RewriteRule no longer working after web host upgrade

Question

My webhost recently upgraded their PHP to a new version, and now one of my redirects no longer works.

The redirect that doesn't work now is:

RewriteRule toppers/i-(.*)/n-(.*).html$ toppers.php?i=$1&n=2

Which I find strange because all my other, similar rules still work.

Here is my full .htaccess file:

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on

RewriteRule toppers/i-(.*)/n-(.*).html$ toppers.php?i=$1&n=2
RewriteRule classes/i-(.*)/n-(.*).html$ classes.php?i=$1&n=2
RewriteRule news/i-(.*)/n-(.*)\.html$ news.php?i=$1&n=2

RedirectMatch 301 ^/cake-topper-pictures-pages/(.*) http://www.caketopper.co.uk/wedding-toppers.php
RedirectMatch 301 ^/cake-topper-picture-pages/(.*) http://www.caketopper.co.uk/wedding-toppers.php
RedirectMatch 301 ^/Cake-Topper-Pictures-Pages/(.*) http://www.caketopper.co.uk/wedding-toppers.php
RedirectMatch 301 ^/feedback-topper-pages/(.*) http://www.caketopper.co.uk/toppers/i-1/n-Couple-on-red-dragon.html
RedirectMatch 301 ^/feedback-toppers/(.*) http://www.caketopper.co.uk/toppers/i-1/n-Couple-on-red-dragon.html

ErrorDocument 404 /404.html

What could be wrong and how can I fix it?

To varify that it isn't the PHP file, I have tried:

echo $topperId = $_GET['i'];
echo $topperName = $_GET['n'];

And I get nothing echoed out from the URL.

Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} toppers/i-(.)/n-(.).html [NC] RewriteRule .* toppers.php?i=%1&n=%2 [L,NC]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} classes/i-(.)/n-(.).html [NC] RewriteRule .* classes.php?i=%1&n=%2 [L,NC]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} news/i-(.)/n-(.).html [NC] RewriteRule .* news.php?i=%1&n=%2 [L,NC]

@jeroen I don't think I have access to it, I don't understand why line 4 wouldn't work if lines 5 and 6 work perfectly? — imperium2335
If only php was upgraded, the redirect is probably working but there is an error in the php file. — jeroen
You ought to delete or comment out that line and try to add a rewrite rule using your webhost control panel directly. Many times they have an API that does it for you with parameters you give it -- hope this proves useful. GatorHost for example has an interface for it; works every time. If this doesn't work, contact the webhost support line — khaverim
@jeroen please see the edit, I can confirm it's not the PHP file :( — imperium2335

Luke Cousins Luke Cousins · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-27T22:29:33

As @jeroen said it is probably the php. Try replacing the whole file with something like

<?php
die('Got to PHP');
?>

This will find out for sure if you are reaching php. If you have display_errors off and have a parse error or something you could put the code you showed at the top and still get a blank screen.

RewriteRule no longer working after web host upgrade

1 Answers