phpMyAdmin mbstring error

Question

Whenever I try to enter my phpMyAdmin, it gives me this error:

The mbstring extension is missing. Please check your PHP configuration.

I've looked all over the Internet for a fix, but all I've found is errors similar to mine, but not the same, or the exact same but there was no fix given.

I am also using Windows.

possible duplicate of [Missing mbstring PHP extension when installing phpMyAdmin on Mac](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4787403/missing-mbstring-php-extension-when-installing-phpmyadmin-on-mac) — karthikr, Sep 03 '13 at 18:48
Really? No. The solution given on the Mac question was to install it with a Mac command, sudo port install php5-mbstring. I can't do that on windows. — user1930852, Sep 03 '13 at 18:51
Are you running windows? How did you install PHP? There are some bundles, like Wamp server that allows you to toggle which extensions will be enabled and available for your apps. — Leprosy, Sep 03 '13 at 18:52
I use Abyss webserver to run my website, i used PHP5 from that website i just sent. — user1930852, Sep 03 '13 at 18:54
I have PHP5, MySQL and PhpMyAdmin. That's it. Is there a way to fix the error? — user1930852, Sep 03 '13 at 18:58
You are using a very old server software that should get updated. Which version of PHP are you using? If the version is below 5.3, you are asking for trouble. — Sven, Sep 03 '13 at 19:00
Ubuntu php7 apt users `apt-get install php7.0-mbstring`. Don't forget to restart Apache. `systemctl restart apache2`. `php-mbstring` also works — Peter Chaula, May 29 '17 at 09:35

score 30 · Answer 1 · edited Dec 12 '13 at 19:11

30

In Centos I have installed a php extension. I did this with:

yum install php-mbstring

edited Dec 12 '13 at 19:11

veelen

1,916
19
26

answered Dec 12 '13 at 18:45

Arjang

731
1
10
19

3

sudo service httpd restart – Uahmed Sep 28 '15 at 14:50
9

under Ubuntu server the command would be `sudo apt-get install php-mbstring` – baywet May 26 '16 at 04:25
Note: php-mbstring contains php-common depedency, so there may be an error thrown if if you php-common and you try to install php-mbstring. Happened to me at least. – fungusanthrax Mar 05 '17 at 07:45

Gautam Arya · Answer 2 · 2014-01-06T06:23:31.363

26

Before sometime I also had the same problem. I have tried replacing the .dll file but no result. After some debugging I found the solution.

I had this in my php.ini file:

extension_dir = "ext"

And I'm getting mbstring extension missing error. So I tried putting the full path for the extension directory and it works for me. like:

extension_dir = "C:\php\ext"

Hope this will help.

Cheers,

edited Jan 06 '14 at 06:23

answered Sep 17 '13 at 11:47

Gautam Arya

723
14
40

1

Thank you for your answer. This was the only way it worked for me too – sabah Oct 16 '13 at 13:10
Setting absolute path to PHP extension directory will always work, but to be a little more portable this also worked for me: `..\php\ext` - in XAMPP 5.6 – jave.web Sep 21 '15 at 18:22

score 15 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 03 '13 at 18:56

15

check your php.ini file in the root directory of your php installation. In the extensions part of the configuration you should find:

;extension=php_mbstring.dll

remove the leading ';' to uncomment and enable the extension so it looks like this:

extension=php_mbstring.dll

restart your apache and it should work.

Edit: I just read that you are already using a webhost. Does your webhost have a interface where you can set php variables etc? Or a .ini file you can edit?

If not you may are forced to talk to the webhost and ask them to enable that particular extension.

answered Sep 03 '13 at 18:56

cptnk

2,430
18
29

I could be mistaken but I am pretty sure you have to restart the apache. Do you have a possibility to access the server via ssh? If so you have to restart it "# /etc/init.d/apache2 restart". – cptnk Sep 03 '13 at 19:03
Oh i just found out why it's not working. There's no mbstring.dll in my folder. Do i need to download it? I can't find anywhere to get it. – user1930852 Sep 03 '13 at 19:05
It should be located within the \ext\ directory. And yes you'll need to get that. Usually you'll need to compile php or download it compiled already. I doubt just adding the dll would solve the problem but one can try. http://www.file-upload.net/download-8040628/php_mbstring.dll.html I hope I am not breaking any copyright here if so pls inform me and I remove this download link. If adding the dll does not help you definetly should use http://windows.php.net/download/ to download your php. – cptnk Sep 03 '13 at 19:09
I've got the file, sorry for the late answer, i got school and homework. I got the file, but i still get the error. There must be something wrong, but i can't figure out what.. – user1930852 Sep 04 '13 at 14:20

score 10 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 28 '16 at 01:14

10

My case was like this

Strangely, I noticed that the php.ini file that WAMP was using wasn't the one in the php directory, but rather was referencing a php.ini file in the bin directory... I copied my php.ini file to wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin directory, restarted the wamp services and PHPMyadmin was off and running...

Thanks I solved the problem

answered Mar 28 '16 at 01:14

user2651478

101
1
2

I've been fighting with this for a couple of days now and this resolved it. Thanks so much! – Dylan Caudill May 28 '16 at 20:38
This solution resolves my problem too. thank you! I am using wamp 3.0.0. – Sujeet malvi Jul 28 '16 at 07:20

score 10 · Answer 5 · answered May 02 '16 at 11:54

10

In Ubuntu Server I have installed a php extension. I did this with:

sudo apt-get install php-mbstring

answered May 02 '16 at 11:54

Imnotapotato

5,308
13
80
147

1

I had php5. Updated php5 to php7 after that, this error displayed. I ran this command and problem gone. ubuntu 14.04 – Ali Aug 06 '16 at 16:43
As @Ali suggests, this is needed after upgrading to PHP 7 since mbstring extension for PHP 7 is in a different package (such as "php7.1-mbstring" for PHP 7.1). – MÇT May 13 '17 at 09:53

score 9 · Answer 6 · answered May 16 '16 at 08:14

9

Another reason for this problem is Php version. When I changed the running PHP version to 7.0.0, problem has gone.

answered May 16 '16 at 08:14

Fatih Çelik

401
7
16

Excellent! Thank you Fatih. – Steve Jun 07 '16 at 06:56
Worked like a charm, thanks! I should mention that I also changed the path to the ext folder to: extension_dir = "C:/wamp64/bin/php/php7.0.0/ext/" Just make sure this corresponds to the path in your WAMP installation. – Liran H Jun 26 '16 at 20:34
I'll add too that when I changed the PHP version back to the version where the ini was broken, it was now fixed. Weird. – Nick Pickering Jul 31 '16 at 02:14
Path for the extension was right. Still I got the error. Then, I have changed the version and the problem is gone! Thanks @Fatih Çelik – user1896653 Sep 05 '16 at 05:37

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Apr 05 '16 at 11:42

4

Ubuntu 15.10

1) sudo nano /etc/php/7.0/apache2/php.ini

uncommited extension=php_mbstring.dll

2) sudo apt-get install php7.0-mbstring

3) restart apache2

answered Apr 05 '16 at 11:42

Vital Rulinski

41
2

score 4 · Answer 8 · answered Jul 06 '17 at 08:42

install mbstring and restart your apache:

sudo apt-get install php-mbstring
sudo service apache restart

then remove ; from your php.ini file:

;extension=php_mbstring.dll

to

extension=php_mbstring.dll

If it still doesn't work..remove your php setup, without removing the databases from your phpmyadmin. Reinstall it.

NB: * if you want to remove all, all mention the one you need to.

sudo apt-get remove php*

Then install the php and modules of the php version that you need. here, php 7.1:

sudo apt-get install php7.1 php7.1-cli php7.1-common libapache2-mod-php7.1 php7.1-mysql php7.1-fpm php7.1-curl php7.1-gd php7.1-bz2 php7.1-mcrypt php7.1-json php7.1-tidy php7.1-mbstring php-redis php-memcached

restart your apache and check the php version.

sudo service apache restart
php -v

when all this is done, execute the following command to enable mbstring forcefully and restart your apache.

sudo phpenmod mbstring
sudo service apache restart

Hope it helps. It did to me :)

Worked for me. had to re-install phpmyadmin too :) – Deval Khandelwal Jul 16 '17 at 03:59 — Deval Khandelwal, Jul 16 '17 at 03:59

score 3 · Answer 9 · answered Dec 19 '15 at 07:31

I've solved my problem by this way: Edit the php.ini file:

change extension_dir = "ext" into extension_dir = "D:\php\ext" （please write ur own full path for the extension directory）
change ;extension=php_mbstring.dll into extension=php_mbstring.dll （delete the ";"）
Then just save your php.ini file and copy it to ur Windows directory。(“C:\Windows“)
restart the apache server。

The above is my solution,Hope it will work for u.

score 3 · Answer 10 · answered Oct 20 '16 at 12:14

Using xampp, this will work (php7 has been extracted to the xampp\php directory):

Make the following changes in the php.ini:

uncommend (remove the ;)

;extension=php_mbstring.dll

uncommend (remove the ;)

;extension=php_mysqli.dll

set the path to the extention Directory

extension_dir = "ext"

to the full path, for example:

extension_dir = "C:\xammp\php\ext"

Additional, change the xampp-settings in the httpd-xampp.conf:

change

LoadFile "C:/xampp/php/php5ts.dll"

to

LoadFile "C:/xampp/php/php7ts.dll"

change

LoadModule php5_module "C:/xampp/php/php5apache2_4.dll"

to

LoadModule php7_module "C:/xampp/php/php7apache2_4.dll"

change all appearance (3 times) of

IfModule php5_module

to

IfModule php7_module

That's it.

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Jun 08 '15 at 18:57

I had this problem in the past with MAMP on a Windows machine.

Open MAMP start page and go to your current configuration of PHP (phpinfo). Check the Configuration File (php.ini) PATH.

Mine was set to C:\Windows, where of course I had no PHP.ini file.

Either change the php.ini path to C:\MAMP\conf\php5.6.8 (or your php version conf path) or just copy php.ini to c:\windows.

score 2 · Answer 12 · answered Nov 22 '15 at 16:40

after installing WAMP 3 with Apache 2.4.17 and php5.6.17 I tried to look at php.ini from wampserver (green icon in tray). It wasn't finding it. I copied php.ini from the php.5.6.15 directory to the apache2.4.17\bin\ directory and phpmyadmin worked fine without missing mbstring

score 2 · Answer 13 · answered Mar 06 '16 at 07:24

Solved it.

I tried all of the solutions above but it still did not work. I'm currently using WAMP to launch the mysql server. When I tried to open the "php.ini" file with the WAMP panel, it said that it did not exist and asked me to create a new "php.ini" in the location, "C:\wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin". Once I created this new "php.ini" file, I located the existing "php.ini" file which was in the path "C:\wamp\bin\php\php5.6.15", and cloned it. I then pasted the clone in the previous path where it had asked me to create the "php.ini" file.

Hope this helped.

score 2 · Answer 14 · answered Apr 09 '16 at 19:00

I just installed WAMP 3 on Windows 10 and had this issue.

I had to go to C:\wamp64\bin\php\php7.0.0\ and copy the php.ini file to C:\wamp64\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin\

Then I restarted WAMP, and was finally able to access my phpMyAdmin file.

Note: this is probably not the correct way to do this because now there are 2 php.ini files. There is probably a setting in an Apache file that points to the php.ini file, but I haven't seen that yet. I will update this if I find it.

score 1 · Answer 15 · answered Feb 19 '16 at 18:08

Strangely, I noticed that the php.ini file that WAMP was using wasn't the one in the php directory, but rather was referencing a php.ini file in the bin directory... I copied my php.ini file to wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin directory, restarted the wamp services and PHPMyadmin was off and running...

score 1 · Answer 16 · edited Apr 12 '16 at 23:52

1

In newer versions of PHP, "extension_dir" is not initially enabled.

edited Apr 12 '16 at 23:52

calvinf

3,754
3
28
41

answered Apr 12 '16 at 21:28

Froschkoenig84

566
4
13

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Nov 12 '13 at 05:32

0

In php's directory try change extension of configuration file (php.ini-development - default value of this file). I changed it to php.ini and phpmyadmin has worked.

answered Nov 12 '13 at 05:32

user2129341

1
1

score 0 · Answer 18 · edited Dec 07 '14 at 15:36

0

The program can't start because php_mbstring.dll is missing from your computer. Try to fix it.

i use appserver to localhost and my server: C:/AppServ/www/dvd2/variables.php

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:33.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/33.0
Apache/2.2.8 (Win32) PHP/5.2.6

edited Dec 07 '14 at 15:36

Bhargav Rao

50,140
28
121
140

answered Dec 07 '14 at 15:02

user4334447

1
1

score 0 · Answer 19 · answered Feb 13 '15 at 13:35

0

To solve this problem on Linux, you need to recompile your PHP with the --enable-mbstring flag.

answered Feb 13 '15 at 13:35

user4563664

1

score 0 · Answer 20 · answered Apr 10 '15 at 17:52

0

You might get this error message if you've just installed the phpmyadmin package but haven't restarted apache yet; try restarting apache.

answered Apr 10 '15 at 17:52

Joey Rich

391
3
7

score 0 · Answer 21 · answered May 08 '15 at 03:45

0

Please uncomment the following lines at php.ini

;extension=php_mbstring.dll ;extension=php_exif.dll ; Must be after mbstring as it depends on it ;extension=php_mysql.dll ;extension=php_mysqli.dll

This will help to solve.

answered May 08 '15 at 03:45

Murugaiyan Shanmugam

1

score 0 · Answer 22 · answered Aug 30 '15 at 19:17

0

The version of phpadmin you have installed is not compatible with the version of apache. Install the compatible version and you should be fine

answered Aug 30 '15 at 19:17

Nitesh

1

check the date of the question, don't know if it's still relevant – TommySM Aug 30 '15 at 19:43

score 0 · Answer 23 · edited Sep 03 '15 at 09:43

I recently updated from PHP 5.4.44 to PHP 5.6.12 on my Windows 8.1 OS and got this phpMyAdmin missing mbstring error message.

After trying the above suggestions, none of which worked for me, I discovered version 5.4.44 placed the DLL extensions in the PHP root directory whereas version 5.6.12 placed them in the PHP\ext subdirectory.
All very fine except unfortunately someone forgot to change the php.ini accordingly. So two possible solutions:

Copy the DLL extensions from the ext sub-directory into the PHP root directory, or
Edit the php.ini file to call all the DLL extensions from the ext sub-directory.

I chose the easier first and phpMyAdmin now works fine.

score 0 · Answer 24 · answered Nov 09 '15 at 17:32

0

Depending on you OS, you might need to install additional packets, e.g. php5-mbstring in SLES Linux.

answered Nov 09 '15 at 17:32

lilalinux

2,903
3
43
53

score 0 · Answer 25 · answered Jan 10 '16 at 04:21

0

I check phpinfo() and look for this line:

Configuration File (php.ini) Path          C:\Windows

And I copy php.ini from C:\xampp\php to the folder and it works for me.

answered Jan 10 '16 at 04:21

ket

945
1
9
15

score 0 · Answer 26 · answered Feb 03 '16 at 10:02

0

I had the same problem, the above solutions are not worked for me.

What I did is uninstalled the wamp and logout the Skype and re-installed wamp.

Then It got worked. I think the port used by wamp and Skype is same.

Hope this input will help.

Cheers :)

answered Feb 03 '16 at 10:02

Muhamed Riyas M

5,055
3
30
31

score 0 · Answer 27 · answered Mar 16 '16 at 10:23

0

my solution : Copy a shortcut from your php.ini from your php-directory to the apache-dir. This way you refere too 1 file on the correct place. This solved (at least in my case) the problem.

answered Mar 16 '16 at 10:23

user6071010

1

score 0 · Answer 28 · answered Apr 17 '16 at 05:38

0

just copy the php.ini file from C:\wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin to C:\wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin and then again restart apache server.. it will work fine.

answered Apr 17 '16 at 05:38

Masum

119
11

score 0 · Answer 29 · answered May 02 '16 at 21:06

My solution:

I had wamp x32 installed before, needed to remove and then installed the x64, receiving the same message "The mbstring extension is missing. Please check your PHP configuration.".

On php.ini, all references to wamp, such as extension_dir = were pointing to "C:/Program Files/Wamp/...". Check all paths, the correct for me is "C:/Wamp64/". Restart services and it's all right now.

score 0 · Answer 30 · answered Nov 27 '20 at 05:41

The installation process adds the phpMyAdmin Apache configuration file into the /etc/apache2/conf-enabled/ directory, where it is read automatically. The only thing you need to do is explicitly enable the mbstring PHP extension, Because sometimes you forgot to enable the mbstring mode so simply type the below command to enabled the mbstring mode...

   sudo phpenmod mbstring

Afterward, restart Apache for your changes to be recognized:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

score -1 · Answer 31 · answered May 29 '16 at 03:03

-1

My Manifestation of this Problem

For me, using WAMP 3.0.0, the problem was that WAMP was looking for php.ini in the following directory on my PC: C:\wamp64\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin

Solution

However, there was no file there for the default version of PHP that was selected (PHP 5.6.16). I changed to PHP 7.0.0 by left clicking the WAMP notification icon, selecting 'PHP', selecting 'Version', and choosing '7.0.0'.

Alternative Solution

In the 'C:\wamp64\bin\php' directory on my PC, there were sub-directories for both PHP 5.6.16 and 7.0.0. Both of these had php.ini files in them. An alternative solution would have been to copy one of these files to the 'C:\wamp64\bin\apache\apache2.4.17\bin' directory on my PC.

answered May 29 '16 at 03:03

Joe Flack

866
8
14

Alternative Solution is not a solution, please do not use that one – RiggsFolly Dec 06 '17 at 18:19
Did something unexpected / wrong happen when attempting that solution? – Joe Flack Dec 08 '17 at 05:25
The `php.ini` symlink rebuild can be dont by clicking the PHP version number. Even clicking the currently selected version will rebuild the symlinks – RiggsFolly Dec 10 '17 at 18:24

phpMyAdmin mbstring error

31 Answers31

My Manifestation of this Problem

Solution

Alternative Solution

Linked

Related