Destination folder already exists (but it does not!)

  • Resolved sennapod

    (@sennapod)


    8 years, 6 months ago

    Trying to re-install Wordfence but I get the following error message:
    —
    Downloading install package from https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/wordfence.6.0.20.zip…
    Unpacking the package…
    Installing the plugin…
    Destination folder already exists. ……./wp-content/plugins/wordfence/

    Plugin install failed.
    —
    But the folder does not exist on the server!
    I had Wordfence installed on this site before & it worked flawlessly for years. However, I was in the “wp-content/plugins/” folder through FTP (hidden files,folders to show) and noticed that the wordfence folder was not there, yet working & showing up perfectly in the site’s dashboard.
    I had the setting enabled to delete the tables and data on deactivation. I deactivated the plugin & uninstalled it, hoping that on re-installing it would appear in the plugin folder.

    From then on I have been unable to install it again.. I tried:
    1. Uploading the Wordfence folder by FTP but the plugins page in the dashboard did not “see” it. Deleted the folder.
    2. Uploaded the zip through the new plugin page: got the above error message when unpacking (Destination folder already exists).
    3. Search for Wordfence plugin, it tells me to install it (with no mention that its already installed) Click to install, then same error message.
    4. Used the hosting company’s control panel to manipulate files on server. NO Wordfence folder in “/wp-content/plugins/”
    5. Had a look at the database using phpMyAdmin and only found 1 (!) plugin in the “wp_options” table.. where are the rest?? I have 15 ‘active’ plugins.

    I’m stumped.. please help 🙂

    thanks

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Plugin Author WFMattR

    (@wfmattr)

    8 years, 6 months ago

    That’s definitely not normal!

    You may need your hosting company to help fix this issue, if the folder is really there and you cannot see it. They may have added some security measures that are not working correctly, though usually you would still at least see the folder and just wouldn’t be able to access the contents or delete it.

    Another possibility is that the folders you’re seeing in FTP aren’t actually the live site’s folders — this could happen if the hosting company moved your site to a different server or changed their folder structure, but didn’t clean up the old folders. If you try adding any new plugin to the site through the WordPress admin, do you see its folder in the plugins folder when using FTP? (This might not explain #4, unless it’s just a folder structure change, which may have left two separate copies of the site in your account.)

    -Matt R

    Thread Starter sennapod

    (@sennapod)

    8 years, 6 months ago

    Ahh..Thank you Matt, I think you’ve nailed it!!

    This is what I got a few days ago from my hosting company:
    “On 27th October we will be upgrading your Zeus web hosting to our new Apache platform. This is an essential upgrade…etc..
    To complete the upgrade early, please login to your Online Control Panel, visit the “Web Platform Upgrade” page for
    each domain and click the “Complete” button. We will immediately update your site’s DNS records and schedule deletion of your old site…”

    I think that they have started the migration already, hence all the weird behaviour. I think things will be fine..
    I intend to complete the upgrade later on today.

    I appreciate the help in pointing it out, thank you

    greetings

    Plugin Author WFMattR

    (@wfmattr)

    8 years, 6 months ago

    Ok, great — note that the DNS changes may also take a little time to take effect (depending on the host’s settings), so there may be some issues for a few hours after the conversion is finished, too.

    We don’t hear much about Zeus here, but someone else mentioned it about a week ago, and may be using the same host. In their case, Wordfence’s scans stopped running because of a difference in the server settings, so you may want to check out their post, too:
    Wordfence stopped reporting plugin updates (after migration from Zeus)

    (In that case, if the scans don’t complete, try decreasing the “Maximum execution time for each scan stage” to 30 seconds or 25 seconds, on the Wordfence Options page.)

    -Matt R

    Thread Starter sennapod

    (@sennapod)

    8 years, 6 months ago

    Thanks for the link & info.. it certainly sounds like the same host.
    They had both Apache & Zeus running as a choice & 2 of my administered sites showed weird results when I tried to change to Apache, but they had the option to revert back to Zeus. Was best to let sleeping dogs lie at the time 🙂
    That option is no longer available.

    Thank you again for all the help..much appreciated

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