cgi bin and 404 errors

[sihoward]

Hope somebody can throw some light on this...

my logs are reporting an increasing amount of 404 errors for several different pages:

site/cgi-bin/acatalog/pagename.html

it seems somewhere along the the bin is getting 'mixed-up' as it should return:

site/acatalog/pagename.html

the errors are affecting real traffic (as opposed to bots).

I've tried to recreate the problem and have checked all external links but am now stumped...

any info appreciated

thanks, Simon
tool-shop.co.uk

[Mike Hughes]

It could be some missing referrer info (or basehref info) when going to cgi-bin (e.g. for the cart, etc). That could cause the scripts to return the visitor to the wrong place.

Mike

[sihoward]

Mike, thanks - where should I check?

Simon

[dave_finlayson]

Simon,

My logs also show the same 404 error appearing a lot although I know all my links are sound. I suspect that this is some sort of problem with actinic and our settings but as yet nobody seems to know what it may be.

I have extensively tested my site to check for errors and have so far not managed to get a single one which certainly suggests to me that it is a back end problem. I have noticed that the error404 url does occasionally appear in the status bar very briefly before the correct url is sent to the browser.

Anyone any thoughts? I am currently running v7.01

Dave

[sihoward]

Dave, at least someone else has noticed - chances are not many people scour the logs looking for info.

October so far has produced over 500 of these errors - affecting 50 unique visitors - there is definitely an issue.

How relevant this is, I'm not sure, but the only semblance of a pattern I can see is that the 404 is more likely to happen on a filename that has spaces and capitals (eg. my_Site_is_Really_great.html).

But the defining point is that all files are being 'looked for' in the cgi-bin.

As Mike says, basehref could be a culprit - I'm just not sure how to check/verify....

[dave_finlayson]

My error page features way more than that to the extent I have told my stats package to forget about it so I can get true results.

I have to say I am not sure that it is the cgi bin as all my links are direct and do not go through the bin at all. However, as good as all my pages are combinations of capitals and underscores so you may well have a point there.

So not sure whats happening but, as you say, it is definately a problem!

Dave

[sihoward]

Dave,

the search maybe narrowing...

google produces three internal results when I enter: link:my url.

when clicked, each of these pages displays, and subsequent links return the error with the cgi bin in the 'wrong' place.

so it looks like a cookie - baseref issue when visitor enters site through the side door.

so how do we solve it?....

thanks

Simon

[Nadeem]

Hi Simon

The 'BASEHREF' will come from your catalog url in "Advance | Network Setup". I've also gone onto google and typed in the search box: "link:http://www.tool-shop.co.uk/" and it give me 3 results which are:

1. Show Cart script
2. Sitemap
3. Makita_Chargers.html section

All 3 works fine on my pc here, are these the same results you got? I was using google.com

so it looks like a cookie

If it is a cookie issue, then you could delete the .session files within your /acatalog/ folder, by "Help | Troubleshooting", and purge session files.

Kind Regards

[sihoward]

thanks Nadeem,

yes, they are the same three links; if you clicked on them - did you try clicking a link on the resulting page and did it resolve ok?

purging sessions - is it best to wait until say 01:00 when customers are unlikely to be online?

regards

Simon

[Nadeem]

Hi Simon

did you try clicking a link on the resulting page and did it resolve ok?

Yes when clicking on all 3 of them, all of them resolved ok. I did not recieve any error messages.

is it best to wait until say 01:00 when customers are unlikely to be online?

Yes, if you where to delete the session file now, then if there was any customers on your site, there cart content will be deleted and they will have to shop all over again

Kind Regards

[sihoward]

Yes when clicking on all 3 of them, all of them resolved ok. I did not recieve any error messages.

can you try clicking a link from one of the pages that resolved - this is where I found the error.

thanks again

Simon

[Nadeem]

Hi Simon

I went onto the section first and added to cart, Works fine, then went back to Google and click on the showcart link, and that works fine. It shows the basket information

Kind Regards

[sihoward]

Nadeem, thanks again - I may have found the solution - I need a few more days logs to confirm. I'll report back then.

Simon

[lefty]

Did you find the solution?

Hi Simon

I am having the same problem with 404 errors arising from /cgi-bin/acatalog/ slipping into the request url somehow.

Did you find a solution that worked?

Keith
www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk

[Nadeem]

Hi Keith

It seems that Simon had a cookie issue, which was resolved by purging the session file. It tested ok when i was checking the site.

Kind Regards