omeka 1.5 fileinfo module error

Recently installed the Omeka 1.5 version. Problem with continuing the Omeka installation after FTPing to my Hostmonster server.

I get this error:

---
Installation Warning
The following issues will not affect installation, but they may negatively affect the behavior of Omeka:'
"fileinfo" module not loaded
Without the fileinfo module loaded into PHP, the content type and encoding of uploaded files about cannot be read. The installer will disable file upload validation.
---

The PHP5 is already selected/ configured in Hostmonster account. I am at a loss as to what to do. Can anybody help?

Further to the question above, I read more information in the Forums suggesting that it was still safe to install. However the install fails. I cannot get the login panel to the database to show.

So, is this 1.5 version a bust?

The fileinfo module is usually already there with PHP5, but it might be worth checking with Hostmonster to make sure that it is available, and ask if they can install it if not.

I'm more confused about not being able to get to the admin screen. Is there any additional message when you try to go your site, or to the admin pages (yourdomain.net/admin , if it is installed at the root of your domain)

Hi thanks for the speedy reply.
I get to mydomain.net/admin/users/login but the screen is blank

Very strange - was wondering whether it has anything to do with the missing fileinfo module?

I have had Omeka running (never used) on an older version (now deleted) so I have been successful with install before!

The Fileinfo warning shouldn't affect the installation in any way.

Sometimes, when you get a white screen after a failed installation, it means that the Omeka database got partially installed. The best course of action is usually to wipe out the partially installed tables through your database admin tool.

You might want to look for server or PHP logs that would indicate what kind of problem you had during the installation, too.

ok so far I have done two wipes and reinstall on Hostmonster with no joy. Not sure if it is a problem with he current install files or not. The earlier version of Omeka was easy to install. I also notice that Simplescripts has stopped offering Omeka installs as an option. Too many hours wasted here, so unless there is any other option this is going to go on the back burner for another year!

Probably worth a last shot to start with a fresh download of Omeka to see if it is a problem with the files.

Was there any info in the PHP or server logs?

During an CSV based collection build, I errored out. The error said i needed the fileinfo extension. However, I tried installing and I get:

[sklein@lw3b ~]$ sudo yum install "php -fileinfo"
Loaded plugins: rhnplugin, security
http://nodejs.tchol.org/stable/el5Server/i386/repodata/repomd.xml: [Errno 4] IOE rror: <urlopen error (101, 'Network is unreachable')>
Trying other mirror.
Setting up Install Process
No package php -fileinfo available.
Nothing to do

And:
http://pecl.php.net/package/Fileinfo
states:
This package has been superseded

You haven't posted the exact error message you're seeing, so it's a little tough to tell exactly what's going on.

Your distribution probably has a Fileinfo package for PHP, but I don't think you've mentioned which one. I see you're using yum, so I guess you're on a Red Hat, Fedora, or CentOS system, probably. php-pecl-Fileinfo seems to be a common name on those systems.

Switching to PHP 5.3 will also generally get you Fileinfo "for free," since it's built-in starting with that version.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.8 (Tikanga)

PHP Version 5.2.6

It looks like there's a "php53" package for Red Hat Server 5.8 that installs PHP 5.3. You'd probably also need "php53-" versions of all the "php-" packages you currently have.

Again, without the particular error message, it's tough to say what's happening. Fileinfo isn't a hard dependency of Omeka.