permissions?

permissions?

by Norbert Berger -
Number of replies: 5
Dear all

Just installed Moodle 1.5.3+ on a hosted server with the latest hotpot module. I seem to have a few permission issues here I need some help with:

When I restored a backup course with lots of Hot Potatoe exercises from my own server, same Moodle configuration, onto that server, I got a few error messages as follows:

When the zip file is copied:
Warning: chmod(): Operation not permitted in /home/business/public_html/moodle/backup/lib.php on line 293
but restore is allowed to continue.

Later there's this:
  • Copying course files
Warning: chmod(): Operation not permitted in /home/business/public_html/moodle/backup/lib.php on line 293 with the same line repeated many, many times.

Eventually the restore claims to have been successful.
The pages then show up all right. Only error that comes up is in Hot Potatoe exercises (the most common type of activity in the course), when answers are checked or the time runs out, the following error message is shown:
Could not insert attempt details record: Table 'business_moodle.mdl_hotpot_details' doesn't exist

When I click on the flashplayer the media plugin provided nothing happens, and links to mp3 files come up with an erro message saying

Sorry, the requested file could not be found

even thought the files sits just there.

The permissions for the data directory are 777, but what other permissions need to be set to resolve this issue?

Grateful for any help

Norbert



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In reply to Norbert Berger

Re: permissions?

by Gordon Bateson -
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Hi Norbert,
I don't know about the chmod not working, so I hope someone else can help you with that.

The HotPot error messages says there is no "hotpot_details" table. This should have been created when you upgraded from HotPot v2.0 (the standard version with Moodle 1.5.3+) to HotPot v2.1.

Are you sure (absolutely positely sure smile ) that the upgrade of the HotPot module was successful? Do you remember when it was that you upgraded? What is the HotPot version number given on modules page (Administration -> Configuration -> Modules)? If it is still 200503xxxx, then you have not upgraded yet. It should be 200509xxxx

Are you just setting up this Moodle site or are there already a lot of other courses on it?

regards
Gordon

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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Re: permissions?

by Norbert Berger -
Hi Gordon

Thanks for your message and advice. What happend when I installed Moodle on the server was that I had to unzip and upload all the moodle files to www via ftp. There is no unzip function in VDeck which is the interface provided by the hosting company.
I see what you mean by upgrading: What I did before the upload was to unzip the latest hotpot version 2.1.13 on top of what was in the latest moodle. So the server never upgraded: it just installed hotpot version 2.1.13 with the fresh installation of Moodle. It claimed that the database had been set up correctly and reports that version 2005090713 is present.
I am posting a sample hot pot file on the site to experiment. Find it on http://businessenglishdirect.com/moodle
The site is supposed to go live next week, so I am trying to get things ready for a meeting this Saturday for the team.
In order to get hot pot to register rproperly I will try the following:
  1. uninstall hot pot
  2. install v2.0, then
  3. upgrade to 2.1.13.
I will let you know if this resolves the issue or not. If you have any other advice, I will be most grateful.

Norbert

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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Details table missing

by Norbert Berger -
Hi Gordon

Have done as I said. Version is now 14, Moodle admin said tables set up correclty - but the database still has not created the details table.
In PhPMyAdmin I can see the other tables but no mdl_hotpot_details. I have never done anything in PhPMyAdmin other than select all the tables and asked for a repair job. So why not give it a try:

I tried to reproduce a table in the database with the same characteristics as on my other machine, but get stumped when I try to define the fields as follows I get an error message
id
int
10
unsigned
null
0
auto-increment
attempt
int
10
unsigned
null
0

details
text


null



Error:
SQL query: Dreate table 'mdl_hotpot_details' (
'id' int(10) etc.

I get error #1075 - Incorrect table definition; There can only be one autocolumn andit must be defined as a key.

Now, my database skills are practically non-existant, I know a table needs setting up; it's got to be indexed but I am not clear about where I go wrong. And reading MySQL documentation confuses me even more. For every line I read I should refer to another two references.

Is there any point in trying to do this? If so, How do I get it right? If not, what else can I do? Sorry I am so thick.

Thanks for your patience and continued support.

Norbert

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In reply to Gordon Bateson

Created mdl_hotpot_details manually, but chmod issue remains unresolved

by Norbert Berger -
Hi Gordon,

Have found the index button which was off-screen to make the first row indexed and it created the table. Hopt Pot seems to work fine now.

And I am happy, I found I coudl do this. Thanks for your guidance. Still got the chmod issue to resolve.

Thanks again
Norbert
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In reply to Norbert Berger

Re: Created mdl_hotpot_details manually, but chmod issue remains unresolved

by Gordon Bateson -
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HI Norbert,

I was going to suggest that an easier way to create the hotpot_details table might have been to do the following:

  1. open "mod/hotpot/db/mysql.sql" with a text editor
  2. copy the part of this file which creates the "hotpot_details" table and paste it into the SQL window of phpMyAdmin
  3. change "prefix_hotpot_details" to "mdl__hotpot_details" (or whatever your database prefix is)
  4. execute the SQL query

However, you seem to have found a way to create the table manually, so well done approve

To tell the truth, I am still a little worried that the hotpot_details table was not created automatically at some point, and the fact that it was missing makes me think that other things may not be quite as they should be either.

Since this is a new site, I would be tempted to remove the hotpot module completely and add in again:

  1. remove all hotpots from all courses
  2. go to the "modules" page (Administration -> Configuration -> Modules) and delete the HotPot module
  3. in phpMyAdmin, remove all "hotpot_" tables
  4. in phpMyAdmin, look at the "modules" table and remove the entry for "hotpot" if there is one
  5. delete the hotpot folder "mod/hotpot"
  6. download the latest HotPot module:
    http://download.moodle.org/modules/hotpot.zip
  7. unpack the new hotpot module into the "mod/hotpot" folder
  8. login to your Moodle site as Administrator and check the hotpot tables are created

However, since you have your meeting on Saturday (tomorrow surprise ), I can understand if you don't want to worry about upgrading anymore. You probably are concentarting on the content of the demo, right?

Hope the meeting goes well!
Gordon

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