No output - Could not copy search script

[gefjo]

I run the indexer without problem, posted the files to my cgi-bin directory, but when I go to the script page (thegef.org/cgi-bin/search.cgi), I get the message "'D:\websites\gefweb\cgi-bin\search.cgi' script produced no output "
Help!

[David]

It means that your server is not set up correctly handle CGI's and you'll need to contact your hosting company.

CGI's in general are tricky to get working, especially as about 30% of hosting companies haven't setup their servers correctly. You might want to consider using the PHP or ASP options to start with, as they are easier to install.

For the CGI however, there is a list of common problems and solutions here,
http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/support/faq_cgi.html

I am guessing you have a Windows based IIS server, in which case the question, "Q. I need help setting up binary CGI support for my Windows IIS server" is relevent to you.

Also when you are talking to your hosting company, don't confuse Perl and CGIs, they are not the same thing. Zoom is a CGI but it is not Perl.

-----
David

[gefjo]

Now problems with indexer

I forwarded your FAQ to our hosting company, who made some changes, but still had no success. So I re-ran the indexer and got some error messages:
Could not copy search script from: C:\Program Files\Zoom Search Engine 4.2\scripts\CGI\Win32_search.cgi
Failed to rename file from zoom_pages.tmp to M:\Maughan\thegef\cgi-bin\zoom_pages.zdat
Error messages without a clue about how to fix the problem don't help me much. I hope you can.

[David]

After Zoom indexes your web site it attempts to copy the resulting set of index files into the output directory you have selected.

I guess you have entered,
M:\Maughan\thegef\cgi-bin\
as your output directory?

So Zoom got an error trying to copy the script (search.cgi) into that directory and renaming a file (zoom_pages.tmp) in that directory.

This is very likely a result of not having the correct permissions set in the directory you have selected.

Maybe they were OK if you didn't have a problem on your first attempt, but your recent changes messed it up.

Another less likely possibility is that the files search.cgi and zoom_pages.zdat are being held open by another process (like a text editor) and so they can not be overwritten.

----
David

[gefjo]

permissions problem

Thanks, David. You are right about the permissions. That directory is a local site for Dreamweaver, and we use check in/check out, so that all files are read only. I am re-running the indexer now and expect it to work o.k.