Some hosting providers do not yet provide PHP5 on their servers, opting instead to stay with PHP4 for the time being. As Magento is a PHP5-only application, this can be a barrier for some users. This document outlines a possible workaround for such a scenario. The goal is to install PHP5 as a CGI binary and configure the web server (Apache) to use it instead of the default PHP4.

Requirements

Every hosting provider has a slightly different way of doing things, so it's important to know if this method will work with your provider before continuing.

Below is a list of the basic requirements that this document expects. If you're unsure as to whether your provider supports these requirements, pass the list along to them and find out.

• Operating System: Linux
• Web Server: Apache with CGI support
• FileInfo override control via .htaccess files
• A user-writable cgi-bin directory
• FTP access to your web root and cgi-bin directories

Step 1: Upload the PHP5 CGI binary

It is possible to compile a PHP5 binary yourself, but for the purposes of this solution, we've provided one for you. You can download it here: http://www.magentocommerce.com/support/php5cgi/php5-cgi (if you are using IE you will need to right click on this link and save file as). This file is also available in .zip (7.2 MB), .tar.gz (7.2 MB), and .tar.bz2 (6.8 MB) formats to download (the files contain exactly the same php5-cgi binary inside and are provided in different formats just for your convenience).

Once downloaded, use your FTP client to upload the file to your cgi-bin directory. If you don't know where your cgi-bin directory is, ask your hosting provider.

After uploading, use your FTP client to set the proper mode of the php5-cgi file. This function varies for each FTP client, but it usually called Change Permissions or Change Mode or Chmod. Once you find the function, you must set the permissions so the web server can run this file. There are two typical ways of representing file permissions in Linux:

• As a number (eg, 755)
• As a series of permissions categorized into user, group, and other

If your FTP client uses the first representation, set the permission on the php5-cgi binary to be 755, or 0755. If your FTP client uses the second representation, set the permissions as shown in the image below.

Step 2: Modify the Magento .htaccess file

By default, the web server will want to run the Magento application using PHP4, which will not work. In order to point it to the new PHP5 CGI binary, you must modify the .htaccess file in the Magento top-level directory.

Using your FTP client, edit the file .htaccess in your top-level magento directory.

The existing file looks something like this:

Add two lines to it so it looks like this:

You'll want to modify the path in the Action line to point to the location of the php5-cgi binary you uploaded in Step 1.

Now test your Magento installation by visiting it with your web browser. If you see Magento smiling back at you, then you are now happily running on PHP5.

Troubleshooting

I still see "Invalid PHP version" when visiting my Magento page.
This probably means that your hosting provider does not allow the FileInfo overrides via .htaccess files. This is a necessary requirement for this solution, so you'll have to ask your hosting provider for it.

I see "Internal Server Error" when visiting my Magento page.
This is a typical error message when a CGI binary quits unexpectedly, and could be caused by a number of things. If you have access to your server's Apache error log, you can look there for some clues. We'll cover a few more common issues here.

1. Bad location to the PHP5 binary
   Make sure the AddHandler directive in your .htaccess file is pointing to the correct location for the PHP5 binary. You can often test it by trying to surf to the location with your web browser. For example, if your site is http://www.example.com and your PHP5 location is /cgi-bin/php5-cgi, try visiting http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/php5-cgi with your web browser. If you see a Internal Server Error message, then that means your PHP5 binary is in the correct location. If you get a File not found message, then this is not the correct location.

2. Bad permissions on the PHP5 binary
   Double check the permissions on the PHP5 CGI binary you uploaded in Step 1. They should be 755 or rwxr-xr-x, depending on your FTP client's representation.

The binary file isn’t downloading properly, could you please amend this asap?

Cheers,

Michael

1. Open the “.htaccess” file
2. Add this as a new line “AddType x-mapp-php5 .php”
3. Save changes then reupload your “.htaccess” file to your server, and check if it worked.

-Theycallmeaustin.

I also got the “Premature end of script headers: php5-cgi” problem.

- I checked the permissions for php5-cgi and for the cgi-bin folder (755)
- I checked http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/php5-cgi with a browser (500)
- I put the “5” in Action php5-cgi /cgi-bin/php5-cgi
- I again downloaded the php5-cgi (maybe the file was kurrupt)
- I rebooted my server
- I uncommented #SSLOptions StdEnvVars (because error_log said: .htaccess: SSLOptions not allowed here)

What can I do to solve my??? Thank you very much for helping..

peter

I have tried putting the file in /cgi-bin/php5-cgi and /magento/cgi-bin/php5-cgi (magento is off /).  The first way results in “cgi-bin/php5-cgi/index.php was not found” (yes, cdmod 755 was set for both directories), the second method gives an internal server error…

In any case, I gotta cancel that server now before I’m billed another $9 for January, lol. 

Error 500
Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Invalid URI in request GET /xstore/ HTTP/1.1

i am using mod_rewrite , pdo_mysql on my other domains succesfully. No problem in that.

about switching to new server, is a tough job for me, as i am a reseller and having 30-40 sites running on my server.

Regards,

Tarun

just pm me if you need help.

Operating system Linux
Kernel version 2.6.9-42.0.8.ELsmp
Machine Type i686
Apache version 1.3.39 (Unix)
PERL version 5.8.8
Path to PERL /usr/bin/perl
Path to sendmail /usr/sbin/sendmail
Installed Perl Modules Click to View
PHP version 4.4.4
MySQL version 4.1.22-standard

now...i have installed whole set up in main directory.......the installation’s first page…

Start Installation comes.,

i click on I agree check box, and then click on Continue.

it does not move further...it go to refresh and then again generates the same page

plz tell me the problem or i shall i remove magentocommerce from my server.

Warm Regards,

Tarun

The main script has the files and folders that look like this
app
lib
skin
js
media
var
.htaccess
cron.php
index.php
favicon
LICENSE

This is where your cgi-bin folder should be. Don’t forget to also edit the .htaccess file that is in the same folder.

but the cgi is in mail folder.....and the htaccess file also is in sub folder.
shall i change something...plz suggest.

AddHandler requires at least two arguments, a handler name followed by one or more file extensions

Any idea’s on how to fix this issue. I really like the software and want it to work.

Please make sure that you uploaded all the files on the server.

Thank you.

I get an internal server error (everything ok, so far...) but then trying to launch install I start getting php errors:

Warning: Mage_Core_Block_Template::include(/home/rdredcom/public_html/magento06/app/design/install/default/default/template/page.phtml) [function.Mage-Core-Block-Template-include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/rdredcom/public_html/magento06/app/code/core/Mage/Core/Block/Template.php on line 116

Any ideas? suggestions? Tnx in advance

Please use exactly the same link as indicated in the post - it is http://www.magentocommerce.com/support/php5cgi/php5-cgi

File type should make any difference - you can rename it after downloading to php5-cgi, just check that its size is about 17 Mbytes.

Thank you.

Just trying to download the http://www.magentocommerce.com/support/php5cgi/php5 file by right clicking and doing save as, but it seems to come as a text file and I cannot see how to download it otherwise.

Any assistance appreciated

Cheers

its not going on beyond

http://www.mydomain.com/mag/install/

when i check ‘ I agree to the above terms and condition”

and then click on Continue button, it just...stays on the same page ...it seems that it has just refreshed.

Suggest plz.

Regards,

Tarun

- one server with php4 and i’ve got an error : No input file specified.
- one server with php5 and i’ve got an error : Zend_Db_Statement_Mysqli_Exception Object ... exception ‘Mage_Core_Exception’ with message ‘Error in file.

Any ideas ?  and solutions ?

“No input file specified.”

It means your .htaccess must be in the same directory as magento files.

“No input file specified.”

Please provide any suggestions

my folders were like this
root/magento/
root/cgi/php5-cgi

I had my .htaccess set to
Action php5-cgi ../cgi/php5-cgi
which is incorrect - i changed it to
Action php5-cgi /cgi/php5-cgi

here is entire .htaccess file in the magento folder
===================================
<IfModule mod_php5.c>
php_flag magic_quotes_gpc off
php_flag short_open_tag on
</IfModule>

Action php5-cgi /cgi/php5-cgi
AddHandler php5-cgi .php

DirectoryIndex index.php

RewriteEngine on

#RewriteBase /

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/media/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/skin/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/js/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-l

RewriteRule .* index.php

and it worked.

I’m using a plesk server so the cgi-directory is not in the root of the site.
I tried this method and I get a “The page isn’t redirecting properly” error in Firefox.
Any ideea why?

Do you speak about Basic Web Hosting Plan on Plesk or Virtual Private Server on Plesk or even VSP with full Plesk installation.

If you have a VSP that is virtualized with SWsoft Software or VSP with Plesk you can even install latest PHP and modify httpd.conf file your self with notepad..

On Windows cgi-bin directory is in Apache root folder.. and much I know about Linux Apache is in /etc/httpd/ or in some other sub folder of Linux root.. sorry can’t remember because its long time from that I am used Hosting Plan with SWsoft’s Software…

Why not buy Virtual Private Server? Virtual Private Server on some Server Virtualization System might only a cost 5-10 € / month more than basic hosting plan but needs much more knowledge about that how to install/configure all Sever Software like Apache, PHP and MySQL, SMTP and POP3/IMAP Server etc. on Linux/Windows Environment. And knowledge how setup security correctly. Benefit is that you can choose PHP version etc.

One thing I want to say I do not think that all ISPs allow to do much user custom setting to PHP like this CGI thing. Meny times much that user want to do is limited like user can not change much Apache setting with .htaccess…

“No input file specified.”

Please provide any suggestions

Error message:
Premature end of script headers: php5-cgi

..just like Greek.

Was there ever a solution to this?

“No input file specified.”

I’m using the php5-cgi binary method on php 5.1.6.

Any ideas?

thanks,
Jeremy

For example godaddy currently uses 5.1.4 wich is indeed php5 but magento will not run on it.

Magento requires php5.20

Don’t be hasty to use the CGI option described here - use as a last resort.  First make (very) sure your host doesn’t have PHP5 support.

Many web hosts support both PHP4 and PHP5 (at the same time), but have PHP4 set as the default handler for files with the .php extension.  Usually files with the .php5 extension will run with PHP5, and you can usually override the default handler for .php as well.

It is worth checking your hosts knowledge base for details, as it is not always advertised.

For example:

site5.com have PHP4 for *.php and PHP5 for *.php5 - this can be overridden with the following line in a .htaccess file:
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php5 .php

heartinternet.co.uk also have PHP4 for *.php and PHP5 for *.php5 - but it is overridden with this line in a .htaccess file:
SetEnv DEFAULT_PHP_VERSION 5

If you still have no luck and you have to go the CGI route, at least make sure you lodge a support request for your host to add PHP5.
http://gophp5.org/

I presume it is compiled for Linux x86, but it really needs to be stated.

In which case, it will NOT work for:
- Windows
- Mac OSX
- Solaris
- *BSD
- Linux on other platforms (PPC, sparc, alpha, etc.)

My suggestion is that when it comes time to run a live store, make sure you switch to hosting that _does_ support PHP5 (note: PHP4 is end of life anyway - http://www.php.net/index.php#2007-07-13-1 )

I hope this helps

Cheers
Andre

I use godaddy

I do get the correct error when trying to access the cgi file on my server.  So that’s good.

Still re-uploading all the Magento files (takes a good hour or so).

What type of server (host) have you managed to get this to work on?

Good luck! 

Went through the exact steps above, several times. 

I’m giving it another try now on a new domain, clean directories, and will report what happens.

Make sure the AddHandler directive in your .htaccess file is pointing to the correct location for the PHP5 binary. You can often test it by trying to surf to the location with your web browser. For example, if your site is http://www.example.com and your PHP5 location is /cgi-bin/php5-cgi, try visiting http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/php5-cgi with your web browser. If you see a Internal Server Error message, then that means your PHP5 binary is in the correct location. If you get a File not found message, then this is not the correct location.

No matter what I do, I keep getting a 404:

The requested URL /cgi-bin/php5-cgi/index.php was not found on this server.

Magento is installed in the root directory of my server (httpdocs), not in a subdirectory, and I added the code above to my .htaccess in that root directory:

Action php5-cgi /cgi-bin/php5-cgi
AddHandler php5-cgi .php

No luck.  Any ideas?

Premature end of script headers: php5-cgi