I have a new webserver set up, running RedHat 9 and DirectAdmin for a control panel. I've been moving my clients over from my old server over the past week. So far it's gone well with no snags, but then tonight comes the problem.
This particular client runs an online store. I copied all of his files from the old server to the new using SCP. I then took the store offline for a few minutes while I exported the database from the old server, then imported into the new server. Database sets up just fine. Back to the old server, I change all of the DNS settings to the new IP address and it should be good to go. This is the same procedure that I've followed with a dozen other sites, most database driven, a few using the same shopping cart software.
Now it's time to test. I load up the site in a browser and see the normal black background of his index.html file. The index.html has a meta-refresh that sends the user to the directory of the store. When the meta-refresh happens, I get a 404 error on that subdirectory.
So now I'm confused. I've checked on file permissions and ownership, everything is right. If I load the site by going to
www.mysite.com/~client_username/path/to/store/ it loads fine.
www.clientssite.com still gives me a 404 BUT
www.clientssite.com/index.html gives me...the default Apache page!
I don't know what the heck is going on. The procedure for moving the site was the same for this as it was for all of my other clients (who are operating smoothly now). The setup is the same as it is for those other clients. What the heck is going on?