Title: Critical error / dashboard doesn&#8217;t show
Last modified: November 28, 2024

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# Critical error / dashboard doesn’t show

 *  Resolved [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/)
 * After a fresh install of WordPress I get the following message when trying to
   enter the dashboard. The mentioned e-mail for instructions is never delivered,
   though the e-mail address is correct.
 * There has been a critical error on this website. Please check your site admin
   email inbox for instructions. If you continue to have problems, please try the
   [support forums](https://wordpress.org/support/forums/).
 * [Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/faq-troubleshooting/)
    -  This topic was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/).

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

 *  [Hank](https://wordpress.org/support/users/poku1010/)
 * (@poku1010)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18168237)
 * The error message “There has been a critical error on this website…” typically
   indicates a severe issue with your website. Here are some steps to help you troubleshoot
   and resolve the problem: 1. **Enable WordPress Debug Mode**
 * You can enable debug mode in the `wp-config.php` file to check for detailed error
   messages:
    - Use FTP or your hosting control panel to locate the `wp-config.php` file in
      the root directory of your website.
    - Ensure the following lines are present and enabled (or add them if missing):`
      define('WP_DEBUG', true); define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true); define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY',
      false);`
    - Save the file and reload your website. Error information will be logged in
      the `/wp-content/debug.log` file.
 * 2. **Check for Plugin or Theme Issues**
 * Such errors are often caused by plugin or theme compatibility problems.
    - **Disable Plugins**:
       * Use FTP or a file manager to navigate to the `/wp-content/plugins/` folder.
       * Rename each plugin folder (e.g., change `plugin-name` to `plugin-name-deactivated`),
         then check if the website recovers.
    - **Switch Theme**:
       * Use FTP to rename your current theme folder (e.g., change `your-theme-name`
         to `your-theme-name-deactivated`).
       * WordPress will automatically switch to a default theme (e.g., Twenty Twenty-
         One). Check if the site works.
 * 3. **Check PHP Version**
 * Ensure your server’s PHP version meets WordPress and plugin requirements (at 
   least PHP 7.4 or higher is recommended). 4. **Check Server Error Logs**
 * Log in to your hosting control panel (e.g., cPanel or Plesk) and review the server
   error logs, which might contain more detailed information to help identify the
   issue. 5. **Check for Recovery Emails**
    - If you’ve previously received WordPress recovery mode emails but didn’t this
      time, verify that your email server is functioning correctly and check your
      spam folder.
    - If your server isn’t set up to send emails properly, consider installing an
      SMTP plugin (e.g., WP Mail SMTP) to ensure emails are sent correctly.
 * 6. **Contact Your Hosting Provider**
 * If the problem persists and you’re unable to resolve it, your hosting provider
   might be able to provide error logs or assist with troubleshooting.
 * If you can share more detailed error information (e.g., from the debug.log file),
   I can help analyze the issue further.
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18169943)
 * [@poku1010](https://wordpress.org/support/users/poku1010/) I’m fairly new to 
   wordpress. I managed to get the debug file but the information is unclear to 
   me:
 * [29-Nov-2024 19:04:20 UTC] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined
   function WpOrg\Requests\gzinflate() in /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/
   Requests/src/Requests.php:1085
   Stack trace: 0 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-
   includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(1021): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::compatible_gzinflate(‘\
   x8DO\xBBj\x031\x10\xFC\x97\xA9\x0F)G\x9A\xA0…’) 1 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/
   wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(951): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::compatible_gzinflate(‘\
   x1F\x8B\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x03\x8DO\xBBj\x03…’) 2 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(777): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::decompress(‘\
   x1F\x8B\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x03\x8DO\xBBj\x03…’) 3 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(473): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::parse_response(
   Array, ‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);, Array, Array, Array)
   4 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/class-wp-http.php(410): WpOrg\Requests\
   Requests::request(‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);, Array, 
   Array, ‘POST’, Array) 5 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/class-wp-http.
   php(633): WP_Http->request(‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);,
   Array) 6 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/http.php(196): WP_Http->post(‘
   [http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);, Array) 7 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php(1824): wp_remote_post(‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);,
   Array) 8 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php(29): wp_check_browser_version()
   9 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-admin/index.php(15): wp_dashboard_setup() 10{
   main}
 * thrown in /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php 
   on line 1085
   [29-Nov-2024 19:04:24 UTC] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call
   to undefined function WpOrg\Requests\gzinflate() in /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php:1085Stack trace: 0 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(1021): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::compatible_gzinflate(‘\
   x8DO\xBBj\x031\x10\xFC\x97\xA9\x0F)G\x9A\xA0…’) 1 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/
   wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(951): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::compatible_gzinflate(‘\
   x1F\x8B\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x03\x8DO\xBBj\x03…’) 2 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(777): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::decompress(‘\
   x1F\x8B\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x03\x8DO\xBBj\x03…’) 3 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php(473): WpOrg\Requests\Requests::parse_response(
   Array, ‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);, Array, Array, Array)
   4 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/class-wp-http.php(410): WpOrg\Requests\
   Requests::request(‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);, Array, 
   Array, ‘POST’, Array) 5 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/class-wp-http.
   php(633): WP_Http->request(‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);,
   Array) 6 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/http.php(196): WP_Http->post(‘
   [http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);, Array) 7 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/
   wp/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php(1824): wp_remote_post(‘[http://api.word…&#8217](http://api.word…&#8217);,
   Array) 8 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php(29): wp_check_browser_version()
   9 /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-admin/index.php(15): wp_dashboard_setup() 10{
   main}
 * thrown in /volume3/web/Boerenland24/wp/wp-includes/Requests/src/Requests.php 
   on line 1085
 * Maybe you can make something out of it? It’s a clean new version of wordpress.
   Nothing has been changed or altered yet. Plugins disabled. Themes available are:
 * twentytwentythree / twentytwentyfour / twentytwentyfive
 * twentytwentyfive is the active theme
 * KR, Paul
    -  This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/).
      Reason: added additional information
    -  This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/).
      Reason: added additional information
 *  Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/)
 * (@macmanx)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18169985)
 * > Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.
 * Did you receive that email? It comes with instructions and a magic link to fix
   this quickly.
 * **If you didn’t receive the email**, try [manually resetting your plugins](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/faq-troubleshooting/#how-to-deactivate-all-plugins-when-not-able-to-access-the-administrative-menus)(
   no Dashboard access required). If that resolves the issue, reactivate each one
   individually until you find the cause.
 * If that does not resolve the issue, access your server via [SFTP or FTP](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/upgrade/ftp/),
   or a file manager in your hosting account’s control panel (consult your hosting
   provider’s documentation for specifics on these), navigate to /wp-content/themes/
   and rename the directory of your currently active theme. Hopefully, this will
   force the default theme to activate and rule out a theme-specific issue (theme
   functions can interfere like plugins).
 * And, for when that’s done, it sounds like your hosting provider has disabled 
   PHP’s `mail()` function, which WordPress uses to send you email notifications
   and is also used by contact form plugins and more.
 * This is a common safeguard employed by hosting providers when they suspect that
   another customer on the same server is sending spam emails directly from the 
   server.
 * Another alternative is that PHP’s `mail()` function is still active, but spammer
   activity from the server has already caused any email sent from it to be blocklisted.
   This would result in the emails being sent but never received by any email address
   with basic anti-spam capabilities.
 * You can check this by leaving a comment on your site and checking if you receive
   an email. Another alternative would be to use the [Health Check](https://wordpress.org/plugins/health-check/)
   plugin and send yourself a test email from the plugin’s Tools tab to see if it
   works.
 * If you didn’t receive a test email, you could try using an [SMTP plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/smtp/)
   to configure your WordPress site to use your email’s outgoing mail server instead
   of PHP’s `mail()` function. And, if the chosen SMTP plugin doesn’t work either,
   I recommend reaching out to their support.
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170131)
 * [@macmanx](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/) Thanks for asking. I
   didn’t receive the e-mail. I did do the check on the plugins and themes, but 
   no luck so far. I am now going to see if I can get mail up-and-running. Once 
   tested I will update this post.
 *  Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/)
 * (@macmanx)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170156)
 * Ok, if resetting plugins and your theme didn’t make a difference, try [downloading WordPress](https://wordpress.org/download/)
   again, access your server via [SFTP or FTP](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/upgrade/ftp/),
   or a file manager in your hosting account’s control panel (consult your hosting
   provider’s documentation for specifics on these), and delete then replace your
   copies of everything on the server **except** the wp-config.php file and the /
   wp-content/ directory with fresh copies from the download. This will effectively
   replace all of your core files without damaging your content and settings.
 * If you’d like to manually make a backup of your site first, please follow the
   steps at [https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/wordpress-backups/](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/wordpress-backups/)
 * Some uploaders tend to be unreliable when overwriting files, so don’t forget 
   to delete the original files before replacing them.
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170186)
 * Unfortunately no luck. Problem seems to be in the admin tools. I can see the 
   site, but as soon as I want to use admin functions it generates the error.
 * I can get into [/wp-admin/profile.php](https://boerenland24.nl/wp-admin/profile.php)
   part, but as soon as I want to change something I get the error.
    -  This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/).
      Reason: added additional information
 *  Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/)
 * (@macmanx)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170191)
 * What version of PHP are you running?
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170193)
 * PHP 8.0
 *  Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/)
 * (@macmanx)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170197)
 * Oh, nevermind, I think I know what’s going on.
 * First, make sure you’re running at least PHP 7.4, which is what WordPress 6.7.1
   requires. **Edit:** I see you’re on PHP 8, excellent.
 * Next, contact your hosting provider’s support, and ask them to make sure that
   PHP is compiled with gzinflate on your server: [https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.gzinflate.php](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.gzinflate.php)
    -  This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/).
      Reason: added edited line
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170200)
 * I can get into the users/tools/settings section and there I can change almost
   everything. But all other options of the menu result into the error message.
    -  This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/).
      Reason: rectified a typo
 *  Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/)
 * (@macmanx)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170203)
 * Ok, contact your hosting provider’s support, and ask them to make sure that PHP
   is compiled with gzinflate on your server: [https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.gzinflate.php](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.gzinflate.php)
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170220)
 * I want to host the website on my NAS and I am just starting with wordpress / 
   PHP. No idea how to make sure PHP is compiled with gzinflate.
 *  Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/)
 * (@macmanx)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170228)
 * Oh, in that case, please consult PHP’s documentation or your NAS’s support venue,
   as we can really only effectively support the WordPress end of things.
 * You’ll want to familiarize yourself with [https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/handbook/server-environment/](https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/handbook/server-environment/)
   too.
 * When it comes to PHP, there are usually presets offered by your server that will
   work just fine.
 * Managing your own server comes with a massive amount of responsibility and required
   knowledge. If you’d rather not do that, we have recommended hosting providers
   at [https://wordpress.org/hosting/](https://wordpress.org/hosting/)
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/#post-18170239)
 * I used phpinfo.php to get info on my system, but no reference to zlib and/or 
   gzinflate. Ran another test which returned: “gzinflate is not enabled.”
 *  Thread Starter [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * (@paulgr30)
 * [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/page/2/#post-18170242)
 * [@macmanx](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/) thanks for your support
   so far. Much appreciated. Let’s see how far I get 😉
 * Got ZLIB on my server and it seems to work fine now!
    -  This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/).
      Reason: added additional information

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

The topic ‘Critical error / dashboard doesn’t show’ is closed to new replies.

 * In: [Installing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/installation/)
 * 16 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [paulgr30](https://wordpress.org/support/users/paulgr30/)
 * Last activity: [1 year, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/critical-error-dashboard-doesnt-show/page/2/#post-18170242)
 * Status: resolved

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