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Tomcat 5.5 Returns 404 Error in Eclipse Despite Using Knowledgebase Fixes

I've been working on a project for the past year with no issues, but all of a sudden the Tomcat 5.5 server that I have set up in Eclipse suddenly keeps returning 404 Resource Not Found errors.

I've searched through the knowledge base for the past three days but I still keep getting nothing no matter what I attempt. I'm listing them below.

Checked to make sure the server is running. (It is.)

Checked other projects that run on the server work. These projects have been working up until last week but now they suddenly don't.

Created a new HelloWorld project for testing purposes, but same 404 error despite shutting down the server and republishing.

Attempted to run from Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer with the same results.

Changed server location to use the Tomcat installation but no change.

Copied the ROOT folder of the server installation on my machine to the one in .metadata\.plugins\org.eclipse.wst.server.core\tmp0. (Nothing changed.)

Uninstalled, restarted, and reinstalled Tomcat, but no change.

I'm tearing my hair out and would appreciate any assistance. My current server setup is attached as an image file.

Thank you very much in advance.
ServerSetup.png

dpearson

If you're getting a 404 it means that tomcat is running (as you already confirmed) but it doesn't believe there are any web apps installed in its webapps folder. Hence the 404. A 404 actually rules out a number of possible problems - like a corrupt webapp or tomcat itself not running as those would generate a failure to connect to the webapp error, instead of a "clean" 404 - which is a result served by tomcat.

That means I would suggest focusing hard on the "deploy path" in the tomcat settings. I would try changing/testing this in several ways:
a) Just switch to a new folder with a unique name.
b) If after the switch and deploying it's still failing, search for that folder on your local drive and see if there are indeed any files within it.
c) If not, try manually copying a working webapp (such as the ROOT project) to that folder and see if that project now works
d) If that all fails, I'd double check your tomcat installation by running it outside of eclipse, but with the same deployment folder (you may need to edit the server.xml to set the "webapps" folder to the correct location). Does that work? If not, something is wrong with tomcat. If it works, something is wrong with Eclipse.

Hope some of that helps move you along a bit.

Doug

CoderParthena

ASKER

Hey, Doug.

Thank you very much for the help. I didn't want to reply back until I'd run all the tests you suggested a few times to make sure I wasn't going nuts.

Unfortunately, it looks like something major-leagued screwed up with Tomcat since I can't even run it outside Eclipse anymore though what sort of voodoo caused that, I have no idea.

dpearson

Sounds like it's time for a complete re-install of Tomcat and then re-integration into Eclipse.

Doug

CoderParthena

ASKER

Yeah, that was one of the things I tried originally, but it didn't work.

dpearson

You're saying that even after a clean re-install of tomcat you can't start it outside of Eclipse and bring up the default apps? What OS are you using?

CoderParthena

ASKER

Windows 7. And, yes, that's what I was saying.

I'm currently reverting the machine back to the factory settings. I've got all my code backed up in SVN, but it seems that other programs are having bugs, too. The antivirus isn't picking up anything, so it seems that there's something glitchy with the machine that, hopefully, a clean install will fix.

If it does, do you mind if I award you at least partial points, Doug? You were very helpful in trying to get it to work.

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dpearson

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CoderParthena

ASKER

Thanks, Doug. :) I really appreciate all your help.