Can't CHMOD - Window Hosting

Linux vs. Windows hosting is commonly misunderstood, just because you have a Windows PC doesn't mean that you need Windows hosting. eFiction needs PHP and MySQL which is what Linux supports. Windows hosting is generally for ASP pages, meaning Active Server Pages.

As a side note, I currently am studying Italian, so I should be able to understand some if you cannot get your message across in English, I can certainly try to interpret it in Italian. I'm assuming that this is the hosting package that you have. It currently does support PHP and MySQL, I think you should be able to CHMOD through your File Manager that they offer. Sometimes it might be listed as Permissions or Properties.

I personally would recommend Linux, you don't need to know anything about Linux necessarily in order for you to be hosted on Linux. However, it seems like you should be able to CHMOD and run eFiction properly. I've been taking a look at the support that your host offers, I would suggest taking a look at the KnowledgeBase, these sections should be helpful:
http://assistenza.aruba.it/kb/idx/40/0/00001Pubblicazione.html
http://assistenza.aruba.it/kb/idx/39/0/00002Hosting-Linux.html

Hi Becca,
Thank you for taking the time to help me!
I do indeed have that package, although I recently bought a Third Layer (Terzo Livello in italian, I don't know the specific name in english) and I'm trying to install efiction on it.
I checked those link you posted, but the problem is what it says here:
http://assistenza.aruba.it/kb/idx/0/106/article/Variazione-permessi-delle-cartelle-tramite-CHMOD-o-script.html
Since it says you can't CHMOD your files in their Windows Hosting and the only mention of "Permissions" in my control panel is related to FrontPage and consist in only pressing a useless button (I already tried it, although I didn't know what it was supposed to do, and nothing happened), I tried to use the special Folder that are placed in my domain. They're listed here:
http://assistenza.aruba.it/kb/idx/42/117/00002Linguaggi_e_Spazio_Web/article/Cartelle_presenti_nello_spazio_e_permessi.html
The problem is, or at least I think so, that there isn't one that allows to read, write and execute something at the same time. So I should place the instal.php and the config.php file in two different folder, but even thought I tried to change the link to config.php in the install.php file, it doesn't work (I didn't really expect it to... but it was worth a try lol).
There's any way to manually modify the config.php file to make it work? I really don't know how to fix the Table Prefix thing, it's the first time I use a MySQL database. Ah, and it also shows an error with the password I set for efiction I believe. Do you want me to copy it here?
I intend to store my stories on my site, so I should be able to create a folder in one of those special ones, but will I need to CHMOD something else to make it work? You see, changing my domain to be Linux Hosted cost 20 euros, and I'd like not to be robbed by my host more than I've already been XD
Thanks for your help! If I wrote something you didn't understand for my bad english, let me know and I'll try again, or I'll wrote it in italian! I couldn't believe my luck when you said you're studying it! It should really make things easier!

Hehe, I too am studying Italian. Mainly because it's so close to Spanish, which I already know, so it's pretty easy to pick up. (This means that I understand it okay but can't hardly speak it all.)

This is pretty telling and generally sucky: La visualizzazione delle proprietà ed attributi di files e cartelle usando un client FTP su hosting Windows non è indicativo dei reali permessi posseduti da files e cartelle.

I've never worked with Windows hosting, so I'm not really 100% understanding all this, but which folder are you putting everything in? Public? In other words, where is the root of the domain?  In linux hosting you'll see a file system like in that one link, but on that level there's a folder usually named public_html, which is the root for the domain. That is to say there's actually a level higher than the root of the domain. I hope this is making sense.

I'm not sure what different folders you're trying to put install.php and config.php into. Could you clarify this? I'm wondering because the install instructions say to CHMOD config.php to 666, which has no execute, so putting it in Public should be fine. (I'm unsure what install.php is meant to be at.)

If files/folders truly can't be CHMODed to execute, that wouldn't be too good since a lot of stuff is 755. (It seems pretty crazy, but maybe that's just how it is.)

Hi Lyndsie!
In Windows Hosting the files usually go in the main root, in which there are different special folders. I tried different folders, putting efiction in all of them, putting some file there and some in other, but it doesn't work. The problem is that while Public allows you to write and read the files, it doesn't let install.php execute (or at least I assume so, cause I only get a blank page when I go to the url). I tried to put only config.php in the public folder, but the links in the script of install.php are designed to work with a config file that is in the same folder as it! So I'm pretty much stuck...
I really hope there's a way arround the impossibility to CHMOD files and folder! It really does seem pretty crazy!

PS: if you are looking for someone with whom  pratice your Italian, you've found them! Trust me, I've got plenty of question about efiction lol

Okay, so if you save the files all in the same place (for instance, the root), but the install folder in another, you would definitely run into problems, even if it could execute. There are loads of references to other files, such as:

define("SITEKEY", $sitekey);
if(file_exists("../languages/".$language.".php")) include ("../languages/".$language.".php");
else include ("../languages/en.php");
if(file_exists("../languages/".$language."_admin.php")) include("../languages/".$language."_admin.php");
else include ("../languages/en_admin.php");
if(file_exists("languages/".$language.".php")) include("languages/".$language.".php");
else include ("languages/en.php");
}
include(_BASEDIR."includes/corefunctions.php");

Which is, I think, why you were having trouble with the sitekey.

Okay, so say you have everything in the root, and then you the install folder in one of the special folders.  What you need to do is actually modify every reference in the entire install.php like the above, because you need to go up one more level. Essentially, you would need to to change this:

if(file_exists("../languages/".$language.".php")) include ("../languages/".$language.".php");

to this:

if(file_exists("../../languages/".$language.".php")) include ("../../languages/".$language.".php");

But for every single place where a file path is defined. The '..' means 'go up one level' and you've got to have it go up one more level than usual.

What might work the best is if you open the install.php file in a text editor and just search '.php', which will find any filename containing the .php ending.

This might get it installed, but I'm not certain you'd get the functionality to work afterwards.  I'm not clear on what files might need execute permissions.  I think most of my files are at 644 and the folders at 755, but how much that's affected by server defaults I don't know.

As a follow-up, are you still having problems TiredEyes?