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What is repair_settings.php?
repair_settings.php is one of the most important tools for use with SMF. It allows you to change the most important settings such as MySQL information, file paths and urls, and can be used when SMF is not working at all. That is what it is mostly used for: repairing your SMF enough so that an admin user can login and fix any other problems.

Using repair_settings.php is easy: simply upload the file to the root directory of your forum with FTP and then access the page in your browser. Once you have finished, remember to delete the file or else you will leave your forum vulnerable!

This tool can repair the following settings:

  • Critical Settings
    • Maintenance Mode - You can turn maintenance mode on your forum on and off and also make it completely unusable.
    • Language File - Change the language of your forum.
    • Cookie Name - Change the name of the cookie that your forum creates for the user's browsers.
    • Queryless URLs - Turn the use of queries in the forum's urls on and off.
    • Output Compression - Can turn output compression on and off.
    • Database driven sessions - Can set whether sessions are managed by the database or not.
  • MySQL Settings:
    • Includes all of the typical settings that are needed to connect to the database; MySQL server address, MySQL database name, MySQL username, MySQL password, and MySQL table prefix.
    • MySQL connection type - Can be set to Persistent or Standard.
  • Paths & URLs
    • Allows you set set the paths for; Forum URL, Forum Directory, Sources Directory, Attachment Directory, Avatar URL, Avatar Directory, Smileys URL, Smileys Directory, Default Theme URL, Default Theme Images URL, and Default Theme Directory.

Recommended values
In most cases, SMF can detect the correct value for each of the fields and settings. Underneath many of the settings is a link with with the recommended value. Clicking these links will update the corresponding textbox fields with the recommended value. Be careful though, because SMF will not always guess correctly if the server is configured unusually.
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Comments:
jillh10 made the following comment on November 18, 2008, 04:25:31 PM:

I need some info on the debug button I mean do I click it once and its done and if so why doesnt the number of bugs go down when i click debug

Jade made the following comment on November 18, 2008, 05:24:13 PM:

The debug option does not remove bugs, it should display information about them on each page. I'm not sure if you need code for this, you should ask on the community :)

Błażej made the following comment on December 14, 2008, 09:16:59 PM:

Best thing since sliced bread!  I wish I didn't waste my time and went on here for help.  Fixed my problems of moving to a different domain in 2 minutes, after 2 hours of trying to manually mess with .php files.  Kudos  8)

Hunter made the following comment on January 12, 2009, 11:37:05 PM:

Where and what is the root directory???  ??? ??? ??? ???

Jade made the following comment on January 14, 2009, 10:49:09 AM:

The root directory is where the Settings.php file is, that file needs to be set to permissions 777 so that Repair Settings will work :D

Ashley made the following comment on March 15, 2009, 10:17:30 PM:

I noticed a spelling error in the repair_setting.php file:

Quote
Critical Settings
These are the settings most likely to be screwing up your board, but try the things below (especially the path and URL ones) if these don't help. You can click on the recommendded value to use it.

Jade made the following comment on March 15, 2009, 11:39:09 PM:

Thank you :)

Hugh_KKKKKKKK made the following comment on March 30, 2009, 07:27:23 PM:

This worked perfectly for me when I went from dev.myurl.com to www.myurl.com - super to have this utility, thanks!

John Alford made the following comment on June 08, 2009, 02:32:26 AM:

At the bottom of repair_settings.php, I continue to get a message that the webserver cannot write to Settings.php.  I have Settings.php set to 777.  Can someone tell me the problem?  Thanks!

Jade made the following comment on June 08, 2009, 10:09:22 PM:

Try 755, and ensure settings_bak has the same setting :).

drippin made the following comment on June 15, 2009, 12:34:06 PM:

I get a HTTP 404 Not Found error when I run it.  I changed the permission on the file to 777, but it did not help.

Jade made the following comment on June 19, 2009, 04:17:26 PM:

You might need to contact your host :)

thellie made the following comment on August 10, 2010, 06:25:12 PM:

i've set the maintenance mode to off about 3 times, but it keeps coming up value not found... there's no other issues with the site, so can i ignore this?

Acans made the following comment on August 29, 2010, 05:26:49 AM:

@thellie

Please ask for support at SMF Support Forums