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"Error 500 Internal Server Error" Is A Corrupt Template

We've seen a few reports, recently, in AdSense Help Forum: Blogger / Host Partners - and in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, that refer to a mysterious error condition.
Error 500 "Internal Server Error".

Blogger Support has been diagnosing this problem, for a while, using a series of bX codes - and the codes thrown by this condition seem to change, from day to day.

The last time Blogger Support provided any description of the problem - or guidance how to solve the problem, they made general mention of "corrupt templates".

If you are unable to access the dashboard of your blog, and you see the mysterious "Error 500" - or if your readers report mysterious bX codes, when trying to load your blog - this may be part of your problem.

Changing the template is the most immediate way to resolve the problem at hand.

If you report in the forum, providing the URL of the blog, and we diagnose a corrupt template - the quickest way to get your blog back, online and maintainable, is to change the template.

Since the dashboard cannot be accessed, the best solution is to access the Template page directly, and bypass the menu.
  1. Logout, then login as the owner of the blog.
  2. Find the BlogID of the blog.
  3. Build the Template page access URL.
  4. Load the Template page, using the Template page access URL.
  5. Choose a new template - and get the blog online.

Logout, then login as the owner of the blog.

If you were using Draft Blogger, return to Live Blogger.

Next, logout from Blogger / Google, then clear cache, cookies and sessions, and restart the browser. Finally, log in to Blogger, using your administrator account.

Find the BlogID of the blog.

This is the simplest step, in the process.

If you are logged in to Blogger, as a blog administrator, in some cases, the "Design" link in the navbar will link directly to the Template page. If it does, continue with Step 5.


If you're lucky, you can just click on "Design" - and you will be at the Template page.



If your blog does not support "Design", the "New Post" link in the navbar will contain the BlogID.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=24069595#editor

That's from this blog.

blogID=24069595

or

24069595

Build the Template page access URL.

The Template page, for this blog, is accessed as

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=24069595#template

Substitute the BlogID for your blog, for "24069595".

Load the Template page, using the Template page access URL.

Click on the link (containing your BlogID).

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=24069595#template

Choose a new template - and get the blog online.

This part you're probably done, a couple times. Choose a template, from the selections on the Template page. I suggest that you start first with "Simple", just to get the blog online - and work forward, later.


Pick a new template. I suggest that you start with "Simple", just to get the blog online.

You can always pick another template, later.



After you pick a new blog template, reset the post template, then logout from Blogger / Google.

Finally, clear cache, cookies and sessions, and restart the browser. Then log in to Blogger again, and begin anew.

The bottom line.

Hopefully, you have a backup copy of the template, taken recently. You can use that in a separate test blog, and copy key recent tweaks. Or not. That's your choice. But the important task - getting the blog back online - is behind you.

And maybe for the next series of template tweaks, you might want to test more carefully, maybe using a test blog?


(Update 2016/02): It appears that Blogger Engineers are now diagnosing this problem, using a series of bX codes.

Comments

Ron Ernie said…
I followed all the links you gave for fixing the bx errors and both of them only led me to the same problem. No access. I cannot get to dl the template or even upload a new one.
If i created a new blog how will I be able to use my current url www.rondoids.com?
I can do a post from the dashboard but that is all, I cannot see it live and no one else can get to the posts.
I have backups of the blog and template but the template cannot be sent back, it will not allow it with the error.
What I really need is to not loose my url because it is known and I need to keep it.
Thanks for any help.

Ron
Nitecruzr said…
Hi Ron,

Thanks for asking the question.

If you can't access any dashboard pages at all, you'll have to wait for Blogger Engineering to identify and repair the corruption problems, in general.

You can only use a solution that works, and requires the use of an accessible blog dashboard page. I provided the set of 3 links, containing the BlogID, to see if any of the dashboard pages are accessible.

If you can access Settings - Basic, you can swap blog URL with a newly created blog - and continue publishing to that address. If you can't access Settings - Basic, you're out of luck.

1. Publish the blog back to BlogSpot.
2. Create a new blog - with a clean, working, Blogger supplied template.
3. Swap BlogSpot URLs between the old and new blogs.
4. Export comments and posts from the broken blog, and Import to the new blog.
5. Transfer / update Followers.
6. Rebuild the template, and add gadgets.
7. Provide notice to your Followers, readers, subscribers, and other viewers.
8. Publish the "new" blog, with the "old" BlogSpot URL, to the domain URL.

If you can't access the dashboard pages to do the above, you're out of luck. You have to wait for Blogger to fix the problem with your blog.
Ron Ernie said…
Chuck,
How can I publish back to blogspot? I had a new blog set up and got the urls all messed up so It would not redirect. I deleted the new blog. I (as stated) can go to rondoids.com settings basic area but I just do not understand what you mean by and how to swap urls.

at rondoids.com which i bought from google domains it says

blog address www.rondoids.com (domain bought from google domains)

next it says

seeallaboutmichael.blogspot.com redirects

that was the blog address replaced with rondoids.com

I just do not know how to do this to get rondoids.com to go to any new blog I create.

I hope you can explain this to me.

If I start a new blog with an address of ronsblog.blogspot.com how will I make rondoids.com redirect to it.

The blog I created and had to delete would not allow me to swap out it kept telling me the blog was owned or something.

Thanks for any help, it is appreciated.

Ron

Nitecruzr said…
Hi Ron,

Thanks for the questions. I'll address one answer, at a time.

You publish back to BlogSpot, using the dashboard Settings - Basic page, and clicking on the mysterious "X".

For the additional details, we'll return to your open forum topic.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2015/07/blogger-magic-republishing-custom.html

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