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I uploaded the installtgz.cgi script and the agoracgi.tgz (sent in binary) to my cgi directory on the server. When I ran the install script I got the following message:

Sorry, the agora.cgi file was not found!
Pehaps there is a permissions problem?

The tar extraction result was:

tar: z: unknown function modifier
Usage: tar {c|r|t|u|x}[BDeEFhilmnopPqvw[0-7]][bfk][X...] [blocksize] [tarfile] [size] [exclude-file...] {file | -I include-file | -C directory file}...
Help! Should I just unzip the agoracgi.tgz tar file and just ftp the directories and files to my site? If I do that then would I continue from where the directions left off by going to the agora.cgi and the manager.cgi?

Seems like this group has been helpful, and I've been impressed with the replies.


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Steve in Illinois

by the looks of the warning it appears as though you have an installer compressed file mismatch.

the trouble with piecemeal uploading is you risk corruption during transfer of individual files (which makes troubleshooting maddening), uploading files in the wrong mode which results in the previous troubles, you have to chmod files and folders (in some cases) individually and the process just lends itself to too many possibilities of something going wrong and too much unnecessary work.

the install.cgi file must be uploaded in ascii. the compressed file must be uploaded in binary. both files must be chmod to 755. try 777 if 755 doesn't work.
if you downloaded the agoracgi.tgz file make absolutely sure the name and extension are maintained after uploading to your server. if not then rename to the official file name after uploading. do not rename the .tar file to .tgz or vise versa arbitrarily. rename only to restore the extension.
open the install file and make sure it's looking for the agoracgi.tgz file. you will see it by name in the code. make sure it doesn't look for the .tar file. if you have the wrong install file the download the right one.

if you have cpanel...
you can log into cpanel then click on file manager, navigate to the compressed file (.tgz), click on the name then choose extract from the menu. the server will not unpack a file if the extension is wrong. in otherwords, a tgz file renamed to .tar. the server is not smart in terms of determining the header contents of the compressed file which will not change when the file extension is renamed. so again, be absolutely sure the the file has it's original file extension.
if, the "extraction" command in cpanel doesn't appear when you click on the tgz file name then you cannot use cpanel to extract and probably can't use the installer file either using the web install method.


side note on file permissions...
be aware that some servers will not execute any files chmod to 777. furthermore it is a total security risk to leave any file at 777. folders may be chmod to 777 if necessary and the server allows. but for most setups 755 will suffice for everything you need. also, always use the most restrictive permissions for every file possible. for agoracart all folders are 755 and only a few are 755 (agora.cgi and manager.cgi for example). the rest of the files, with few exceptions, can be 644 on most modern servers.

here is what i would do in your case...
i have found that there are many servers that do not allow a tar extraction. therefore i use the tgz file almost exclusively. so...
delete both files off the server and your pc.
download the agora.tgz file. if windoze renames the file to agoracgi.tar then rename it back to agoracgi.tgz. upload in binary to your server. be sure the file extension is correct then chmod to 755.
download the install tgz zip or save the install tgz.txt to your pc. rename the txt file to cgi or unpack the install cgi file from the zip. upload the install cgi file in ascii to your server then chmod to 755.
access the install cgi file with your browser. it should execute then display all files extracted without any warnings.
after a successful install you should immeadiately rename the store folder. brand the name to something that works within the theme of your site. no spaces in the folder name. then delete the install and compressed files or at least chmod both files to 644.

if the above doesn't work then try the cpanel method. if that don't work either then holler.
d

I removed the files from my server, re-downloaded them. I did notice this time Explorer in the downloaded the agoracgi.tgz file as a .tar file. Once I uploaded it to my server I renamed the file to .tgz. The install file is looking for the agoracgi.tgz file. All are loaded into my cgi directory. I tried setting the permissions to both 755 and 777 with the same error result.

I'm open to other suggestions.


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Steve in Illinois

looks like either you don't have ownership of your files and folders or your sever doesn't allow extraction.
do you have cpanel or an equiv? if so did you try to unpack through file manager?
who is your hosting service?
download this file
http://www.agoracart.com/download/testid.zip
extract on your pc then upload in ascii to the cgi-bin. chmod to 755 then access with your browser. it will tell you who owns your files. also open in notepad locally and read the contents for ideas. it's possible this file may not display anything. more and more servers are not returning env variables to keep the crackers guessing.

email your hosting service to see if they know why things aren't working. maybe server setup restrictions.

if the extraction service wont work and is indeed the problem then maybe a file by file upload will work. be careful with the obscure file extensions. some go in ascii and some go in binary.
if you don't have ownership of your files then this is a serious problem. if the hosting can't or wont grant you ownership then trying to install agoracart is a non issue. suggest you find new hosting that is more e-commerce friendly and not set up for johnny's club house. grin.
good luck. holler if ya need more help.
d

I ran the test_id and got the following so I presume I'm OK.

ID Test Report:

Scripts are running under id: uid=579641(www.destinationtrains.com) gid=720(wwwdom)
Unix 'whoami' responds with:


If the Unix whoami command and/or the UID response is: nobody, www, or something other than your ID (typically the ID you use to login with when accessing your hosting account), then you will need to install the wrappers. If you need to install the wrappers, please see http://www.AgoraCart.com/security.html for the current copies as well as any other wrapper information and updates.

If the Unix whoami command and/or the UID response is the same as your ID, you do not need the wrappers. But if you have troubles in SSL, see the security page or the wrapper_readme.txt listed on the security page for more information about the wrappers.

So what next? What is the Cpanel you're referring to? Is this a freeware or on-line type program or do I need to purchase it for use?

Thanks for your help so far.


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Steve in Illinois

just for laughs you can try the tar file and the appropriate install file.
cpanel is a program which allows you to maintain your website in a gui. it has a lot of features and displays important information concerning your server, domain and hosted account. check your email your hosting sent you when you signed up for your account. they should have sent you login info, ftp info, cpanel access info (if they offer it) as well as other info critical to your account.
you should also email your hosting support and ask them if there is any reason they know of as to why the tgz file wont install.
d

Well, I tried it and got the same result, sort of...

Sorry, the agora.cgi file was not found!
Pehaps there is a permissions problem?

The tar extraction result was:

tar: directory checksum error

What makes me wonder is the results keep saying it couldn't find agora.cgi when both the files are agoracgi.tgz or agoracgi.tar. The perl script does look for agoracgi but...

This is real a challenge. It seems like it should be simple, yet it's not.

Any other suggestions? Do you need the link to see what's up?


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Steve in Illinois

pm me with your email and i'll get in contact with you.
all i can do is generally repeat what you've already done. if i can't do the web install then you aboslutley need to contact your hosting and put their feet to the fire if the problem is on their side...
d

solutions...
the server allowed the tar web install method and not the tgz method.

his tar file was the tgz file renamed by microsnot xp. the tgz file is almost 500k the tar file is over 1 meg. so when trying to determine which file you've downloaded check the file size. rename according to size.

once installed the store failed to run. the problem was the shebang (path to perl). there are thre files which must be edited to match the path to perl.
agora.cgi
picserve.cgi
manager.cgi
the store is working fine now.
the path to perl problem isn't as common as it used to be but still rears it's ugly head now and again.
d

I would like to say a big thank you for the instructions contained in your earlier post concerning the renaming of the archive files. I had the exact same problem as bnguru and after wasting time trying to figure it out myself, finally read this forum and voila! extraction and installation problems solved. Maybe they should let you write the installation instructions.
It went so smoothly after reading your replies, that I got ambitious, maybe a little too much. I tried editing the the installtgz file for the 4.0 version to run the 5.0 tgz file. It did run the extract fine but when I tried accessing the store, something seems to be out of whack with either the css files or the images. Any ideas?


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GenesisDesigner

What is the URL to the v5 store?
If it is in the cgi-bin, you need to move the css files outside of the store.
The CSS editor in the manager has instructions on handling this.
It's right near the top of the page.

HTH!


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God Bless!
Bonnie - AgoraCart Moderator

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I actually moved the entire store5 folder out of the cgi-bin. My host server doesn't allow images to be served from out of the cgi-bin. Everything seems to be fine now.


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GenesisDesigner

cgi-bin is a security feature that does not allow files to be parsed directly from it: html, text, images, CSS, etc

That is why we use &page= &cartlinks= and picserve= commands inside a cgi-bin. Ideally it'd be great to runt he cart there and it does support running in a cgi-bin, but it takes a lot more work to keep that level of security running properly (atleast a bit more forethought anyways)

ME


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