b2evolution upgrade 500 errors

Every time I try to upgrade this b2evolution blog I always encounter some issue with the auto upgrade which should otherwise be painless.

Often running through each of the upgrader tool carefully, I usually end up with some error or another.

500 server errors are the most annoying without much clues in the logs.

Here's a couple of fixes I found...

• 1. Check if it throws 500 on /install/test which contains a simple html file
• 2. If it does, try renaming the folder to something else other than install as your webhost might have blocked executing php code on /install for security reasons and retrying the install step.
• 3. Next check if it throws 500 on a simple page like /install/phpinfo.php
• 4. If it does, try moving phpinfo.php to / and see if it loads.
• 5. If it loads, check the permissions of the files in /install and install itself. Your webhost might block code execution on files with insecure permissions. Ensure that your files are only writable by your user or web server user.
• 6. Otherwise, you'll have to check the forums, stackoverflow and b2evolutions website for help!

Hope this helps, if you find other fixes feel free to send a comment below.