500 error instead of 404?

very strange

[CWebguy]

I have only a few files in the main directory of a site that I have been working on. I am now getting 500 internal errors instead of 404's on anything that should be returning a 404. I have no .htaccess file or even a robot file. It's baffled me. Any ideas?

Thanks.

[g1smd]

Check with your host for something misconfigured.

[CWebguy]

ok, will do, thanks

[phranque]

check your server error log

[CWebguy]

I think it's 'Request exceeded the limit of 10 internal redirects due to probable configuration error. '

[phranque]

you must be doing some recursive internal rewrites in your config file if you don't have a .htaccess file.

[CWebguy]

Thanks, being a guy I have a tendency to try to fix things rather than just contact the host or something ;) (then I get to learn too.) I'll look for a config file somewhere, thanks.

Lance

[CWebguy]

Problem was in .htaccess file being hidden in a directory. Thanks.

[phranque]

on *nix systems any file named with a '.' prefix is intended to be a hidden file.

added:

hidden in a directory

(ok maybe you knew that .htaccess is hidden but you meant it was unexpectedly in a "non-root" directory.)

on a side note, i just learned recently you can't rename a file to .htaccess on XP!

[CWebguy]

Really, I've done it on XP

[phranque]

using the rename option in the explorer context menu?

(sorry for going OT, but hey it's your thread!)
=8)

[g1smd]

You can't rename it in Microsoft programs like Explorer, but you can rename it in most third-party applications.

[CWebguy]

No, using something like notepad.

Choose "all files" for the type and .htaccess for file name. Should work. It's worked for me. That's how I always do it. You helped me so I help you ;)

Take care,
Lance

[edited by: CWebguy at 8:34 pm (utc) on Mar. 9, 2009]

[jdMorgan]

One possible cause for getting a 500 error instead of a 404 is that a custom 404 error page has been defined using ErrorDocument (either in .htaccess or by using the "control panel"), but that custom 404 error page does not exist.

The result would be a cascade of 404 errors, as the server would attempt to server the custom 404 error page in response to an initial non-existent-file request, but encounter another 404 when the custom error page was found not to exist. This would result in another 404, and another, etc., until the server gives up.

This situation would be noted obviously in the server error log file.

Jim

[g1smd]

You'd have thunk there would be a catch for that, so it could give a sane public error message instead.

[bertrand]

I had 500 error messages before because of Mac formatted line break. Beware! ;)

[g1smd]

You know what they say...

"Error 500? Only 499 to go."

[Source: jdMorgan, 2007]