Hello. I’m really a beginner on virtualmin and I’m learning to use it. I made an SSL certificate via Let’s Encrypt (automatically renewable). At the end of the process it showed me this message:
" Warning! This virtual server does not have an SSL website enabled yet. Any SSL certificate can only be used for other services."
I went to “edit virtualmin” and I have the two checkboxes:
Appache website enabled
Appache SSL website enabled
The problem is that I can’t check the “Appache SSL website enabled” box. When I want to click on it, I get a “prohibition sign” smiley. So my site can’t be secured.
Do you have Apache enabled by default for the website? I mean does your new server template have web server enabled? I don’t remember having to do anything ‘special’ for my sites.
Yes, I have the default appache server enabled as you can see. But when I click on “Appache SSL website Enabled” nothing happens, it doesn’t want to check.
OK. First off, let’s get this correct. In the upper right hand corner of your dashboard is a clipboard for copying system information.
I’m pretty sure Virtualmin doesn’t run on Windows 10 and the current version of Virtualmin is
SYSTEM INFORMATION
OS type and version
Debian Linux 11
Usermin version
2.102
Virtualmin version
7.30.4
Theme version
21.20.7
Apache version
2.4.62
Package updates
All installed packages are up to date
I’m not seeing a separate entry for ssl. How did you install this? You say you are new so I was assuming a fresh install as indicated in the Documentation link at the top.
This is what i have when i copying system information :
SYSTEM INFORMATION
OS type and version
Debian Linux 11
Virtualmin version
7.20.2
Theme version
21.20.7
Apache version
2.4.62
I’m new to virtualmin, but my domain name has actually been around for over 10 years. My web host gave me the link to virtualmin a few years ago. I used to have a site that I didn’t take much care of, but now I’m going to use it as a showcase for my work. So I’m just discovering what it’s all about. To sum up, my web host installed it for me. (sorry for my english, french is my mother language)
OK. That could be a problem. Does your dashboard not give you an alert to update Virtualmin?
The answer may be here but I’d wait for @staff to before doing this. I just know they kind of groan because these pre-installed images have been a problem in the past.
But bottom line, I don’t know why you see something different than I do. Having a separate button for enabling SSL Website may have made sense at sometime in the distant past but seems out of place now.
If you aren’t too far along, I’d reset the machine to an image without Virtualmin or Webmin, do updates and then go to the documentation page and follow the automatic install.
I don’t know how they always screw it up, but I will be surprised on the day someone comes and says, “my web host installed it for me” and the problem isn’t because the web host screwed it up.
It’s super easy to install Virtualmin. Takes a few minutes. Maybe you should start with a freshly installed supported OS and nothing preinstalled. Choose the current version of Debian, not 11, that’s quite old. It’s already reached EOL for general OS maintenance, and reaches EOL for security updates next year. Debian is already a relatively short lifecycle, you should not make it harder on yourself by choosing an already old version.
No, my virtualmin dashboard doesn’t ask me for an update.
Ok so if I understand correctly, my version of virtualmin is completely outdated. I’m a real newbie so would you have a page that explains step by step how to uninstall and update my virtualmin?
" I’d reset the machine to an image without Virtualmin or Webmin" → I don’t know what this refers to as I’m a newbie so I’d like a step-by-step explanation if it exists.
If possible, have you provider ‘reimage’ the machine WITHOUT Virtuamin and start over. The Documentation link at the top of the page has instructions for installing webmin/virtualmin. sudo sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://software.virtualmin.com/gpl/scripts/virtualmin-install.sh)" -- --bundle LAMP
or do as @Ilia suggested and just run the command to update the repositories and ‘hope’ it fixes the current installation.
We provide documentation for installing Virtualmin on a freshly installed supported OS. I suggested you start with a freshly installed Debian 12 (or other current OS). Your operating system is quite outdated (it is EOL, but receiving LTS security updates from Debian). Merely installing a new Virtualmin won’t fix that.
I recommend you get a new VM from your provider, freshly installed with a current supported OS (e.g. Debian 12, Ubuntu 24.04, Rocky 9, Alma 9) and use our installer to install Virtualmin. If it installs without errors, we will all have some confidence you have a known-good Virtualmin installation. Any problems you have will be things we understand and know how to help you with.
I don’t know what state your system is in, except that we know it has a weird UI problem (that we’ve never heard of), a quite old OS that should not be used for a new deployment, and Virtualmin updates are not working as expected. So, all we know about your system is that there are several things wrong.
If you start over with a freshly installed, supported, current OS and install Virtualmin using our documented process (it’s easy, it only takes a few minutes), none of those problems will be present. You’ll at least be able to find problems related to what you’re trying to accomplish with Virtualmin and your web hosting system, rather than figure out how your hosting provider fucked up the installation of Virtualmin.
Our installation and initial configuration videos:
Installing Virtualmin (on CentOS 7, which you should not use, as it is EOL, too…but the instructions will work the same on any supported OS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u89HJ0pz8bg