Error Installing Solo Artist Bundle

Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Hi.

I just installed my second Jamroom via Softaculous. Since it is only supporting one artist, I bought the Solo Artist Bundle. This Jamroom doesn't have a purchased license as it should not be necessary for a single artist install, or so I thought.

When I attempted to install the bundle I got this error: "Unable to symlink new skin jrSoloArtist - check file permissions" What does this mean, and how do I correct it?
updated by @lynnbird: 10/31/14 12:19:42AM
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
Hi.

I just installed my second Jamroom via Softaculous. Since it is only supporting one artist, I bought the Solo Artist Bundle. This Jamroom doesn't have a purchased license as it should not be necessary for a single artist install, or so I thought.

When I attempted to install the bundle I got this error: "Unable to symlink new skin jrSoloArtist - check file permissions" What does this mean, and how do I correct it?

Welcome to the Jamroom forums!

That error means that the directory permissions on the "skins" directory in your Jamroom install is not writable by the web user - that shouldn't be a case for a Softaculous install however, but if you can, load up your site via FTP and check the permissions on the "skins" and "modules" directories and make sure the web user can write to them.

Let me know if that helps.

Thanks!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Hi Brian and thanks for the follow! I don't have a zip file of the bundle; only the install from Marketplace package. where do I find the zip file?
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
Hi Brian and thanks for the follow! I don't have a zip file of the bundle; only the install from Marketplace package. where do I find the zip file?

You don't need the zip file:

1) FTP into your site and make sure the skins and modules directories are writable
2) go back into the Marketplace and install the Bundle

Let me know if that helps.

Thanks!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
ahhh! All right, now we are cooking with gas! I might even be able to do this through cPanel but if not will FTP in no prob.
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Permissions are set at 755 which to my recall means owner read write execute.
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
Permissions are set at 755 which to my recall means owner read write execute.

Try setting it to 777 temporarily and see if it works - that way we know if the user/group may not be set correctly on the files.

Who is your hosting provider?

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
You are helping greatly Brian. I am a member from the old site who's only been on the new site twice. My host for this installation is Brain Host. the folders all seem to be there. Let me do that CHMOD reset and get back to you.
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
You are helping greatly Brian. I am a member from the old site who's only been on the new site twice. My host for this installation is Brain Host. the folders all seem to be there. Let me do that CHMOD reset and get back to you.

No problem!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
ok done...You may know why I don't like 777...lol. Let me go back into admin and see what if anything has changed. Also for some odd reason this install thinks it is using over 260GB in the dashboard when it is using less than 300MB.
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Brian!

Have a look at the result of the permissions change. 500 server error

http://hypnoticsoundscapes.info
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
Brian!

Have a look at the result of the permissions change. 500 server error

http://hypnoticsoundscapes.info

OK try 770 then - if that gets you a 500 error as well, then something is different about how your hosting is setup - it could be that your hosting provider does not allow symlinks on the server (which is how Jamroom handles versioning of modules and skins).

Let me know if that helps.


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
It is now seeing the .info as a subdomain of the original domain on this plan. That domain no longer exists but I cannot delete its directory.
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Result of setting to 770 "Forbidden"

"You don't have permission to access /modules/jrCore/router.php on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request."

That was for the login. Site root reads:

"Forbidden"

You don't have permission to access / on this server.

"Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request."
updated by @lynnbird: 09/17/14 09:04:45AM
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Going back to 755...sigh. I've emailed the host for assistance. Thanks for all your help and I will definitely let you know the final result.
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
It sounds like your hosting provider has made it so you cannot use symlinks, and has blocked the ability to change permissions (i.e. Apache is checking the permissions of all files/directories and will error if they are changed).

I'd recommend contacting your hosting provider and see if they can confirm, or if they have a setting you can change to get it working, since it should work on 755 as long as PHP is running as a CGI/FastCGI.

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
It does and I'll get back to you with what they say.
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Grrrrr...Here is the answer and my reply to same.

"Hello Jocelyn,

Thank you for contacting us.

We are writing to inform you that we do not provide Audio/video screaming
on server as it utilizes more resources and it generates high load on
server as you are on shared hosting server.

If your websites causes High load on server, your account will get
suspended.

Please feel free to contact us if you need any further assistance."

Forgive me, but at this point I lost all semblance of Netiquette. These people just blythely put Softaculous on their servers without even looking at the packages contained therein, then suspend people when THEY should be editing the bloody package before deployment. Their edition of Softaculous also contains Oxwall, a Social Networking CMS which is notorious for its habit of running a cron job every minute of the day. I lost a hosting account due to not knowing this and thinking it was safe to install; I got called an irresponsible customer when again the host should have edited out dangerous packages.

Rant over. Here is my response.

"GRRRRRR...

This installation has the capability to use EMBEDS. I was going to use embedded audio from Soundcloud, Nimbit and YouTube. Will THAT overload your server?? All I want to do is install a theme package and the way the server is set up won't even let me do that!!

Why do you allow such packages in your edition of Softaculous if we are not going to be
allowed to use them? Speaking of which, you have another "problem child" in that
auto-installer in the person of Oxwall. I know better than to install that; it has
already lost me a host as I didn't know it ran a cron job every minute of the day.

Jocelyn"

Now if I can't install a theme, how in the world am I to get the Soundcloud and YouTube extensions in there? And can I take this theme bundle I bought over to another install, since it looks like I am going to be taking this domain off of this host? I think I am going to talk to Llama Servers and see if they will handle an installation of Jamroom when I set up my dedicated server with them later this year.
updated by @lynnbird: 09/17/14 11:59:12AM
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
A dedicated server is always great, and will run Jamroom loops around shared hosting - if you're looking for how to set one up, I've got a nice guide located here:

https://www.jamroom.net/brian/documentation/guides

It walks you through setting your server up to run JR really well.

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
It will when the time comes.

I was hoping not to have to go the dedicated server route as my hubby is already raising his eyebrows at the amount of Web real estate I have already. My other JR is still up and running, but I want a solo one where this artist will not be buried and where I can possibly embed my existing MP3 album stores in the site.

Please, will I be able to use the bundle I just paid $59.00 for on another installation since I can't use it on this one and will be deleting the entire install and domain?

Here is the original; I will be using the money which would have gone for upgrading this one to JR5 25 artist license for the new installation to a dedicated server.

http://www.hypnoticorchard.com
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
It will when the time comes.

I was hoping not to have to go the dedicated server route as my hubby is already raising his eyebrows at the amount of Web real estate I have already. My other JR is still up and running, but I want a solo one where this artist will not be buried and where I can possibly embed my existing MP3 album stores in the site.

Please, will I be able to use the bundle I just paid $59.00 for on another installation since I can't use it on this one and will be deleting the entire install and domain?

Here is the original; I will be using the money which would have gone for upgrading this one to JR5 25 artist license for the new installation to a dedicated server.

http://www.hypnoticorchard.com

Of course - all JR5 modules and skins are actually licensed for 2 sites - you should have no problem getting setup anywhere else. You can also go here:

https://www.jamroom.net/networklicense/licenses

and 'release' the licenses from your existing site so they are freed up for install elsewhere.

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Indeed it does. I need the 25-artist license on the original V4 JR; it has 14 slots filled already. I only need one artist for the next installation, as that one will be a solo artist site.

I've given the developers of Softaculous a heads-up also, thusly.

"Hello,

My name is Jocelyn Jensen. I am writing to you today because of my suspicion that hosting companies are deploying Softaculous in a manner that puts an undue burden on their customers. Can this package be edited for application content before deployment..i.e., can a host pick which apps appear in their edition of Softaculous? I've already lost one hosting plan due to one of your standard application entries, Oxwall; which should only be deployed on a dedicated server.

Now I have tried to deploy one of your newer entries, Jamroom, which I already have running on another host, albeit a much earlier version. The new projected host didn't even look at what was in their Softaculous package as this one also contained Oxwall. They also didn't bother to read the Jamroom documentation which states that JR has extensions which allow embedded media rather than directly uploaded media for streaming. The older installation is linked below. It has existed since either 2006 or 2007.

http://www.hypnoticorchard.com/

The host who deleted my account due to Oxwall was Hostdeal. The one who won't allow me to properly configure Jamroom for embedded media is Brain Host. Please, if Softaculous has the ability to edit out unwanted apps, it is in your best interest as well as the best interest of your customers to not only let them know this, but to put tutorials on your site depicting how this is done before more undeserving site owners get suspended or deleted!

Sincerely,

Jocelyn L. H. Jensen"

And I hope that will help everyone potentially facing such a problem.
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Note that with JR5 there are no longer any artist limits - everything is unlimited, so no worries about the number of profiles you have in your existing install ;)


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
I'm back Brian...sigh.

They changed the permissions at hosting level and the same thing happened; the site broke, so they changed it back and the symlink error immediately returned. Here is the last they sent me...

"Hello Jocelyn,

Thanks for your patience.

This issue seems related to your Solo Artist Theme Bundle application. I will request you to contact your theme provider and let us know what they have suggest you regarding this.

Please do not hesitate to contact us back in case of any further assistance."

My reply...

"The theme providers (who are also the coders of Jamroom itself) were the people who suggested I contact my host. JamRoom uses the symlink function, which I assume is standard in PHP itself; possibly when run as CGI. I can only ask them if PHP needs to be running as CGI, or any other thoughts they might have on the situation as I took the problem to them first.

I cannot install ANY external extension for JR without receiving the aforementioned error. Even Akismet, which is a standard anti-spam extension for many CMSes gives this error when an install attempt is made.

I will share what has happened so far with them and see what they say. I think we are looking at a change of host, however. My other sites will stay with you, but I already have a service in mind for this site since you seem unable to remedy this error.

More after I talk to the JamRoom Dev Team; you might want to check out their forum
yourselves as you are certainly going to run into this problem again with another
customer. Jamroom site linked below."

Now: I cannot contract for the dedicated server till the end of the month; nor can I afford any of the recommended/certified JR hosting solutions I've seen mentioned on site. So I am throwing a question out for anyone who is able to answer.

Does anyone have experience with Llamaservers? This is the least expensive dedicated server provider I've found to date. If anyone knows of better for less, I would love the input as I am getting frustrated.
updated by @lynnbird: 09/23/14 05:36:24AM
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
As long as it is a dedicated server you should have no issues, but before plunking down money on a dedicated server, have you consider a VPS? A VPS for all purposes acts just like a dedicated server - i.e. you have full control over the entire system. My "High Performance Jamroom on Digital Ocean" guide here:

http://www.jamroom.net/brian/documentation/guides/1188/high-performance-jamroom-on-digitalocean

Walks you through setting it all up - at can be setup on their smallest plan ($5 per month).

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
My original JR is on a VPS; but to take out a second one on the same host would cost more than the original as that one I got on a special deal....also $5.00/mo. The problem is the VPS's RAM usage kept going up and down. At one point in time I was paying $99.00/mo just for RAM!

My Jamrooms tend to get popular once people know where to find them; I will have a look at Digital Ocean...but what I am looking at isn't bad at $49.95 per quarter, or $17.95 a month if you do month by month. I will weigh my options...and yes as always, it helps, Brian!

Update: Digital Ocean looks lovely...but is "the cloud" actually safe? I am wary of cloud computing and always have been...ever since Adobe started doing all of its apps that way via subscription. Needless to say, there is very little left that Adobe has to offer me beyond Acrobat Reader.
updated by @lynnbird: 09/23/14 09:37:04AM
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Just ignore the word "cloud" - it's used so liberally for almost everything now (since a lot of companies know it is a buzzword). Digital Ocean is just a VPS hosting provider - nothing you do there is stored "in the cloud". The reason they use "Cloud Hosting" is that some developers like to spin up lots of small VPS instances and "scale" their application across multiple VPS servers (i.e. put the web server on one VPS, the database on another, mail system on another, etc.) - this becomes what is known as a "private cloud" of servers.

They are just a VPS hosting provider however.

$17.95 a month sounds good, but just make sure and check them out well - there are A LOT of small dedicated and VPS providers that try to be the lowest cost, but they end up sacrificing a lot in ways of support, network, etc. - and a lot of them close down rather quickly so you could be scrambling to move hosts if they decide to fold. Make sure you and read user reviews (web hosting talk is a good site).

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
I am going to dive into your Ocean, Brian...for now. I know web hosting talk; I think this is where I may have found the low cost Dedicated provider. I think I will start small (droplet) and work my way upward. You have a commission coming; I didn't remove your code when I signed up.

You've been very helpful!
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Wow. The second I gave them my debit card they locked my account? And asked for additional verification? Well there goes learning this system immediately...sigh.
updated by @lynnbird: 09/23/14 10:19:58AM
douglas
@douglas
10 years ago
2,790 posts
Yeah, they did the same to me, it didn't take long for them to unlock it as soon as I verified the account though.


--

Douglas Hackney
Jamroom Team - Designer/Developer/Support
FAQ-Docs-Help Videos
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
The bad thing is they refuse to disclose what triggered the hold. Somewhat secretive. Just like Credit Card companies will not tell you why you are refused credit; but how are you supposed to correct the situation if you don't know what is causing it?

Kinda stupid if you ask me...just my two cents.
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Here is something Brian might want to add to the Digital Ocean Guide. Apparently when I stated my intended traffic was Jamroom Audio/Video Media, the default droplet changed from the $5/mo to the $10/mo one, with a larger SSD allotment, and more bandwidth.
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
Here is something Brian might want to add to the Digital Ocean Guide. Apparently when I stated my intended traffic was Jamroom Audio/Video Media, the default droplet changed from the $5/mo to the $10/mo one, with a larger SSD allotment, and more bandwidth.

Weird - I've been using DO since they started, and have never really seen this - is this something that happened when you created the Droplet? I don't remember ever seeing anything that asked me what I was going to use the droplet for.

Since it's a bit tricky to change later on, it's not a bad idea to start with the slightly larger VPS if the price isn't a problem - JR5 will do better with 1G ram than with 512mb.

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net

updated by @brian: 09/23/14 10:56:45AM
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
They locked my account immediately upon my supplying billing details, Brian. One of the questions they asked me on the account verification form I was required to fill out to unlock the account was "What kind of Traffic do you intend to send to our servers?"

Now I have another problem; Windows 8 seems to not have a built in Terminal program and I need SSH access!

Update! Never mind, folks, I just found the info on enabling Telnet! All will be well soon; I just need to refresh my memory as haven't used that since Win '98...ROFL
updated by @lynnbird: 09/23/14 11:40:33AM
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Telnet won't work - you need an SSH client:

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/

Putty works really well - download that.

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Already did.
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Brian, I need to email you I think. I cannot figure out this editor in apache. all the commands seem to have carets in front of them and nothing seems to work amongst them.
michael
@michael
10 years ago
7,715 posts
Which editor? If its 'vi' its complex. Try using 'nano' or 'pico' instead. They are much simpler.
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
It was pico I was trying to use but I don't know how to format the commands like exit or save. It's also been 14 years since I did anything at the Linux CLI prompt...lol. I go back to Corel and Caldera Open Linux Server (16 and early 32 bit computing!).
updated by @lynnbird: 09/24/14 08:59:47AM
michael
@michael
10 years ago
7,715 posts
pico:

To get the manual, at the commandline do:
man pico

The only commands I usually use in pico are:
ctrl+o = write out ("save")
ctrl+x = exit

and sometimes ctrl+k to delete lines if i have a big section to delete and don't want to hold down the delete key.

-- edit --
From within the editor ctrl+G will bring up help (or F1). It will show these commands:
Quote:
^G (F1) Display this help text
^X (F2) Close the current file buffer / Exit from nano
^O (F3) Write the current file to disk
^J (F4) Justify the current paragraph

^R (F5) Insert another file into the current one
^W (F6) Search for a string or a regular expression
^Y (F7) Go to previous screen
^V (F8) Go to next screen

^K (F9) Cut the current line and store it in the cutbuffer
^U (F10) Uncut from the cutbuffer into the current line
^C (F11) Display the position of the cursor
^T (F12) Invoke the spell checker, if available

M-\ (M-|) Go to the first line of the file
M-/ (M-?) Go to the last line of the file

^_ (F13) (M-G) Go to line and column number
^\ (F14) (M-R) Replace a string or a regular expression
^^ (F15) (M-A) Mark text at the cursor position
M-W (F16) Repeat last search

M-^ (M-6) Copy the current line and store it in the cutbuffer
M-} Indent the current line
M-{ Unindent the current line
^F Go forward one character
^B Go back one character
^Space Go forward one word
M-Space Go back one word
^P Go to previous line
^N Go to next line

^A Go to beginning of current line
^E Go to end of current line
M-( (M-9) Go to beginning of paragraph; then of previous paragraph
M-) (M-0) Go just beyond end of paragraph; then of next paragraph
M-] Go to the matching bracket
M-- (M-_) Scroll up one line without scrolling the cursor
M-+ (M-=) Scroll down one line without scrolling the cursor
M- M-> (M-.) Switch to the next file buffer

M-V Insert the next keystroke verbatim
^I Insert a tab at the cursor position
^M Insert a newline at the cursor position
^D Delete the character under the cursor
^H Delete the character to the left of the cursor
M-T Cut from the cursor position to the end of the file

M-J Justify the entire file
M-D Count the number of words, lines, and characters
^L Refresh (redraw) the current screen
^Z Suspend the editor (if suspend is enabled)

(M-X) Help mode enable/disable
(M-C) Constant cursor position display enable/disable
(M-O) Use of one more line for editing enable/disable
(M-S) Smooth scrolling enable/disable
(M-P) Whitespace display enable/disable

updated by @michael: 09/24/14 07:01:57PM
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Yes Michael, I saw those at the bottom of the screen; what I am confused about is: do you do this with Caps Lock engaged, as to do ^ then a capital letter takes three keyboard moves and also do you need to hit enter after entering the command? When I tried it yesterday, nothing seemed to occur except a carriage return if you hit enter afterwards.

I will copy this and try again over the weekend; I think my real fear is of breaking the installation and having to start over.

Thanks a lot!
updated by @lynnbird: 09/24/14 11:09:11PM
michael
@michael
10 years ago
7,715 posts
It would take more effort to write that ^^ out than to just give it a try. ;)

In answer to the question, no, it does not have to be capital. ctrl+o is save ctrl+x is exit.
updated by @michael: 09/25/14 01:38:28AM
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
Ok...I have decided to use the Droplet as a webworking learning tool. At $10/mo it is surely worth keeping for that purpose. I've gone with Arivxe, and we will see how that goes. And you have gotten another referral commision, Brian et al.
brian
@brian
10 years ago
10,148 posts
Lynnbird:
Ok...I have decided to use the Droplet as a webworking learning tool. At $10/mo it is surely worth keeping for that purpose. I've gone with Arivxe, and we will see how that goes. And you have gotten another referral commision, Brian et al.

The end result with going with a DO droplet will be a super fast and robust system - while it will take a little more time to setup, in the long run you'll be happy.

Let us know if you run into any issues.

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
Lynnbird
Lynnbird
@lynnbird
10 years ago
56 posts
It does...so there will eventually be two JRs.

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