[SOLVED] 403 & 500 error on Apache server when using .htaccess

Issue

I'm trying to use a .htaccess file on the Apache Server running on my Macbook (OS X Lion). I've used the following guide to modify the permissions in my Apache configuration file allow use of .htaccess: http://clagnut.com/blog/350/ - Substituting in the OS X Lion's new httpd.conf file locations.

However, when adding a .htaccess file I get a 500 Internal Server Error.

With the User.conf set adjusted to the following, I get a 403 Forbidden Error.

AllowOverride All #AuthConfig gives 500 Internal Server Error

The .htaccess file only requires the following code to generate the errors:

RewriteEngine on

Presumably I have made a mistake with the permissions in one of the .conf files but I'm not exactly sure what.

/etc/apache2/httpd.conf:

#
# Mac OS X / Mac OS X Server
# The <IfDefine> blocks segregate server-specific directives
# and also directives that only apply when Web Sharing or
# server Web Service (as opposed to other services that need Apache) is on.
# The launchd plist sets appropriate Define parameters.
# Generally, desktop has no vhosts and server does; server has added modules,
# custom virtual hosts are only activated when Web Service is on, and
# default document root and personal web sites at ~username are only
# activated when Web Sharing is on.
#
#
# This is the main Apache HTTP server configuration file.  It contains the
# configuration directives that give the server its instructions.
# See <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2> for detailed information.
# In particular, see 
# <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/directives.html>
# for a discussion of each configuration directive.
#
# Do NOT simply read the instructions in here without understanding
# what they do.  They're here only as hints or reminders.  If you are unsure
# consult the online docs. You have been warned.  
#
# Configuration and logfile names: If the filenames you specify for many
# of the server's control files begin with "/" (or "drive:/" for Win32), the
# server will use that explicit path.  If the filenames do *not* begin
# with "/", the value of ServerRoot is prepended -- so "log/foo_log"
# with ServerRoot set to "/usr" will be interpreted by the
# server as "/usr/log/foo_log".

#
# ServerRoot: The top of the directory tree under which the server's
# configuration, error, and log files are kept.
#
# Do not add a slash at the end of the directory path.  If you point
# ServerRoot at a non-local disk, be sure to point the LockFile directive
# at a local disk.  If you wish to share the same ServerRoot for multiple
# httpd daemons, you will need to change at least LockFile and PidFile.
#
ServerRoot "/usr"

#
# Listen: Allows you to bind Apache to specific IP addresses and/or
# ports, instead of the default. See also the <VirtualHost>
# directive.
#
# Change this to Listen on specific IP addresses as shown below to 
# prevent Apache from glomming onto all bound IP addresses.
#
#Listen 12.34.56.78:80
<IfDefine !MACOSXSERVER>
Listen 80
</IfDefine>

#
# Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) Support
#
# To be able to use the functionality of a module which was built as a DSO you
# have to place corresponding `LoadModule' lines at this location so the
# directives contained in it are actually available _before_ they are used.
# Statically compiled modules (those listed by `httpd -l') do not need
# to be loaded here.
#
# Example:
# LoadModule foo_module modules/mod_foo.so
#
LoadModule authn_file_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_file.so
LoadModule authz_host_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_host.so
LoadModule cache_module libexec/apache2/mod_cache.so
LoadModule disk_cache_module libexec/apache2/mod_disk_cache.so
LoadModule dumpio_module libexec/apache2/mod_dumpio.so
LoadModule reqtimeout_module libexec/apache2/mod_reqtimeout.so
LoadModule ext_filter_module libexec/apache2/mod_ext_filter.so
LoadModule include_module libexec/apache2/mod_include.so
LoadModule filter_module libexec/apache2/mod_filter.so
LoadModule substitute_module libexec/apache2/mod_substitute.so
LoadModule deflate_module libexec/apache2/mod_deflate.so
LoadModule log_config_module libexec/apache2/mod_log_config.so
LoadModule log_forensic_module libexec/apache2/mod_log_forensic.so
LoadModule logio_module libexec/apache2/mod_logio.so
LoadModule env_module libexec/apache2/mod_env.so
LoadModule mime_magic_module libexec/apache2/mod_mime_magic.so
LoadModule cern_meta_module libexec/apache2/mod_cern_meta.so
LoadModule expires_module libexec/apache2/mod_expires.so
LoadModule headers_module libexec/apache2/mod_headers.so
LoadModule ident_module libexec/apache2/mod_ident.so
LoadModule usertrack_module libexec/apache2/mod_usertrack.so
#LoadModule unique_id_module libexec/apache2/mod_unique_id.so
LoadModule setenvif_module libexec/apache2/mod_setenvif.so
LoadModule version_module libexec/apache2/mod_version.so
LoadModule proxy_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy.so
LoadModule proxy_http_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_http.so
LoadModule proxy_scgi_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_scgi.so
LoadModule proxy_balancer_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_balancer.so
#LoadModule ssl_module libexec/apache2/mod_ssl.so
LoadModule mime_module libexec/apache2/mod_mime.so
LoadModule dav_module libexec/apache2/mod_dav.so
LoadModule autoindex_module libexec/apache2/mod_autoindex.so
LoadModule asis_module libexec/apache2/mod_asis.so
LoadModule info_module libexec/apache2/mod_info.so
LoadModule cgi_module libexec/apache2/mod_cgi.so
LoadModule dav_fs_module libexec/apache2/mod_dav_fs.so
LoadModule vhost_alias_module libexec/apache2/mod_vhost_alias.so
LoadModule negotiation_module libexec/apache2/mod_negotiation.so
LoadModule dir_module libexec/apache2/mod_dir.so
LoadModule imagemap_module libexec/apache2/mod_imagemap.so
LoadModule actions_module libexec/apache2/mod_actions.so
LoadModule speling_module libexec/apache2/mod_speling.so
LoadModule alias_module libexec/apache2/mod_alias.so
LoadModule rewrite_module libexec/apache2/mod_rewrite.so
LoadModule php5_module libexec/apache2/libphp5.so

#Apple specific modules
LoadModule apple_userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir_apple.so
LoadModule bonjour_module libexec/apache2/mod_bonjour.so

<IfDefine !MACOSXSERVER>
LoadModule authn_dbm_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_dbm.so
LoadModule authn_anon_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_anon.so
LoadModule authn_dbd_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_dbd.so
LoadModule authn_default_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_default.so
LoadModule auth_basic_module libexec/apache2/mod_auth_basic.so
LoadModule auth_digest_module libexec/apache2/mod_auth_digest.so
LoadModule authz_groupfile_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_groupfile.so
LoadModule authz_user_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_user.so
LoadModule authz_dbm_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_dbm.so
LoadModule authz_owner_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_owner.so
LoadModule authz_default_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_default.so
LoadModule mem_cache_module libexec/apache2/mod_mem_cache.so
LoadModule dbd_module libexec/apache2/mod_dbd.so
LoadModule proxy_connect_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_connect.so
LoadModule proxy_ftp_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_ftp.so
LoadModule proxy_ajp_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_ajp.so
LoadModule status_module libexec/apache2/mod_status.so
</IfDefine>

<IfDefine MACOSXSERVER>
LoadModule hfs_apple_module libexec/apache2/mod_hfs_apple.so
#LoadModule auth_digest_apple_module libexec/apache2/mod_auth_digest_apple.so
#LoadModule encoding_module libexec/apache2/mod_encoding.so
#LoadModule jk_module libexec/apache2/mod_jk.so
LoadModule apple_auth_module libexec/apache2/mod_auth_apple.so
LoadModule spnego_auth_module libexec/apache2/mod_spnego_apple.so
LoadModule apple_digest_module libexec/apache2/mod_digest_apple.so
#LoadModule python_module libexec/apache2/mod_python.so
#LoadModule xsendfile_module libexec/apache2/mod_xsendfile.so
LoadModule apple_status_module libexec/apache2/mod_status_apple.so
</IfDefine>

# If you wish httpd to run as a different user or group, you must run
# httpd as root initially and it will switch.  
#
# User/Group: The name (or #number) of the user/group to run httpd as.
# It is usually good practice to create a dedicated user and group for
# running httpd, as with most system services.
#
User _www
Group _www

# 'Main' server configuration
#
# The directives in this section set up the values used by the 'main'
# server, which responds to any requests that aren't handled by a
# <VirtualHost> definition.  These values also provide defaults for
# any <VirtualHost> containers you may define later in the file.
#
# All of these directives may appear inside <VirtualHost> containers,
# in which case these default settings will be overridden for the
# virtual host being defined.
#

#
# ServerAdmin: Your address, where problems with the server should be
# e-mailed.  This address appears on some server-generated pages, such
# as error documents.  e.g. [email protected]
#
ServerAdmin [email protected]

#
# ServerName gives the name and port that the server uses to identify itself.
# This can often be determined automatically, but we recommend you specify
# it explicitly to prevent problems during startup.
#
# If your host doesn't have a registered DNS name, enter its IP address here.
#
#ServerName www.example.com:80

<IfDefine MACOSXSERVER>
DocumentRoot /var/empty

<IfModule mod_auth_digest_apple.c>
        BrowserMatch "MSIE" AuthDigestEnableQueryStringHack=On
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header add MS-Author-Via "DAV"
        RequestHeader set X_FORWARDED_PROTO 'https' env=https
        RequestHeader set X_FORWARDED_PROTO 'http' env=!https
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_encoding.c>
        EncodingEngine on
        NormalizeUsername on
        DefaultClientEncoding UTF-8
# Windows XP?
        AddClientEncoding "Microsoft-WebDAV-MiniRedir/" MSUTF-8
# Windows 2K SP2 with .NET
        AddClientEncoding "(Microsoft .* DAV\$)" MSUTF-8
# Windows 2K SP2/Windows XP
        AddClientEncoding "(Microsoft .* DAV 1.1)" CP932
# Windows XP?
        AddClientEncoding "Microsoft-WebDAV*" CP932
# RealPlayer
        AddClientEncoding "RMA/*" CP932
# MacOS X webdavfs
        AddClientEncoding "WebDAVFS" UTF-8
# cadaver
        AddClientEncoding "cadaver/" EUC-JP
</IfModule>
<Directory /usr/share/web>
    AllowOverride None
    Options MultiViews FollowSymlinks
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
    Header Set Cache-Control no-cache
</Directory>
Alias /webmail /usr/share/web/webmail.html
Alias /changepassword /usr/share/web/changepassword.html
Alias /profilemanager /usr/share/web/profilemanager.html
Alias /webcal /usr/share/web/webcal.html
</IfDefine>

<IfDefine !MACOSXSERVER>
<IfDefine WEBSHARING_ON>
#
# DocumentRoot: The directory out of which you will serve your
# documents. By default, all requests are taken from this directory, but
# symbolic links and aliases may be used to point to other locations.
#
DocumentRoot "/Library/WebServer/Documents"

#
# Each directory to which Apache has access can be configured with respect
# to which services and features are allowed and/or disabled in that
# directory (and its subdirectories). 
#
# First, we configure the "default" to be a very restrictive set of 
# features.  
#
<Directory />
    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all
</Directory>

#
# Note that from this point forward you must specifically allow
# particular features to be enabled - so if something's not working as
# you might expect, make sure that you have specifically enabled it
# below.
#

#
# This should be changed to whatever you set DocumentRoot to.
#
<Directory "/Library/WebServer/Documents">
    #
    # Possible values for the Options directive are "None", "All",
    # or any combination of:
    #   Indexes Includes FollowSymLinks SymLinksifOwnerMatch ExecCGI MultiViews
    #
    # Note that "MultiViews" must be named *explicitly* --- "Options All"
    # doesn't give it to you.
    #
    # The Options directive is both complicated and important.  Please see
    # http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/core.html#options
    # for more information.
    #
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews

    #
    # AllowOverride controls what directives may be placed in .htaccess files.
    # It can be "All", "None", or any combination of the keywords:
    #   Options FileInfo AuthConfig Limit
    #
    AllowOverride All

    #
    # Controls who can get stuff from this server.
    #
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all

</Directory>

#
# DirectoryIndex: sets the file that Apache will serve if a directory
# is requested.
#
<IfModule dir_module>
    DirectoryIndex index.html
</IfModule>
</IfDefine>
</IfDefine>
#
# The following lines prevent .htaccess and .htpasswd files from being 
# viewed by Web clients. 
#
<FilesMatch "^\.([Hh][Tt]|[Dd][Ss]_[Ss])">
    Order allow,deny
    Deny from all
    Satisfy All
</FilesMatch>

#
# Apple specific filesystem protection.
#
<Files "rsrc">
    Order allow,deny
    Deny from all
    Satisfy All
</Files>
<DirectoryMatch ".*\.\.namedfork">
    Order allow,deny
    Deny from all
    Satisfy All
</DirectoryMatch>

#
# ErrorLog: The location of the error log file.
# If you do not specify an ErrorLog directive within a <VirtualHost>
# container, error messages relating to that virtual host will be
# logged here.  If you *do* define an error logfile for a <VirtualHost>
# container, that host's errors will be logged there and not here.
#
ErrorLog "/private/var/log/apache2/error_log"

#
# LogLevel: Control the number of messages logged to the error_log.
# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
#
LogLevel warn

<IfModule log_config_module>
    #
    # The following directives define some format nicknames for use with
    # a CustomLog directive (see below).
    #
    LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\"" combined
    LogFormat "%v %h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\"" combinedvhost
    LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b" common
    LogFormat "%v %h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b" commonvhost

    <IfModule logio_module>
      # You need to enable mod_logio.c to use %I and %O
      LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\" %I %O" combinedio
      LogFormat "%v %h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\" %I %O" combinediovhost
    </IfModule>

    #
    # The location and format of the access logfile (Common Logfile Format).
    # If you do not define any access logfiles within a <VirtualHost>
    # container, they will be logged here.  Contrariwise, if you *do*
    # define per-<VirtualHost> access logfiles, transactions will be
    # logged therein and *not* in this file.
    #
    CustomLog "/private/var/log/apache2/access_log" common

    #
    # If you prefer a logfile with access, agent, and referer information
    # (Combined Logfile Format) you can use the following directive.
    #
    #CustomLog "/private/var/log/apache2/access_log" combined
</IfModule>

<IfModule alias_module>
    #
    # Redirect: Allows you to tell clients about documents that used to 
    # exist in your server's namespace, but do not anymore. The client 
    # will make a new request for the document at its new location.
    # Example:
    # Redirect permanent /foo http://www.example.com/bar

    #
    # Alias: Maps web paths into filesystem paths and is used to
    # access content that does not live under the DocumentRoot.
    # Example:
    # Alias /webpath /full/filesystem/path
    #
    # If you include a trailing / on /webpath then the server will
    # require it to be present in the URL.  You will also likely
    # need to provide a <Directory> section to allow access to
    # the filesystem path.

    #
    # ScriptAlias: This controls which directories contain server scripts. 
    # ScriptAliases are essentially the same as Aliases, except that
    # documents in the target directory are treated as applications and
    # run by the server when requested rather than as documents sent to the
    # client.  The same rules about trailing "/" apply to ScriptAlias
    # directives as to Alias.
    #
    ScriptAliasMatch ^/cgi-bin/((?!(?i:webobjects)).*$) "/Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables/$1"
</IfModule>

<IfModule cgid_module>
    #
    # ScriptSock: On threaded servers, designate the path to the UNIX
    # socket used to communicate with the CGI daemon of mod_cgid.
    #
    #Scriptsock /private/var/run/cgisock
</IfModule>

#
# "/Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables" should be changed to whatever your ScriptAliased
# CGI directory exists, if you have that configured.
#
<Directory "/Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables">
    AllowOverride None
    Options None
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Directory>

#
# DefaultType: the default MIME type the server will use for a document
# if it cannot otherwise determine one, such as from filename extensions.
# If your server contains mostly text or HTML documents, "text/plain" is
# a good value.  If most of your content is binary, such as applications
# or images, you may want to use "application/octet-stream" instead to
# keep browsers from trying to display binary files as though they are
# text.
#
DefaultType text/plain

<IfModule mime_module>
    #
    # TypesConfig points to the file containing the list of mappings from
    # filename extension to MIME-type.
    #
    TypesConfig /private/etc/apache2/mime.types

    #
    # AddType allows you to add to or override the MIME configuration
    # file specified in TypesConfig for specific file types.
    #
    #AddType application/x-gzip .tgz
    #
    # AddEncoding allows you to have certain browsers uncompress
    # information on the fly. Note: Not all browsers support this.
    #
    #AddEncoding x-compress .Z
    #AddEncoding x-gzip .gz .tgz
    #
    # If the AddEncoding directives above are commented-out, then you
    # probably should define those extensions to indicate media types:
    #
    AddType application/x-compress .Z
    AddType application/x-gzip .gz .tgz

    #
    # AddHandler allows you to map certain file extensions to "handlers":
    # actions unrelated to filetype. These can be either built into the server
    # or added with the Action directive (see below)
    #
    # To use CGI scripts outside of ScriptAliased directories:
    # (You will also need to add "ExecCGI" to the "Options" directive.)
    #
    #AddHandler cgi-script .cgi

    # For type maps (negotiated resources):
    #AddHandler type-map var

    #
    # Filters allow you to process content before it is sent to the client.
    #
    # To parse .shtml files for server-side includes (SSI):
    # (You will also need to add "Includes" to the "Options" directive.)
    #
    #AddType text/html .shtml
    #AddOutputFilter INCLUDES .shtml
</IfModule>

#
# The mod_mime_magic module allows the server to use various hints from the
# contents of the file itself to determine its type.  The MIMEMagicFile
# directive tells the module where the hint definitions are located.
#
#MIMEMagicFile /private/etc/apache2/magic

#
# Customizable error responses come in three flavors:
# 1) plain text 2) local redirects 3) external redirects
#
# Some examples:
#ErrorDocument 500 "The server made a boo boo."
#ErrorDocument 404 /missing.html
#ErrorDocument 404 "/cgi-bin/missing_handler.pl"
#ErrorDocument 402 http://www.example.com/subscription_info.html
#

#
# EnableMMAP and EnableSendfile: On systems that support it, 
# memory-mapping or the sendfile syscall is used to deliver
# files.  This usually improves server performance, but must
# be turned off when serving from networked-mounted 
# filesystems or if support for these functions is otherwise
# broken on your system.
#
#EnableMMAP off
#EnableSendfile off

TraceEnable off

# Supplemental configuration
#
# The configuration files in the /private/etc/apache2/extra/ directory can be 
# included to add extra features or to modify the default configuration of 
# the server, or you may simply copy their contents here and change as 
# necessary.

# Server-pool management (MPM prefork specific)
StartServers 1
MinSpareServers 1
MaxSpareServers 1
# ServerLimit and MaxClients support n% syntax which sets them to a
# fraction of the current RLIMIT_NPROC limit. 
ServerLimit 50%
MaxClients 50%
ListenBackLog 512
MaxRequestsPerChild 100000

# Timeout: The number of seconds before receives and sends time out.
#
Timeout 300

# KeepAlive: Whether or not to allow persistent connections (more than
# one request per connection). Set to "Off" to deactivate.
#
KeepAlive On

# KeepAliveTimeout: Number of seconds to wait for the next request from the
# same client on the same connection.
#
KeepAliveTimeout 15

# MaxKeepAliveRequests: The maximum number of requests to allow
# during a persistent connection. Set to 0 to allow an unlimited amount.
# We recommend you leave this number high, for maximum performance.
#
MaxKeepAliveRequests 100

# UseCanonicalName: Determines how Apache constructs self-referencing
# URLs and the SERVER_NAME and SERVER_PORT variables.
# When set "Off", Apache will use the Hostname and Port supplied
# by the client.  When set "On", Apache will use the value of the
# ServerName directive.
#
UseCanonicalName Off

#
# AccessFileName: The name of the file to look for in each directory
# for additional configuration directives.  See also the AllowOverride
# directive.
#
AccessFileName .htaccess

# ServerTokens
# This directive configures what you return as the Server HTTP response
# Header. The default is 'Full' which sends information about the OS-Type
# and compiled in modules.
# Set to one of:  Full | OS | Minor | Minimal | Major | Prod
# where Full conveys the most information, and Prod the least.
#
ServerTokens Full

# Optionally add a line containing the server version and virtual host
# name to server-generated pages (internal error documents, FTP directory
# listings, mod_status and mod_info output etc., but not CGI generated
# documents or custom error documents).
# Set to "EMail" to also include a mailto: link to the ServerAdmin.
# Set to one of:  On | Off | EMail
#
ServerSignature On

# HostnameLookups: Log the names of clients or just their IP addresses
# e.g., www.apache.org (on) or 204.62.129.132 (off).
# The default is off because it'd be overall better for the net if people
# had to knowingly turn this feature on, since enabling it means that
# each client request will result in AT LEAST one lookup request to the
# nameserver.
#
HostnameLookups Off

# PidFile: The file in which the server should record its process
# identification number when it starts.
PidFile /var/run/httpd.pid

# The accept serialization lock file MUST BE STORED ON A LOCAL DISK.
LockFile "/private/var/log/apache2/accept.lock"

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteLock /var/log/apache2/rewrite.lock
</IfModule>

# Language settings
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-languages.conf

<IfDefine WEBSHARING_ON>
# Multi    -language error messages
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-multilang-errordoc.conf

# Fancy directory listings
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-autoindex.conf

# User home directories
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

# Real-time info on requests and configuration
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-info.conf

# Virtual hosts
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

# Local access to the Apache HTTP Server Manual
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-manual.conf

# Distributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV)
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-dav.conf

</IfDefine>

# Secure (SSL/TLS) connections
<IfDefine !MACOSXSERVER>
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-ssl.conf
</IfDefine>
<IfDefine MACOSXSERVER>
<IfModule mod_ssl.c>
        SetEnvIf User-Agent ".*MSIE.*" nokeepalive ssl-unclean-shutdown
        SSLPassPhraseDialog exec:/etc/apache2/getsslpassphrase
        SSLSessionCache shmcb:/var/run/ssl_scache(512000)
        SSLSessionCacheTimeout 300
        SSLMutex file:/var/run/ssl_mutex
        SSLRandomSeed startup builtin
        SSLRandomSeed connect builtin
        AddType application/x-x509-ca-cert crt
        AddType application/x-pkcs7-crl crl
</IfModule>
</IfDefine>

<IfModule mod_jk.c>
        JKWorkersFile /etc/apache2/workers.properties
        JKLogFile /var/log/apache2/mod_jk.log
        JkShmFile /var/log/apache2/jk-runtime-status
</IfModule>

<IfModule php5_module>
    AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
    AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps
    <IfModule dir_module>
        DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
    </IfModule>
</IfModule>
<IfDefine !MACOSXSERVER>
    Include /etc/apache2/other/*.conf
</IfDefine>
<IfDefine MACOSXSERVER>
    <IfDefine WEBSERVICE_ON>
        Include /etc/apache2/sites/*.conf
    </IfDefine>
    <IfDefine !WEBSERVICE_ON>
        Include /etc/apache2/sites/virtual_host_global.conf
        Include /etc/apache2/sites/*_.conf
        Include /etc/apache2/sites/*__shadow.conf
    </IfDefine>
</IfDefine>

/etc/apache2/users/RyanKing.conf:

<Directory "/Users/RyanKing/Sites/">
    Options Indexes MultiViews
    AllowOverride All #AuthConfig causes 500 internal server error
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Directory>

If it helps the .htaccess file is located:

http://localhost/~RyanKing/mywebsite/.htaccess

and the index page is within a subfolder:

http://localhost/~RyanKing/mywebsite/index.php

My system is:

Apache/2.2.21 (Unix) DAV/2 PHP/5.3.8 with Suhosin-Patch Server at localhost Port 80

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Why am I getting a 403/500 error when using a .htaccess file?

Solution

Adding this to the .htacces file seems to do the trick:

Options +FollowSymLinks

Answered By - Ryan King

Answer Checked By - Pedro (WPSolving Volunteer)