Getting blank pages on your WordPress admin panel?

Tried re-installing WordPress? Kept activating and de-activating plugins with no results? Kept looking at WordPress files like wp-config.php to find a blank line? Tried increasing WordPress memory limit by editing wp-config.php and still getting WordPress Blank Screen of Death?

OK, let's cut to the chase:

First, .htaccess file is your friend. Add the line below to your .htaccess file to troubleshoot the WordPress blank page error:

php_flag display_errors on

Now when you go back to your WordPress admin panel, you'll get an error message telling you what it is that is wrong. More than likely the error will be about exhausting memory. If that's the case, don't even mess with wp-config.php file. Here is what you do:

Delete the line we put in the first step and add the following line in .htaccess file:

php_value memory_limit 64M

Now, if the error message was memory related and this does not fix it, try putting 96M instead of 64M.

That's it! You just solved your WordPress admin panel blank screen problem.

I have been running the Microsoft Windows office 2010 Pro Beta version until yesterday. After the official release of Microsoft Office 2010, I wanted to uninstall the Beta version but it would not uninstall. So I tried to install the new release over only to be greeted by an error message asking me to remove the pre-release or beta version first. Nice!

Luckily I remembered trusty old Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. It removed beta version in a jiff and now, I am enjoying the all-new Microsoft office 2010.

Windows Installer CleanUp Utility is a great utility to have in your toolbox. Anytime you are having an issue uninstalling a program, use this utility.

There are a number of lightbox tools are available. Until I discovered ColorBox JQuery plugin, I wasn't completely comfortable using any of them.

Why ColorBox? Well, it is easy to use, lightweight and it supports all kinds of different content like photos, photo groups, slideshow, ajax, inline, and iframed content.

I am using ColorBox JQuery plugin on one of my sites but I wish it was as easy as the thumbnail viewer plugin when using on a WordPress site. With thumbnail viewer plugin all you need to do is add rel=thumbnail to any link tag surrounding your thumbnail. You'll see an example below.

There are a couple of WordPress ColorBox plugins available. I haven't tried the LightBox Plus yet. I haven't been able to get the JQuery ColorBox WordPress plugin to work. I'd rather use ColorBox JQuery plugin on my WordPress site without a plugin. I am still experimenting with that. Including JQuery functions on WordPress header is a little different. I will soon update you on that. Stay tuned...

UPDATE 03/06/2010:

OK! Now the image on this post works with ColorBox. Here is how I made it work:

Added the link to the ColorBox stylesheet on the header.php right after all the other stylesheet links.
After "wp_head();", I put the link to the ColorBox script and the JQuery function call:

$(document).ready(function($){
$("a[rel='colorbox']").colorbox();
});

Now, pay attention to the $ in the function bracket. You won't see it on ColorBox example pages. This is required when you are adding JQuery functions to your WordPress header. Without that all the $ within your code would not be interpreted correctly. This is the best way to add JQuery functions to your WordPress header.

Finally I added the rel="colorbox" to the link to the image. You can use a different name but make sure it is the same one you in the JQuery function.

One last point: If you have the WordPress Flickr Manager plugin as I do, disable the image viewer.

Here is the ColorBox example:

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This is an update on the previous post How I Upgraded My Sony Laptop to Windows 7 Ultimate.

I am happy to report that Windows 7 is still running flawlessly.

I am also happy to report that Sony has changed its stance to "If your computer meets the system requirements to run the Windows® 7 operating system, your model should be able install and run Windows® 7." Sony still does not provide drivers or support for Windows® 7 for this model but this new stance is much better than "Don't upgrade, just go buy a new laptop if you want to run Windows 7."

As far as the drivers concerned, I have had two issues so far: Vaio update crashes anytime the customer starts. I just get a 'Close this program' notice. Second issue is that I was not able to get audio when I used the HDMI out. This is not something I do often but it would be nice to get it fixed. I have not had time to research solutions to these issues but as soon as I find new information, I'll post it here. It would be nice to hear from you if you know any way to solve these issues.

Well, there is one more thing: Running Windows XP on Windows 7!

I have another copy of Windows 7 installed on my desktop. I have downloaded and installed Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP mode. It is way cool to have your Virtual Windows XP PC running in its own window. Well, it is not possible to do that on Sony VGN-FZ180 because..., surprise surprise, Sony turned of the Intel Virtualization Technology and there is no way to turn it back on. According to Intel Processor ID Utility the CPU supports Virtualization Technology. There is no BIOS option to enable it though. Again, this is not a pressing concern at this time and I have not taking the time to find an updated BIOS or any other solution. If you know a way to enable it, please do so.

Aside from these issues, I can honestly say that Sony Vaio VGN-FZ180E is running much better and faster with windows 7.

It sure would be nice to get a new Sony Vaio Laptop with Windows 7 like the ones below, but sorry Sony, this laptop is still doing a great job and I wish you supported the Windows 7 upgrade.

Sony VAIO VPC-F137FX/B 16.4-Inch Laptop (Black) List Price: $1,399.99 Sale Price: $950.00 You save: $449.99 (32%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Description

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Features

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• Intel Core i7-740QM Quad-core 1.73GHz Processor with Turbo(R) Boost Technology up to 2.93GHz
• 6MB L3 Cache
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After I upgraded to Windows 7, I noticed my Quick Launch Bar disappeared. I like my Quick Launch Bar and the easy access to my favorite programs/documents it provides.

Quick Launch Bar works a little differently on Windows 7 so before creating a folder and adding it on the Taskbar, make sure to read the following thread on Windows Seven Forums: Quick Launch - Enable or Disable

Just in case, I am posting the short version here:

1. Right click on a empty space on the taskbar and click on New Tool.

2. In the Folder line, type or copy:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

3. Click on the Select Folder button.

4. You now have a Quick Launch toolbar on the taskbar.
NOTE: Click on the arrow to see your Quick Launch shortcuts.

After you have your Quick Launch Bar, you can make changes to the way it is displayed.

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Yesterday I received my Windows 7 Launch Home Party package. I posted the photos of the package on our House Party home page.

Yes, the Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition was in the party package.

I have a Sony Vaio VGN-FZ180E Laptop. Sony's eSupport site indicates:

Information about upgrade and support for Windows® 7 for the VGNFZ180E VAIO® model will be available when Windows® 7 is officially released by Microsoft. Please check back then for further information.

Hey, I will be hosting a Windows 7 Launch Party on the day Windows 7 is officially released. I need to be able install it way before then.

I am posting this using my Sony Vaio Laptop that is running the Windows 7 Ultimate I received in my House Party package. Here is how I upgraded my Sony laptop to Windows 7:

I really did not want to take the chance of losing my Vista setup and decided to first clone my hard drive and install the Windows 7 upgrade on the new hard drive. I have been thinking about upgrading my laptop's hard drive anyway. Sony laptop owners take note though: You may void your warranty if you replace your laptop's hard drive. Read your warranty first. If you follow the steps I followed, you will preserve your current hard drive in its current condition and you can swap it back in if something goes wrong.

I had already purchased a Fujitsu MHZ2320BJ-G2 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive and a APRICORN EZ-UP-UNIVERSAL 2.5" USB 2.0 Hard Drive Upgrade Kit from my favorite online shopping site:

Here are the simple steps I followed:

1. Deactivate any DRM software like iTunes.
2. Turn off the computer.
3. Take the old hard drive out.
4. Put the new hard drive in the laptop.
5. Put the old hard drive in the Apricorn's external enclosure and connect enclosure to the computer's USB port.
6. Turn the computer on, put Apricorn EZ Gig II CD in the DVD Drive and boot from CD.
7. Select the Clone Hard Drive option and follow the prompts. Make sure to check Typical Upgrade and clone your hard drive as is even if your new hard drive is larger than the old one. You can resize the partitions later. Be carefull in checking source and destination drives. Remember: Your source drive is your old drive that is connected to the USB.
8. The process, in my case, took about three hours. At the end I disconnected the Apricorn external drive and took the EZ Gig CD out and rebooted to my new hard drive.
9. Final step is to put the Windows 7 DVD and start the upgrade process.

I am happy to report that the Windows 7 upgrade process is painless. My computer did not freeze in the process and it did not take long.

All my programs, including Lotus SmartSuite which supposedly had compatibility issues in Vista, are working without any problems so far. All my settings, documents, pictures and favorites are intact. Wireless connection did not require any adjustments.

I have a better laptop with a larger and faster hard drive and a much better operating system.

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Description

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Features

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This is an interesting one that certainly deserves its own post here. It took me a while to find this solution. Here goes:

So you set your development environment in Windows Vista by installing apache, php, perl and mysql. You point your browser to your php script that uses mysql connection and this is what you get:

Call to undefined function mysql_connect()

What a disappointment!

Go to your php directory and open your php.ini file. If you followed my previous post about installing php, your directory should be located in C:\PHP. Here are the changes you need to make in php.ini file:

1)Set the extension directory by finding the line that starts with "extension_dir" and changing to
extension_dir = "C:\php\ext"

2)Uncomment the following line by removing ";" at the start of the line.
extension=php_mysql.dll

Restart apache and go back to your script.

There is a possibility you will get a cryptic Windows Vista Error telling you that the server stopped working and Windows Vista will inform you when a solution found. Nice!

Here is the solution when php and mysql crash apache server in Vista:

1) Go to your mysql installation directory and rename libmysql.dll to libmysql.dll.bak just in case something else goes wrong. libmysql.dll is located in BIN directory in your mysql installation directory.

2) Go to your php installation directory -- C:\PHP in my case -- and copy libmysql.dll located here to your-mysql-install-dir\bin where the one we renamed was.

3) Restart apache.

Hopefully your php script with mysql connection will work now.

PERL:

Use LWP::Simple and the head function.

use LWP::Simple;

my $url = 'http://some.server.com/file.gif';

if (head($url)) {
# file is there
} else {
# file is missing
}

Credit goes to perlmonks.org.

PHP:

Use get_headers

$fileUrl = 'http://some.server.com/file.gif';
$AgetHeaders = @get_headers($fileUrl);
if (preg_match("|200|", $AgetHeaders[0])) {
# file is there
} else {
# file is missing
}

Credit goes to php.net.

Every once in a while I need to install Apache http server on my pc or laptop to use as local test server. I also need to install Perl, PHP and mysql to have the complete environment to test scripts and applications before uploading them on a live server.

Ricocheting.com has a great tutorial for installing Apache, PHP and Perl on a Windows server. Last time I had to do a re-install on my PC, I followed their tutorial.

A few impressions and comments:

1) They recommend staying with the default installation of Apache and changing "DocumentRoot" later. I change the installation location to "C:\Apache" which defaults DocumentRoot to C:\Apache\htdocs. It is much better to do it this way. You will not need to modify the configuration file to set DocumentRoot. You will not need to dig into all the way to C:\Program Files\Apache\... to look at log files or configuration files either.

2) I loved their tip about where to install ActiveState Perl: "C:\usr". I used to install Perl to C:\Perl directory which forced me to change the shebang lines on scripts. Listen to this:

If you will be using Perl CGI programs and want to maintain some level of portability between both Linux machines and Windows machines, you will want to install Perl to the same location on your Windows machine that it is on most Linux machines.

For example, on a standard Linux machine, Perl is located at /usr/bin/perl and so every Perl program that I write begins with #!/usr/bin/perl. So, when I install Perl on a Windows machine, instead of installing it in the default location (which is E:\perl for ActivePerl) I install it in E:\usr so that the Perl executable is located at /usr/bin/perl. This allows me to write code on my Windows machine, then move it (without making any changes) to a Linux machine and have it run there. And vice versa.

Wow! I wish I had figured this out earlier... "#!/usr/bin/perl" works in windows if you install Perl in C:\usr directory. No, you do not need to have "C:\" on the shebang line. This will save a lot of time and headache.

3) The site also includes the lines required to be added in Apache configuration file to make CGI and PHP work. I will put a copy of these here:

To activate CGI:
Edit the Apache httpd.conf Configuration File and search for Options Indexes FollowSymLinks (about line 190) when you find it add ExecCGI to the end so it looks like

Options Indexes FollowSymLinks ExecCGI

To use CGI outside the cgi-bin directory, uncomment:
#AddHandler cgi-script .cgi
Also add .pl behind .cgi so 'perl' extension is also treated as cgi files.

To use PHP at the very end of the httpd.conf file add the following lines:

LoadModule php5_module "C:/php/php5apache2_2.dll"
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
PHPIniDir "C:/php"

Also Open php.ini in a text editor and scroll down about halfway through the file and look for doc_root then change it to point to whatever your Apache DocumentRoot is set to. In my case: doc_root = "C:\Apache\htdocs"

To get Apache to automatically look for an index.php, and index.pl search httpd.conf for DirectoryIndex (about line 212) and add the files you want Apache to look for when a directory is loaded (if it doesn't find any of these files, it displays folder contents). Mine looks like:

DirectoryIndex index.php index.pl index.html

They also have information on installing MySQL which is pretty straightforward.

There is one thing I would like to add here though: If you want to use DBD-MySQL package with Perl , you will notice that it is not included in the latest ActiveStatePerl distribution. You can't even install it using the GUI ppm. Here is what you need to do:

At the Command Prompt type:

ppm install http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/ppms/DBI-mysql.ppd

UPDATE on Jan 9, 2009 >>>

If you use ActiveState Perl 5.10, above link will not work either. The easiest way to do this is to start your Perl Package Manager, click on Edit -> Preferences and click on the Repositories tab. Type "http://cpan.uwinnipeg.ca/PPMPackages/10xx/" in Location. You just installed the Repository that has the DBD-MySQL package which will enable you to install it using your Perl ppm.

It sure will be nice to have all this info ready when I need to install Apache, Perl, PHP and MySQL on Windows next time.

WordPress Flickr Manager is another great plugin I recently discovered. It integrates your Flickr account with WordPress backend.

Adding pictures to posts has always been a hassle for me. It makes inserting pictures to posts a snap. You can insert one photo or a complete set of photos quickly and easily. I highly recommend this plugin if you regularly insert sets of pictures on your posts.

Here is an example: