4 [internal function]: spl_autoload_call('IPS\\forums\\modu...')
#5 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/system/Dispatcher/Dispatcher.php(142): class_exists('IPS\\forums\\modu...')
#6 /home1/forddoct/public_html/forddoctorsdts/index.php(13): IPS\_Dispatcher->run()
#7 {main}

 

So when Bluehost support corrected whatever they did with the 500 error and we changed php to 8.0 the site was functioning correctly. Then I tried resetting my caches from my IPS conrol panel to see if things went wrong again, and the ERROR 500 came back. We corrected the ERROR 500 and reset php back to 7.4.33 and now I am stuck with the above parse errors. All of my plugins are disabled - no change. Need advice AND HELP PLEASE.

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Ford Doctor

[Nathan Explosion]

4.7.4 is PHP 8.x only. The above are probably because you are running 7.4.x

Move to 8.0.x and troubleshoot issues there instead.

[Ford Doctor]

I changed php back to 8.0. No change AND my CP Support page is still reporting that it's pp 7.4.33. I am afraid to clear my caches again and totally take the site down. I have no idea why that happens. It never used to.

 

[Randy Calvert]

1 hour ago, Ford Doctor said:

I changed php back to 8.0. No change AND my CP Support page is still reporting that it's pp 7.4.33. I am afraid to clear my caches again and totally take the site down. I have no idea why that happens. It never used to.

 

If IPB is reporting 7.4.3, it's what PHP is actually running for the site.  Your host is running multiple versions of PHP and needs to properly switch your specific instance to 8.0.

If you want to test this outside of IPB, you can create a phpinfo file...

https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/how-to-create-phpinfo-file

https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/phpinfo/

This will tell you what version of PHP your specific site is using and what PHP modules its loading.  

[Ford Doctor]

49 minutes ago, Randy Calvert said:

If IPB is reporting 7.4.3, it's what PHP is actually running for the site.  Your host is running multiple versions of PHP and needs to properly switch your specific instance to 8.0.

 

I am certain I was still running 7.4.33 on my domain - I rechecked using the ips4.php file and confirmed. Now, I used the MultiPHP Manager in my CP to change my domains php version and it shows 8.0. Since I have multiple domains (4 with subdomains) in my hosting account requiring different php versions I manage them separately. I just tried setting all of them to php 8.0 at once and now it shows 8.0...  and now I have the error 500 again.

 

 

 

MultiPHP Manager

Edited November 20, 2022 by Ford Doctor

[Ford Doctor]

UPDATE:  The last ERROR 500 error was caused when I re-enabled my plugins. For me it was "Back To Top" plugin.

At this point my site is back on line and I will see how it goes for the next day or so and check back with y'all!

[Gary]

Hi @Ford Doctor,

Glad you managed to self-diagnose the issue. We have found there are numerous instances where plugins are the culprits when upgrading to PHP 8 or newer versions of Invision Community.

Hopefully everything functions perfectly with your community from here though. If you do have plugins that no longer work, the best practice is to approach the plugin author to either update it or assist you in working out a fix.

Please let us know how you go.