Support

 White Screen -on both front end and admin backend.
no error message
when you look at the source code - no html code is generated - is this a template problem?

After install - used setup wizard. it broke my site.
It was the administrator password feature - disabled it.
re-started - it broke my site again.
It was the 'protect template' folder feature
added the correct template folder - fixed (for a while)

logged out of my site
now white screen both front and back end of site.

I want to uninstall the whole component - but I have no access to back end admin!
I have renamed the main.php file to turn off the Application firewall - still broke
I have renamed the .htaccess file generated by the component - still broke

How can I uninstall the whole thing manually - so I can use the site again ?

When you renamed main.php and the .htaccess file you completely disabled Admin Tools. You did exactly the right thing. What you are seeing now is that the original files are still in the cache. This could be your browser cache, which you can fix by just clearing it. It could also be a site level cache provided by your host. You can either wait for it to expire or ask your host how to clear it manually.

Yes, your template could be the problem. Yoo Templates have required special handling for quite a long time. Their most recent release fixes a long standing issue and we believe they will now work "out of the box". Another piece of the puzzle is your cache. Even if you fix a problem, it looks like it is still broken because the code is coming out of the cache instead of off the disk.

I have contacted my hosting service about the cache question.
Will let you know the outcome.

I have checked all the error logs I can find - on the joomla site logs and the application logs - no errors reported for today.

Also is GeoIP turned off as well by renaming manin.php ?

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It would be a good idea if the developers could use a 'configuration.php' file like the Joomla one to allow a simple way of putting the whole application (and/or separate features) off line for testing and troubleshooting.

How can I make sure that the Template Folder is still not being protected by admin tools ?

Renaming main.php does put all of the firewall features (including GeoIP blocking) offline. You can accomplish the same thing from within Joomla! by disabling the System - Admin Tools plugin. As you already know, the /administrator folder password protection relies on an .htaccess file in the /administrator folder. The final bit, if you have used .htaccess Maker, is to rename .htaccess or restore the standard Joomla! file, which ships as htaccess.txt. The .htaccess files have to be handled separately because they are server level settings and outside Joomla!.

In .htaccess Maker, you need to add your template folder to the proper field. The default setting is [Your Template Name Here].

Until the most recent versions, Yoo templates required an exception in the .htaccess file to allow access to the cache folder. The latest versions move the affected files to the media folder where Joomla! (and Admin Tools) expects them to be.

I got back access to the back end admin by turning off the SEF + SEF re-write + site cache switches in the Joomla 'configuration.php' file for the site.

So what happened?

You do not have an .htaccess file active. Joomla!'s SEF rewrite usually requires a line in the .htaccess file to turn on modrewrite. Copy htaccess.txt to .htaccess. I like to keep htaccess.txt on the site for just such an emergency. That is the standard Joomla! file and it's pretty plain, it almost always works. The file created by .htaccess Maker enhances security, but it can throw a 500 error on some servers.

If you do not have an htaccess.txt file, you can get it out of the Joomla! distribution archive.

regarding the .htaccess maker in admin tools - which field is the template name supposed to be in?

Allow direct access, including .php files, to these directories

Watch the new field "Disable HTTP methods TRACE and TRACK (protect against XST)" that one has been throwing 500 errors on some servers when set to Yes.

Thanks for your input.
I have finally got back the front end of the site.

here are the steps I took:

I Turned off the Joomla System Cache and cleared the expired cache -in the back end admin
I turned the SEF and SEF re-write options back on again

I recreated the .htaccess file in admintools with the following changes:
I put the current templates directory in the EXCEPTIONS tab of the .htaccess maker (with .php access)
I turned off re-direct www to non www

I double-checked all the other settings in the .htaccess file.
and then posted it into the site root

renamed and activated the main.php file.
Do the dance of Joy.....

I have asked my host if TRACE and TRACK are suppported - no answer yet.
If it happens again I will turn off the TRACE AND TRACK options.

Let's hope it lasts .......

I have turned off the TRACE and TRACK options just in case.
Still working......

The .htaccess settings are pretty much absolute. If it works, it will always work, if it fails, it won't fix itself. The exception is if something is cached, it will fail (or fix) later, which can be confusing.

I'm glad you got it working again!

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