So I've got my backdrop raw install, with some contrib module files added. When I change the settings.php to point to my Drupal 7 database so I can convert it, I get an HTTP 500 error. In my MySQL Workbench, I can query both databases. I did a grant all command on the Drupal database for the database user that accesses the raw backdrop database, so am assuming the rest of the $database spec in settings.php should work, right?
If I go into index.php and comment out the code and put in echo 'Hello world'; it prints. The define and include statements work. Uncommenting the backdrop_bootstrap results in the HTTP 500 error. It is inside of _backdrop_bootstrap_full where I am getting this error.
If anybody has any hints on how I can debug this, it would be appreciated. The site is an intranet in a private network. What I don't understand is why I'm getting the 500 instead of a specific error, especially since the bootstrap has a try/catch. I added these to settings.php:
error_reporting(E_ERROR | E_WARNING | E_PARSE | E_NOTICE);
ini_set('display_errors', TRUE);
ini_set('display_startup_errors', TRUE);
Comments
@deanm - sorry that no one was able to help you. I was just trying to help someone in our Zulip chat who is dealing with a similar problem.
My basic suggestions were:
1) I don't think it can be anything to do with the database if you have not even reached the install screen (unless, you have made any edits to the settings.php file).
2) Make sure you are actually accessing the index.php file (which it looks like you did).
3) Read through the settings.php file to see if there are any specific changes necessary for your specific hosting. This is usually not necessary, but it's a good place to start.
4) check to see if you have access to any php error logs, if so, check for clues.
5) Report back here if you figure it out, so we have more ideas for the next user.
I just fixed an issue that sounds similar to this. I had a chat with bluehost support. They did not seem to be sure what they changed, but they did get it working. They said the file permissions were incorrect. I am not sure what the default was after unzipping the raw file, but the correct permissions are 644. Directory permissions are 755. They also said they reset something. Maybe they restarted the server? They were not really be clear about it. I hope this helps.
Here is a useful resource for dealing with Backdrop CMS file ownership and permission issues.
https://backdropcms.org/file-permissions-and-ownership