Title: PHP error (enclosed) causing install.php blank screen Last modified: August 19, 2016 --- # PHP error (enclosed) causing install.php blank screen * Resolved [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/) * Hi, * I have just attempted to install WordPress on my server, but when I try to run istall.php, all I get is a blank screen. I looked at my PHP error logs, and each time I loaded install.php, it logged the following error: * [14-Jul-2008 10:05:10] PHP Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_ENCAPSED_AND_WHITESPACE, expecting T_STRING or T_VARIABLE or T_NUM_STRING in [URL removed for security reasons]/wp-admin/includes/media.php on line 154 * Hence, it would seem there is some kind of problem with media.php, although I have absolutely no idea what (I assume somebody who knows more about PHP than I do will be able to interpret the above error message). * Regards, Lee Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 16 total) 1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/page/2/?output_format=md) [→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/page/2/?output_format=md) * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808208) * Surely somebody must know what’s going on here? I’ve given very specific and detailed information as to what the error is – all I need to know is what’s causing it, so I can fix it! * I need to get this blog up and running soon, so if I can’t get a solution to this issue I will have no choice other than to use different software. * [whooami](https://wordpress.org/support/users/whooami/) * (@whooami) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808209) * the first clue is that there isnt a line 154 in wp-admin/media.php * that entire file is ONLY some 112 lines. * delete the file on your server and reupload the file with a fresh one out of the zip, making sure that you uploading in ascii mode. * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808211) * I already tried that, but it didn’t work. * Besides, what you say is incorrect anyway: this file actually has 518 lines! * [whooami](https://wordpress.org/support/users/whooami/) * (@whooami) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808212) * oh, oops. my bad, sorry — i looked at the one inside wp-admin, not the includes directory. * lemme take a look at that file. * [whooami](https://wordpress.org/support/users/whooami/) * (@whooami) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808213) * hmm, not a clue, sorry. * try uploading all the files again, particularly the ones inside wp-admin/ * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808216) * Did that too – still no dice. * [whooami](https://wordpress.org/support/users/whooami/) * (@whooami) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808217) * are you trying to install 2.5.1? * this is, if you looked around, an error that no-one has ever seen before. So its something that you have introduced via an edit, ie .. maybe your wp-config. php, or the files just arent right. (my diagnosis) * I suggest looking into install4free (if this isnt a business related site) or having someone else attempt an install for you, that includes uploading all fresh files. * If you like, Im willing to to do it.. (and yes, I know that you can say “ive already done that, so on so forth” — its just a suggestion) * drop me a note via the contact page that is linked at the bottom of my own blog( click on my name here to get there) * Either way, good luck. * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808218) * Yes, I am trying to install 2.5.1. * The “blank sreen of death” is an error a lot of people have seen before – I’m just the first person who has been able to pull the error that’s causing it out of PHP’s error logs (it seems everyone else who has experienced this problem doesn’t know how to set up PHP error logging). * I will consider your offer, but I’m a little uncomfortable with allowing somebody else to do this for obvious security reasons. I’m not saying I don’t trust you of course, but as an experienced webmaster I’m pretty paranoid about security. And I do know my way around this kind of thing. * [whooami](https://wordpress.org/support/users/whooami/) * (@whooami) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808219) * > The “blank sreen of death” is an error a lot of people have seen before * Of course it is, but assuming that the underlying cause of their problem(s) is what you are seeing is a bit of a leap. I can find 200 threads where thats been resolved successfully, and its not been something that pointed back to what you are seeing. * > I do know my way around this kind of thing * welp, good luck. * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808220) * The fact that so many people have had this problem and still nobody knows exactly what’s causing it is pretty scary. * The PHP error I’ve logged may be the root cause of the problem, or it may be a symptom of the problem (which would explain why other people have found different solutions). Whatever the case, it is the most substantive piece of information I’ve been able to find on the issue so far, so it should be a good starting point for finding a solution to this obviously very serious issue. * [whooami](https://wordpress.org/support/users/whooami/) * (@whooami) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808221) * > The fact that so many people have had this problem and still nobody knows exactly > what’s causing it is pretty scary. * I really dont want to debate this with anyone. The fact is that it is simply impossible to nail down one, two, three, maybe as many as 10 causes to a blank screen issue. * Why? * Because there are too many differences in hosts, PHP configurations, Apache configs, MySQL configs, etc.. * That one person gets a blank screen doesn’t necessarily mean that their solution is going to help someone else, that its even symptomatic, so on so forth. * And Im sorry, I reserve the word “scary” for much larger things than not being able to install wordpress. Thats really an overstatement. * I applaud your diligence, and wish you the best in figuring this out, but I can assure you that in three years on this forum, Ive seen hundreds of different things stand in the way of installs, and you are not “the first” or even one of the few that knows how to set up error logging in order to troubleshoot it. A good deal of hosts already have error logging turned on, and its been just a matter of telling someone to look at whats already there. * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808223) * If you do know of other people who have logged PHP errors in relation to this issue, please point me to them, as it will help me to figure out exactly what is going on! * And the “blank screen of death” isn’t just an install issue – people are getting locked out of their admin screens, which is obviously an extremely serious problem. The thing they all seem to have in common is that they’ve upgraded to 2.5.1 ( after installing successfully with an earlier version), so I stroingly suspect this is a bug that has crept in to 2.5.1 (perhaps, as my PHP error indicates, a syntax error in /includes/media.php). * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808227) * Just tried installing 2.6. I’m getting exactly the same error, but now it’s on a different line (197): * PHP Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_ENCAPSED_AND_WHITESPACE, expecting T_STRING or T_VARIABLE or T_NUM_STRING in [URL removed for security reasons]/ wp-admin/includes/media.php on line 197 * The consistency and repeatability of this error points to a very specific issue, which really ought to be solvable. * Thread Starter [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * (@ljmac) * [17 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808352) * I believe I have the solution to this issue. Unlike other php aps I’ve used, WordPress 2.5.x upwards seems to require UNIX carriage returns. Hence, if you edit a file on your PC or your Mac, it will have a Mac or PC style carriage return in the file, and this will completely break it. * The only way I’ve found to solve this issue is to use a text editor (like TexEdit Plus on the Mac) which allows you to convert all the carriage returns back to UNIX carriage returns when you’ve finished editing. * Note that when I first encountered this issue, I could not install WordPress 2.5.x upwards at all. However, since I figured this out, I’ve been able to run my blog for 2 months now without a single blank screen. * [jdbnd](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jdbnd/) * (@jdbnd) * [17 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/#post-808353) * The carriage return thing fixed my blank screen issue with install.php. * My web host runs Debian, so I just unzipped and FTP’d all the files to the web server first, BEFORE editing the config file. * Such a simple little thing…… * Thanks! * Joe Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 16 total) 1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/page/2/?output_format=md) [→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/page/2/?output_format=md) The topic ‘PHP error (enclosed) causing install.php blank screen’ is closed to new replies. * In: [Installing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/installation/) * 16 replies * 3 participants * Last reply from: [ljmac](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ljmac/) * Last activity: [17 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-enclosed-causing-installphp-blank-screen/page/2/#post-808354) * Status: resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics