File Upload FCGI Error MaxRequestLen

So I was working on getting things up and running with a web host and I encountered a problem with uploading files which generated a generic "500 Internal Server Error" which is about as descript as a white sheet of paper sitting in a field of snow on a glacier.

That said, I looked a little further and found an error in the logs which was as follows:

mod_fcgid: HTTP request length 131952 (so far) exceeds MaxRequestLen (131072)

Well, that's a little better but clearly, this isn't what I was expecting. As my php.ini file indicated a 50M file upload limit as shown below.

upload_max_filesize = 50M

Limit or not, it was being ignored. I did a variety of research and found out that it was most likely due to the mod_fcgid or FCGI module which has a default limit of 131952 just as encountered in my error message.

The easiest way to resolve this is to open your fcgi module configuration file; milage varies as to where this configuration file is and what it could be named.

vim /etc/apache2/mods-enabled/fcgid.conf

Now, add the following line inside your ifModule statement, at the bottom is a great spot.

<IfModule mod_fcgid.c>
... other entries here ...
MaxRequestLen 15728640
</IfModule>

This will give you the ability to upload 15M, you can modify the number as appropriate for your installation.

One additional note is that, depending on your host configuration, you might need to add or modify php.ini settings, such as on a site by site basis.

With any luck this will get you up and running.