Apache Error Messages

There are many error messages which can be thrown by apache when you try to access your repository. Most of these errors do not have anything to do with TortoiseSVN, but hint at some server misconfiguration. It is also possible that you have simply entered wrong repository URL.

To solve the configuration problems, the FAQ isn't quite the right place, because we need to know a lot more about your server setup. Please come to our mailing list at dev@tortoisesvn.tigris.org and ask your question there. Also, the Subversion mailing list users@subversion.tigris.org might be an even better idea for server configurations.

These error messages hint at configuraton problems:

  • '401 Authorization Required'
  • '500 Internal Server Error'

400 Bad Request

REPORT request failed on '...' REPORT of '...': 400 Bad Request (http://...)

You're behind a firewall which blocks DAV requests. Most firewalls do that.
Either ask your Administrator to change the firewall, or access the repository with https:// instead of http:// like in https://svn.collab.net/repos/svn/
That way you connect to the repository with SSL encryption, which firewalls can't interfere with (if they don't block the SSL port completely).


403 Forbidden

PROPFIND request failed: 403 Forbidden

It's probably because you've entered the parent path of your repository instead of the actual repository path. Try appending the name of the repository you wish to access to the URL. You also need to append the URL with a trailing '/' slash, after the repository name.

For more information about the actual error, seek out the Apache error log.


405 HTTP Method Not Allowed

PROPFIND Request Failed - Error 405 HTTP Method Not Allowed

This message comes in different flavours. You might be seeing this error when:

  • PROPFIND Request Failed
    You tried to browse the parent path of a repository instead of the repository itself using an older version of TortoiseSVN. Try appending the name of the repository you wish to access, or upgrade TortoiseSVN to 1.2.3 or newer.
  • PROPFIND Request Failed
    You forgot to append a '/' slash to the end of the URL you entered. Older versions of TSVN requires that there be a '/' after the repository name. If you forget this, TSVN will strip the repository name from the URL and therefore try to access the parent directory.
  • PROPFIND Request Failed
    You try to access the repository through a proxy which does not allow DAV requests. Usually you can browse your repository with your webbrowser just fine, only if you use an svn client you get this error. You have to configure your proxy/firewall server to let DAV requests through. Or try using https instead of http: most proxies can't analyze encrypted network packets and therefore can't block DAV requests anymore.

    Another possibility for this error is a virus scanner/firewall you have running on your machine. A lot of those filter out DAV requests without you even noticing it. Try disabling the scanner/firewalll.

  • Lock Request Failed
    You tried to lock a file in your working copy which no longer exists in the repository. Update your working copy before trying to lock files.

For more information about what actually caused the error, seek out the Apache error log.


501 Not implemented

The Apache 501 "Not Implemented" error is caused by a regression bug in the subversion 1.2.1 libraries. The "svn st -u" command of subversion 1.2.1 is incompatible with subversion 1.1.x servers. This normally happens when you "check for modifications" against old servers in TortoiseSVN.

TortoiseSVN can't do anything about this.

You can either:
- upgrade the server to subversion 1.2.1
- downgrade the client to 1.2.0 or earlier
- don't use the "check for modifications" dialog in TortoiseSVN against old servers.
- wait until the subversion team releases the 1.2.2 libraries.


Invalid command 'DAV'

Apache doesn't start after adding svn:

Apache throws an Exception that the requested operation failed. When starting the server from console you get an Error:
Invalid command 'DAV' perhaps mis-spelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration
Solution: uncomment the line LoadModule dav_module modules/mod_dav.so in httpd too.


Where can I find the Apache error log?

If your server is Windows-based, typically in C:\\Program Files\\Apache Group\\Apache2\\logs.

If it's Un*x, try /var/log/httpd.

You will need to check the Apache error log yourself when you receive errors from eg. the Repo-Browser that looks like this: 'PROPFIND: Request failed - HTTP xxx'. The Apache error log contains a message describing the cause for these errors. The real error messages are unfortunately not propagated to Subversion clients like TortoiseSVN.