Da1

What you just described was upgrading using the full 7.1.2 release...which is an upgrade method given by WHMCS. To quote WHMCS regarding the full release: "It can be used to perform a new install or update an existing installation (regardless of previous version)". The important point being that this seems to be the only remedy found so far when the Automatic Updater craps out your current install. Oh well. Live and learn as they say...and I've learned how I will update in the future

I can empathize with you. I have a LONG list of edits I have made...plus my own template...my own order form...plus I use a third-party module...and several scripts I wrote that interact with WHMCS and the db... Reinstalling from scratch means reinstalling "all of the above" so it all definitely adds up to a BIG pain in the neck.

You clearly have more experience with WHMCS than I do (I extend my sympathy!). What you said earlier about expecting updates to be buggy resonated with me. Forewarned is forearmed so I really appreciate your insight

@brian!, quoting is getting too long so I won't do it here I basically agree with everything you said but I suspect the problem is PRIMARILY in the Automatic Updater (and most likely in the way composer is being used). Here's why: 1. Using the Automatic Update has obviously killed quite a few installs of WHMCS. 2. I fixed my problem by deleting 7.1.1 doing a Full Release install of 7.1.2 which caused me no problems whatsoever. 3. I haven't seen any threads from anyone else complaining about either the Incremental Patch or the Full Release being broken and/or breaking their site. 4. Every error log posted has referenced composer and somebody in the thread that seems to know more about composer than me seemed sure there was a problem there. But the only thing I definitely disagree with you about is my getting used to the poor communication: I ain't agonna do it, LOL! Seriously, IMHO, the very least WHMCS should be doing by now is warning people that the Automatic Updater is killing some sites and reminding them they can still use the other methods to update...and probably should use one of the other methods unless they know how to rollback to a working WHMCS or manually install it again really quickly.

If the automatic update does anything other than just install the incremental update, then WHMCS is providing two different (i.e. unequal) updates. If that's the case, they should tell us which update is the better of the two (at least under which circumstances, etc.) If the problem isn't in the update but in the update method, why let people keep using a method they (should by now) know is buggy? The biggest problem in my mind is no longer the bug...it's the deafening silence coming from WHMCS.

The common thread seems to be composer. These "automatic updates" have taken me a loooong time. Not a single one has gone smoothly...and this in spite of the fact my "System Health" is perfect according to the pretty new GUI. Maybe "System Health" needs to check for "Automatic Update Health". I finally just checked the db structure of 7.1.1 and 7.1.2. Since they appeared identical I mysqldump'ed my db, emptied my install dir and did a fresh install with 7.1.2. I then imported my db and all seems well. A LOT of trouble for an "automatic update", eh?

You said it. Just curious about something: did you also have to change the ownership of any directories to get to this failure? I'm installed in /var/www/html and had to change the ownership of html from root to apache to get past another error regarding file_put_contents...which seems strange because root has always owned the dir WHMCS was installed in. Why this update would complain about dir ownership when none of several previous updates have is also, as you said, frustrating

Update dies with this error message: Script WHMCS\Installer\Composer\Hooks\ComposerInstallerHook::postUpdateCmd handling the post-update-cmd event terminated with an exception [ErrorException] chmod(): Operation not permitted update [--prefer-source] [--prefer-dist] [--dry-run] [--dev] [--no-dev] [--lock] [--no-plugins] [--no-custom-installers] [--no-autoloader] [--no-scripts] [--no-progress] [--with-dependencies] [-v|vv|vvv|--verbose] [-o|--optimize-autoloader] [-a|--classmap-authoritative] [--ignore-platform-reqs] [--prefer-stable] [--prefer-lowest] [-i|--interactive] [--root-reqs] [--] []... and WHMCS is dead. I have to restore the installation dir from a backup after this. The main problem seems to be something with chmod but I can't figure out what. Anybody got any ideas?

Looks like you and me are the only 2 people with this problem. I just go into the db and set/reset the group as needed. I just have to remember to check to see if the GUI has changed that setting *EVERY* time I look at or edit a product. It's aggravating but it is what it is

I have now completely re-installed WHMCS. The only thing that stayed the same is my db and configuration.php. I am still seeing the exact same problem. Am I the only person seeing this?

Update: This looks to me like a JavaScript error: 1. After noticing the correct Server Group appears when the Module tab is first selected, I examined the HTML. The correct server group *is* "selected" in the HTML. 2. As the rest of page loads, the correct Server Group changes from the correct Server Group to "None". I tried disabling JavaScript but that just rendered the entire GUI unusable. Is there any JavaScript used that resides outside the admin folder?

Re-uploading the admin folder made no difference. FYI, I used WinMerge looking for differences in my admin folder and the latest admin folder in a new download of WHMCS. Both the "admin/templates/blend" and "admin/templates/v4" folder had (apparently) leftover files named "head.js" and "style.css" but removing them made no difference. Also, I use a renamed admin folder so I can switch between them by simply renaming the 2 folders. But they both act the same and I'm fairly certain they are the same (I've never seen WinMerge miss anything before). Diff says the folders are identical too.

I am using 7.1.0 General Release (7.1.0-release.1) and "System Health" says all is good (0 warning & 0 needing attention). All "Server Groups" appear in the select dropdown menu. I simply can't select any of them. This is true no matter which "Module Name" I select. I also created a Server Group just to see if I could then select it (I couldn't -- it appears -- just can't select it). Also, all other select dropdown menus work. I have tested this in FF, Chrome, Edge, IE 11 & Opera. It's the same in all browsers. Since it seems I may be the only person seeing this, is it possible to find out which file(s) might be causing this so I don't have to do a complete re-installation?

Update: FYI, the product got busted because the GUI is busted. When I tried to update the new fields it updated the Server Group too and I didn't notice until orders started to fail. I was able to fix the Auto Release product by simply updating Server Group in tblproducts manually.

I have an Auto Release product that has been working for months. It suddenly "died". At: Setup -> Products/Services -> Edit -> Module Settings The Server Group previously selected has been replaced by "None" and I am unable to make any selection at all (all Server groups appear in the dropdown but I can't select any of them). This obviously kills automatic setup of the product. I tried creating a brand new Server Group and while it does appear in the dropdown, I can't select it either. I'm almost certain this tab was changed in the last update (there's a couple of settings there I don't recall) and something definitely appears busted. Any suggestions?