I didn’t install and set OJS earlier, I am new to development in OJS and was trying to enable REST API for one of our journals. According to the documentation, I had to write api_secret_key in config.inc.php file. But I was in the wrong folder, where this file didn’t exist, so I created one. This newly created file was all empty except it contained only one line for api_secret_key. Upon identifying the correct folder and assuming that there would be no file in the actual folder too, I just moved the newly created file, into the actual folder and probably, that incorrect file did overwrite the actual file, that is where the problem starts.
The first error I encountered was a webpage showeing errors demanding something like username, password, and confirm password, the page was different from the one which is shown at the start of the installation of OJS but this page seemed similar, it contained some unnoted errors and words like installation. I am not able to reproduce that exact problem again. Next, I tried copying config.TEMPLATE.inc.php from the same folder to see if it works and copying config.inc.php from another working ojs website. But the URL at https://ourdomainname/JOURNAL ABBREVATION still gives HTTP error 500 internal server error.
Now first of all I want help regarding how to get the journal up again.
Next, if I copy the contents of config.TEMPLATE.inc.php in config.inc.php, it shows a screen to install the OJS again. Can I re-install and keep all data from my previously ongoing journal? Is it possible that there can be any other cause that 500 internal servers are shown there, I tried valid database credentials from another of our journals and also set a previous ojs-files directory outside the folder in which OJS is installed, but there is still the HTTP 500 error. And lastly, how can I pinpoint the error, are there any logs of OJS itself or where to see for server logs?