Xhausting upgrade error "inconsistent file permissions"

[WPH2o]

I tried to update X because now the home page is EMPTY.

1. Can you guys fix it so that when updates are required the site will still work? This happens OFTEN.

2. The X update fails because a radical new plugin is installed on the site called WooCommerce:

An error occurred while updating X: The update cannot be installed because we will be unable to copy some files. This is usually due to inconsistent file permissions. woocommerce/cart/cart-empty.php, woocommerce/cart/cross-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/up-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/related.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-thumbnails.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-image.php

I disabled WooCommerce (who needs a store anyway when you’ve got a great theme? Right), and I tried the update again.

An error occurred while updating X: The update cannot be installed because we will be unable to copy some files. This is usually due to inconsistent file permissions. woocommerce/cart/cart-empty.php, woocommerce/cart/cross-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/up-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/related.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-thumbnails.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-image.php

So now rather than a site showing the home page, and rather than an update working, I’m on with our server’s host support team to fix “inconsistent file permissions”–which I never changed in the first place.

Maybe little web gnomes (the G is silent) snuck into the file permissions last night and wrecked havoc and are laughing and laughing right now–because my boss is not laughing at a blank home page.

This sure beats the hell out of eating dinner tonight.

Can you guys please fix the updates to allow them to complete even though something thinks something is not working which was working yesterday?

Thank you,

Chris
Xhausted X Permanent Beta Tester

[WPH2o]

A chat with our server’s host support team (dedicated, managed, super expensive, high-horsepower server on a top-tier host).

Even AFTER deactivating and DELETING the WooCommerce plugin–so that NO WooComemrce directory or files are in the install, and after deleting all WooCommerce pages–I still get this error when trying to update X–and X pages are blank!

========================================================================
The update process is starting. This process may take a while on some hosts, so please be patient.

Enabling Maintenance mode…

Updating Theme X (1/1)
Downloading update from https://themeco-packages.s3.amazonaws.com/d940c8c440f230138995a40c4daf0904/x_package/x.zip…
Unpacking the update…
Installing the latest version…
Removing the old version of the theme…

Theme update failed.

An error occurred while updating X: The update cannot be installed because we will be unable to copy some files. This is usually due to inconsistent file permissions. woocommerce/cart/cart-empty.php, woocommerce/cart/cross-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/up-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/related.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-thumbnails.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-image.php
Disabling Maintenance mode…

All updates have been completed.

Return to Themes page | Return to WordPress Updates page

1. All updates were NOT completed.

2. NONE of those WooComemrce files EXIST on the site/install

3. I still get this error with a totally stripped site.

4. For everyone else who runs into this – it is not YOUR caching issue in your browser. It is not YOUR fault because all plugins were disabled and the error still happens. It is not YOUR fault because of anything else you did. As the support pro below says: “The issue itself most likely resides in the coding of the software, due to no errors being shown by PHP.”

5. Here is the support chat text:

========================================================================
Save Chat End Chat
Joshua
Hello Chris! Welcome to Liquid Web. My name is Joshua. Just a moment while I look into your request.
8:02:30 PM
Me
Hello Joshua, I’m in hell with a blank home page on a HIGH PRIORITY site that needs an update to fix it but the updates fail due to file permissions–which we never changed!
8:03:13 PM
An error occurred while updating X: The update cannot be installed because we will be unable to copy some files. This is usually due to inconsistent file permissions. woocommerce/cart/cart-empty.php, woocommerce/cart/cross-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/up-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/related.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-thumbnails.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-image.php
8:03:18 PM
Dnnnnnnn.com
8:03:21 PM
Joshua
I am working on getting into the server to find out more information on this issue.
8:04:35 PM
Me
Thank you–I’m here
8:05:14 PM
Joshua
I am not seeing any sort of errors coming from Apache, or PHP, which would indicate that the issue lies in a conflict somewhere between the software the site is set up to use, such as between a theme and plugin. Have any recent changes been made to this domain?
8:11:20 PM
Me
ugh
8:13:06 PM
I disabled almost all plugins and especially the WooCommerce plugin–still no luck.

Can you look at the file permissions indicated in the error message?
8:13:45 PM
Joshua
Yes, I have, and I am not seeing any permissions as being out of the ordinary, so I am trying to get more information. I am seeing that under the plugins directory, there have been changes made to the Cornerstone plugin. Has that also been disabled?
8:14:35 PM
Me
No–that is an essential plugin for site content to display.
8:15:52 PM
I will disable all plugins right now and test again. Give me a couple mins to disable the others.
8:16:17 PM
Joshua
The conflict may be arising between plugins, but the theme could also be a factor in the issue within the Wordpress environment, so you may need to temporarily change that as well for more information on the testing. It may be best if you are to make a backup of the site prior to making any large scale changes.
8:17:22 PM
Me
You know what–first I’m going to deactivate WordFence and try again. I have constant issues on all sites with WordFence and X Theme (e.g. widgets will not save when added until I disable WordFence).
8:17:38 PM
fail
8:18:22 PM
ok–deactivating all
8:18:31 PM
fail.
8:19:11 PM
Okay, I’m going to uninstall WooCommerce completely–I’ve already done all the exports just in case.
8:19:38 PM
fail
8:20:36 PM
Can you temporarily relocate or rename the folder that has those files?
8:21:13 PM
Joshua
You mean the WooCommerce directory?
8:21:29 PM
Me
Or change the permissions to highest level access temporarily until I get the update done?
8:21:42 PM
Yeah–
8:21:49 PM
Joshua
I am no longer seeing a WooCommerce directory under the plugins. You mentioned that you uninstalled Woocommerce, that would remove it from under the site.
8:23:16 PM
Me
Damn–why do you think I get this theme update error for files which do not exist?
8:25:00 PM
I need to reactivate Cornerstone the site is more trashed with shortcodes than when blank
8:26:08 PM
Joshua
Unfortunately, I am not sure. Within the WordPress environment, plugins and themes are built to work with WordPress, not necessarily each other, so issues like this can arise, and we are not really able to determine the direct cause. The issue itself most likely resides in the coding of the software, due to no errors being shown by PHP, so its acting like PHP is showing what its able to show, as some files are called from the site, it’s loading this blank page due to some conflict in that process. The best advice we can give is to perhaps restore the site to a time when you know it was in working order, or have the issue investigated by a developer who would have more insight on the workings of the software and code.
8:28:17 PM
Me
Thank you Joshua. This X theme used to be great but I think they sold the company to blind monkeys–all of our sites have been breaking and breaking the last month or so. It’s a nightmare for me when high traffic, high publicity sites are blank on the home page and have other issues due to the X theme failures like this.
8:30:57 PM
I’ve temporarily set a plain Wordpress page to be the home page and manually coded it up to display the content we need. I’ll let you go and I’ll go back to the theme.co X support forum and let them tell me how I need to deactivate all plugins and clear my cache because I’m the problem.
8:32:14 PM
Thank you for your Pro help Joshua. It’s refreshing!
8:32:31 PM
Joshua
I am happy to help. Good luck, and have a nice evening.
8:32:44 PM
Me
Thank you

Save Chat End Chat

[alexander]

Hi @WPH2o,

I’m sorry you’re having these issues after updating. We’ve had thousands of sites update and I’ve not seen this error before. While I do believe it’s a problem on the server, I’ll do what I can to help you get to the bottom of what’s going on. Let’s focus on this error:

An error occurred while updating X: The update cannot be installed because we will be unable to copy some files. This is usually due to inconsistent file permissions. woocommerce/cart/cart-empty.php, woocommerce/cart/cross-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/up-sells.php, woocommerce/single-product/related.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-thumbnails.php, woocommerce/single-product/product-image.php

So this isn’t referring to woocommerce the plugin, but the woocommerce files included with X. This is why modifying the WooCommerce plugin wouldn’t have made a difference. Under most circumstance I would advise you contact your host. Because you already have and they advised you contact us, let me provide some additional information.

The error means that the permissions for some of the theme files were changed somehow. Most commonly this happens if you modify files with FTP, or manually update. If you installed X via the WordPress theme uploader, or the last update was done through automatic updates it would have the correct permissions. If you installed or updated manually the last time, it’s possible that permissions were altered during that process. The permissions themselves are handled entirely on the server though.

In terms of getting things working quickly with the theme I would recommend this:

• Make a full backup
• Delete X entirely so any files that potentially had permissions changed will be removed.
• Install X through the WordPress theme uploader.

Hopefully this will correct the issue. If not, regretfully the only thing I can advise would be contacting your host again. When anything is related to file permissions, usually it’s a problem on the server. That’s generally regarded as in the host’s purview. Should you need to reach back out to them, I would recommend asking if they can confirm WordPress is setup with the correct file permissions (https://codex.wordpress.org/Changing_File_Permissions)