Title: Warning: session_start() Help please? Last modified: August 22, 2016 --- # Warning: session_start() Help please? * [tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) * (@tapeasy) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/) * Hi there, * This is an excellent plugin! Thanks for providing it for no charge, too. * Lately, I’ve been seeing this warning at the top of every page on my website: * “Warning: session_start(): The session id is too long or contains illegal characters, valid characters are a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and ‘-,’ in /home/tapeasy4/public_html/wp- content/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/wp_shopping_cart.php on line 18” * It only goes away if the plugin is deactivated or if the browser cache is cleared. Which means I need to clear the browser (Chrome) cache every single time I want to see my own website on my laptop. I’m unable to reproduce the problem on my phone or Firefox. So maybe not everyone of my visitors is seeing this problem, but if anyone is, then I’m losing precious customers. * Could you throw some light on what the problem might be and if there’s anything I can do to remove this? Because of this warning, the formatting of the page also goes awry. * Thanks for the support! Sonal * [https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/) Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total) * Thread Starter [tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) * (@tapeasy) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630346) * If I try to access wp-admin, I see this error: * Warning: session_start(): The session id is too long or contains illegal characters, valid characters are a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and ‘-,’ in /home/tapeasy4/public_html/wp- content/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/wp_shopping_cart.php on line 18 * Warning: session_start(): Cannot send session cache limiter – headers already sent (output started at /home/tapeasy4/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wordpress- simple-paypal-shopping-cart/wp_shopping_cart.php:18) in /home/tapeasy4/public_html/ wp-content/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/wp_shopping_cart.php on line 18 * Warning: Unknown: The session id is too long or contains illegal characters, valid characters are a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and ‘-,’ in Unknown on line 0 * Warning: Unknown: Failed to write session data (files). Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct (/tmp) in Unknown on line 0 * Plugin Contributor [mbrsolution](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbrsolution/) * (@mbrsolution) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630355) * Hi tapeasy, thank you for reporting this warning. * Do you know if you have debug enable on your website? Your site is still 100% functional, this is only a warning. * One of the plugin developers will investigate further. * Regards * Thread Starter [tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) * (@tapeasy) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630358) * Hi, thanks so much for a prompt reply and for having someone look at this. My site isn’t functional because I cannot log in as admin. When trying to access wp-admin, I see a blank page with just this warning: * Warning: session_start(): The session id is too long or contains illegal characters, valid characters are a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and ‘-,’ in /home/tapeasy4/public_html/wp- content/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/wp_shopping_cart.php on line 18 * Warning: session_start(): Cannot send session cache limiter – headers already sent (output started at /home/tapeasy4/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wordpress- simple-paypal-shopping-cart/wp_shopping_cart.php:18) in /home/tapeasy4/public_html/ wp-content/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/wp_shopping_cart.php on line 18 * Warning: Unknown: The session id is too long or contains illegal characters, valid characters are a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and ‘-,’ in Unknown on line 0 * Warning: Unknown: Failed to write session data (files). Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct (/tmp) in Unknown on line 0 * Plugin Contributor [mbrsolution](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbrsolution/) * (@mbrsolution) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630361) * Hi what is your URL, I will investigate further. * Thank you * Thread Starter [tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) * (@tapeasy) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630367) * [http://tap-easy.com](http://tap-easy.com) * I just logged in through Firefox and checked that the Enable Debug option under Testing and Debugging Settings isn’t on and hasn’t been on. I’m seeing the problem only on Chrome, not Firefox. * Thank you. * Plugin Contributor [mbrsolution](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbrsolution/) * (@mbrsolution) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630372) * I just checked with Google Chrome version 39.0.2171.95 m. No problems on my end. * What version of Google Chrome are you running? * Thread Starter [tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) * (@tapeasy) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630373) * I’m running Version 39.0.2171.95 m too. * Plugin Author [mra13](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mra13/) * (@mra13) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630379) * I just tested an add to cart button on your site and I didn’t see any session warning or error. * Thread Starter [tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) * (@tapeasy) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630383) * The adding to cart works okay throughout, even when the warning is showing. So if someone isn’t put off by the warning (and accompanying awry formatting) and still tries to purchase stuff, they will be able to do so. Still, a sales page without warning will be great. * The bigger problem is, I’m personally unable to access wp-admin due to this warning. When I clear Chrome cache, the warning goes away. But I need to do this every single time I need to access the website anew. * Plugin Contributor [mbrsolution](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbrsolution/) * (@mbrsolution) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630388) * Hi [@tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) the problem is that we cannot reproduce your session warning on our end. * What operating system are you running? * Thread Starter [tapeasy](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tapeasy/) * (@tapeasy) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630394) * I’m running Windows 7. Could this problem be due to the php server at my hosting company’s end? Either way, thank you for helping out. If anything strikes you later, please do post. * Plugin Contributor [mbrsolution](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbrsolution/) * (@mbrsolution) * [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630399) * Hi, it could be a session issue on your server. Check with your server administrators or host about this issue. However like I mentioned above it is very strange that is only occurring on your end and only using Google Chrome. * What you could also try, if this is a home laptop or desktop. Install and run Ccleaner. This tool will remove all your rubbish from all directories and especially all browser cache. * Regards Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total) The topic ‘Warning: session_start() Help please?’ is closed to new replies. * ![](https://ps.w.org/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/assets/icon-128x128. png?rev=2722490) * [Simple Shopping Cart](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/) * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/#faq) * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-simple-paypal-shopping-cart/reviews/) ## Tags * [browser](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/browser/) * [cache](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/cache/) * [session](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/session/) * [warning](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/warning/) * 12 replies * 3 participants * Last reply from: [mbrsolution](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbrsolution/) * Last activity: [11 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-session_start-help-please/#post-5630399) * Status: not resolved