Hi devil495,
You can disable any plugin (including UD), by using FTP – go to wp-content/plugins, and rename the relevant directory.
Also, if you’re with Network Solutions, then check this out – they seem to have some other problem:
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/after-install-get-500-error-when-select-settings-interesting-fix?replies=2
David
renamed the updraft directory to “disabledupdraftplus” and now I cannot even login, just get a 500 error.
I have updates on dropbox. Can I just erase the entire contents of the plugin folder and then unzip the plugins.zip file there to see if it gets back to normal or do I have to reinstall wordpress from the beginning?
Hi devil495,
If you renamed the wp-content/plugins/updraftplus directory, and if you cannot login via the dashboard (use the /wp-admin link, not one via a front-end page) then your problem must lie somewhere else. Once you rename a plugin, the WordPress admin application doesn’t (and indeed, can’t) run any code from that plugin any more. So if you’re still getting errors on an admin (wp-admin) login after that, then you have a different problem.
I’d suggest trying to find out where your PHP logs are (ask your web hosting company), so that you can see what is being logged on the server side as the error when the front-end shows the 500.
David
P.S. After renaming an active plugin, you will get errors on the front-end of the site until you successfully login on the admin end and go to the plugins page (because the front-end still looks for the active plugin). That’s expected. But you should be able to login on the admin side, as the admin side deliberately doesn’t load missing plugins (“deliberately”, because it thus provides a mechanism for dealing with potentially broken plugins).
OK, I tried logging in with the wp-admin link but still get a 500 error. I am new at this so maybe you could answer a basic question: When I install or update a plugin does it change any other part of wordpress or just the plugin folder itself?
While certainly I could have a problem “somewhere else” I think it is most likely that the plugin caused it because it happened immediately after I had updated updraftplus.
If plugins do not change anything other than the plugin folder then I want to try disabling all my plugins via ftp and see if that works before trying to restore my entire site.
Hi devil495,
All plugin code lives in the respective wp-content/plugins/(plugin-name) directory/. If you rename or delete the directory of an active plugin, then:
a) the front-end will break, because the front-end insists that active plugins exist
b) the back-end will not attempt to load the moved/deleted plugin, but will instead de-activate it
Thus, if a site breaks, and if you suspect it’s a plugin, then you can safely move/delete all of them in turn, until you find the culprit. If moving updraftplus hasn’t regained you the ability to login on the back end (i.e. via /wp-admin), then UpdraftPlus wasn’t the culprit.
So, yes, rename them all in turn, using a process of elimination to find the offender.
David
Thank you so much. I went through the plugins one at a time via ftp and found the one interfering – broken links checker. As soon as I disabled it I could login again to the dashboard. Then made it active and the problem reappeared. Once disabled again I was back in.
After thinking about what you had to say I remember a few times earlier getting 500 errors that resolved themselves the next time I tried logging in and just wrote those occasions off as my server burping.
I’ve learned my lesson. When weird stuff starts happening look at the plugins first.
Again, your help is much appreciated.
You’re welcome!
If you find UD useful, then please give us a good review:
http://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-reviews/updraftplus?rate=5#postform
Best wishes,
David
