Title: 500 Error on Install
Last modified: May 26, 2017

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# 500 Error on Install

 *  Resolved [scottacock](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scottacock/)
 * (@scottacock)
 * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/500-error-on-install/)
 * I had WordPress working just fine on PHP 5.6. I have an existing site (Drupal
   6) that I want to replace with the WordPress site. The WordPress site sits in
   a subfolder until we are done redesigning the site, then we will move it to the
   root folder.
 * The problem is, I made the mistake of switching to PHP 7. This broke the Drupal
   site. It will run on PHP 5.6. Now that I switched the site to 7, swtiching back
   to 5.6 breaks WordPress. I tried to do a complete wipe and reinstall of the subfolder,
   completely reinstalling WordPress from scratch in that folder. However, this 
   fails to install. Apparently, the installer now wants only PHP 7. I can’t do 
   that because I have to have the old site running.
 * I even tried an older version of WordPress. No luck.
 * Is there any way to get WordPress to run on PHP 5.6 again????

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  [jordanwpcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jordanwpcom/)
 * (@jordanwpcom)
 * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/500-error-on-install/#post-9168727)
 * Hey [@scottacock](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scottacock/),
 * Interesting issue…
    From my understanding, the WordPress.org self-hosted platform
   is compatible with a number of versions of PHP and should work with both 5.6 
   and 7. You should know, that PHP 7 will soon become the new standard, and you
   may likely have to switch up to 7 in the near future.
 * From what I know, there isn’t anything hard-coded into WordPress to tell it what
   PHP version to install to. As long as it is within it’s compatibility range it
   should work.
 * Curious, if you install WordPress in an entirely different folder on the same
   server, do you encounter the same issue?
    Have you tried removing everything 
   in the mysql database you setup? There could be an entry in the mysql database
   about the previous PHP version used to install…trying to think about all angles.
 * I’m sure we can figure this out!
 * Thanks
    Jordan
 *  Thread Starter [scottacock](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scottacock/)
 * (@scottacock)
 * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/500-error-on-install/#post-9168821)
 * Deletion of the database finally did the trick. I also used a different database
   name, username, and password. Reinstall worked this time.
 * I do intend to upgrade to PHP 7 once we have finished building the new site. 
   I just need to keep it on PHP 5.6 so that the current old site does not go down
   until we have finished copying content over and setting everything up. Once I
   do that, I will wipe out the old Drupal site, transfer WordPress to the root 
   where Drupal is now, and then switch to PHP 7.
 *  [jordanwpcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jordanwpcom/)
 * (@jordanwpcom)
 * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/500-error-on-install/#post-9168896)
 * Great!
    Glad that worked out, I had a feeling a fresh database would do the trick.
 *  [makeonlineshops](https://wordpress.org/support/users/makeonlineshops/)
 * (@makeonlineshops)
 * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/500-error-on-install/#post-9169302)
 * I tried WP with PHP 7 and had problem.
    I think it is a better solution to wait
   that PHP7 becomes an obligation. Some hosts still warn that php7 is unstable.
   Just like people who tell you that installing as many plugins is not a problem,
   people saying that PHP7 is not a problem seem to be living in their own bubble.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

The topic ‘500 Error on Install’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [drupal wordpress migration](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/drupal-wordpress-migration/)

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 4 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [makeonlineshops](https://wordpress.org/support/users/makeonlineshops/)
 * Last activity: [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/500-error-on-install/#post-9169302)
 * Status: resolved

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