Troubleshooting `File doesn't exist` errors

The Early Warning Audit scans your websites regularly for potential security weaknesses and signs of intrusion. If critical files are missing, the following warning will be added to the site maintenance logs, sent via email, and displayed in the sites dashboard:

/path/to/file/filename.extension The file doesn't exist.

This document will help you resolve this warning.

Cause 1 - missing file (more common)

The most common cause of this warning is that the specific file is actually missing from the filesystem at your webhost. To resolve the issue:

• Core files
  • Obtain a copy of the missing file from a recent backup and use SFTP to upload it to your website. A fresh copy of the file may also be obtained by downloading your CMS installer and extracting the files locally.
• Theme or template files
  • Obtain a copy of the missing file from a recent backup and use SFTP to upload it to your website. If not available, try re-installing the theme/template.

To confirm that the error is resolved, return to the sites dashboard, open the site drawer and click the refresh data button. The file doesn't exist. warning should not appear. 

Cause 2 - database errors (less common)

On some older versions of Joomla, database errors can cause file doesn't exist warnings. These errors may result from an incomplete/manual template removal and possibly during migration between Joomla versions.

To resolve the warning:

1. Create a backup of your site and then query the database as shown below according to your Joomla version and using phpMyAdmin or similar.
   • Joomla 2.5 and 3
   • SELECT DISTINCT template, client_id FROM #__template_styles. Be sure to replace #_ with your actual database prefix, for example: SELECT DISTINCT template, client_id FROM jos_template_styles
   • Joomla 1.5
   • SELECT DISTINCT template, client_id FROM #__templates_menu. Be sure to replace #_ with your actual database prefix, for example: SELECT DISTINCT template, client_id FROM jos_templates_menu
2. In the query results, you should find one record that is empty/lacks a name. Delete this empty record and confirm that your site is working as expected.

To confirm that the error is resolved, return to the sites dashboard, open the site drawer and click the refresh data button. The file doesn't exist. warning should not appear.