UI/UX Designer from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

How to fix WordPress Automatic Update Error.

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Background:

When WordPress.Org releases a new update to its WordPress standalone CMS (Content Management System), you may have set your website to get your installation updated automatically, or you may like to do it yourself at your preferred time.

But because of server load on the part of your web host, you may get an error something like this with a screwed-up blank website with the following error printed on the screen:

Warning: require(/nfs/domains/your-domain-name.com/html/wp-includes/session.php) [function.require]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /nfs/domains/your-domain-name.com/html/wp-settings.php on line 122

Fatal error: require() [function.require]: Failed opening required '/nfs/domains/your-domain-name.com/html/wp-includes/session.php' (include_path='.:/usr/local/php-5.3.27/share/pear') in /nfs/domains/your-domain-name.com/html/wp-settings.php on line 122

The actual cause of the above errors:

As mentioned, errors are generated because of interrupted WordPress updates, primarily because of heavy load on your web host’s online server. As the update fails, all files mismatch with consistent version numbers, so some old source files remain as it is & only the remaining few get updated with the new version. So, it is a problem of source code version consistency.

How to fix this:

Error 01: [function.require]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in

Error 02: Fatal error: require() [function.require]: Failed opening required & (include_path=’.:/usr/local/php-5.3.27/share/pear’)

There is a solution for the above two errors & here is how to fix them,

Step 01: First & foremost backup your installation & database

Note: Now check on your Server Home/domains/your-domain-name.com/html/wp-content/upgrade & delete any existing files in this folder through FTP

Step 02: Download the WordPress update in a zip file from the wordpress.org download section

Step 03: Unzip that WordPress update zip file on your desktop

Step 04: Now sign in to your server to the root folder of your preferred domain

Step 05: Now delete the old wp-includes and wp-admin directories on your web host (through FTP or shell access).

Step 06: Using FTP or your shell access, upload the new wp-includes and wp-admin directories from the downloaded unpacked archive to your web host instead of the previously deleted directories.

Step 07: (Precaution) Do not delete or replace the wp-content folder on the online server on your web host

Step 08: Now upload all remaining new loose files from the new version’s root directory to your existing WordPress root directory on the online server.

Step 09: Now, after completing the upload, go to your domain’s web address and see if the website has started to work as before.

I hope your website will start to function normally.

I hope it helps.

Thanks & Regards
Mandar Apte

Comments

6 responses to “How to fix WordPress Automatic Update Error.”

December 18, 2014

Cathy Morgan

Thank you so much for this! I spent 9 hours on other fixes and this worked!

Reply
January 26, 2015

Nina

Hi
I followed your explanation above, but now when entering in WP a lot of features are gone. The plugins are mising. And I can’t even uninstall the ones that are not working. So what would be my next step? Do I have to restore from my back-up file? and how do I do that?
I really hope you can help me out. Thank you very much in advance. 🙂

Reply
February 21, 2015

Yemi

Thank you very much. This steps worked for me and I was able to fix my wordpress issue

Reply
July 29, 2015

Derrick

Thank you, it worked like a charm.@Nina,I dont know how your plugins got missing.Here is how I did it.I hate uploading or downloading files through FTP client,so I logged into my server, compressed the wp-admin and wp-includes folders,and re-named the ZIP files.

After downloading the new wordpress ZIP file to my desktop,I compressed the wp-admin and wp-includes folders,then uploaded them on my site.I then uncompressed the ZIP files….and BAM my site came alive with no issues or errors.Wordpress compelled me to upgrade to the newest version,I complied and my website was working with all plugins and Ads intact.I hope this helps.

The problem with FTP clients is that you are more likely to miss files or mix up things during the transfer,and even upload to the wrong folder.It also takes longer.Thats why I hate FTP clients.Its much quicker and error-proof to compress folders and upload directly onto the server, and vice-versa.

Reply
September 18, 2015

Amy

I followed the steps, it really worked for me! Thank you very much! 🙂

Reply
September 26, 2015

digitalretter

hi there,
thank you for your hints! I could’t find the update files, so I replace the damaged files with undamaged files from another WordPress installation.
And it worked fine!

cheers

Reply