Title: CGI error
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# CGI error

 *  [juliethrasher](https://wordpress.org/support/users/juliethrasher/)
 * (@juliethrasher)
 * [16 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cgi-error-9/)
 * Came in to work today and am now unable to access my blog via HTML, looks like
   plain text, and when I try to access wordpress, I get this error:
 * The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP
   headers.
 * Any help would be appreciated. Here is a link to my blog if that helps:
 * [http://www.photoonesoftware.com/blog/index.php](http://www.photoonesoftware.com/blog/index.php)
 * Thanks,
    Julie

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  [Mark Ratledge](https://wordpress.org/support/users/songdogtech/)
 * (@songdogtech)
 * [16 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cgi-error-9/#post-1271800)
 * Did you change your site or blog URL in settings yesterday? Like add the index.
   php to your settings? If not, someone changed something on your windows server,
   i.e. the server that runs the main site photoonesoftware, and that could have
   been directory permissions, .htaccess (if the server is configured for .htaccess)
   or something else. Good idea is to talk to whoever administers the main site.
 *  [uncle-tom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/uncle-tom/)
 * (@uncle-tom)
 * [16 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cgi-error-9/#post-1272075)
 * This is doing my head in!
 * I am new to wordpress and have just installed wp 2.9.2 and right from the outset
   I am getting “The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete
   set of HTTP headers”
 * I was not to bothered to begin with. I thought that the forum would help me. 
   I have tried several of the suggestions from changing the php version from 5x
   to 4x, removing the ./ or was it the /. from the index.php file and even changing
   the code in wp-db.php file. Nothing worked at all. Anyway I have reinstated it
   back to how it was and started a new cgi error search.
 * The penny then dropped that this error has been around for at least 2 years for
   loads of people.
 * **Can one of the developers please help?** Surely there must be a solution to
   this. I am not an expert in php at all but I am not daft. I am an end user trying
   to use a well praised piece of software. I would like to use it but do not know
   where to look next.
 * Please help
 * Kind Regards
    Uncle Tom
 *  [uncle-tom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/uncle-tom/)
 * (@uncle-tom)
 * [16 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cgi-error-9/#post-1272076)
 * Hi.
 * I have been in touch with my host company and they came back with the answer 
   within 4 hours.
 * **Their answer was** “You are getting that error due to your permalinks settings
   in your WordPress configuration. You sohuld be able to turn these off. Permalinks
   require mod_rewrite which isn’t available on Windows. It is a Linux/Apache function
   only I’m afraid.”
 * When I reset the permalinks to default all was fixed. So if you are on a Windows
   platform then permalink default would **seem **to be your only option.
 * I trawled the help forum and the WP documentation and at no point did I find 
   any reference to platform capabilities. That’s not to say its not there just 
   that I did not find it. In my humble opinion the permalink settings page should
   highlight the options by platform. Just a thought.
 * Now I have it working its a great product.
 * My hosting company is straight up and down and do what a lot of company’s don’t
   which is talk to end users not just techies. They also provide a service which
   in my experience is not that common. They are [pipeten.com](http://www.pipeten.com/)
 * Kind Regards
    Uncle Tom

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘CGI error’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [CGI](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/cgi/)

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 3 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [uncle-tom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/uncle-tom/)
 * Last activity: [16 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cgi-error-9/#post-1272076)
 * Status: not resolved

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