# Error with mongrel\_rails start **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [June 25, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-with-mongrel-rails-start/141428 "2008-06-25T19:39:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/McLobster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-with-mongrel-rails-start/141428/1 "2008-06-25T19:39:47Z")
When I make an empty Rails web application, and go through the steps to create/include a database, and scaffold, mongrel\_rails start (or ruby script/server) works just fine. However, I attempted this with a pre-existing web app and I got some errors. First, I gathered the app’s folder (checked the contents, it has all the folders plus one extra: components) and placed it under ruby/ rails\_apps. Then, to see if I could run it locally, I opened up Instant\_Rails, opened the Ruby Console Window, changed the directory to ruby/ rails\_apps/alpha (alpha is the name of the app folder). Then I tried to start Mongrel using mongrel\_rails start. The first time I tried this I got: Cannot find gem for Rails =1.1.6: Install the missing gem with ‘gem install -v=1.16 rails’ or change environment.rb to define RAILS\_GEM\_VERSION with your desired version. So, I changed my directory back to /ruby and entered ‘gem install - v=1.16 rails’. It successfully installed 6 gems: activesupport-1.3.1, activerecord-1.14.4, actionpack-1.12.5, actionmailer-1.2.5, actionwebservice-1.1.6, and rails-1.1.6. Two errors came up while generating documentation, once for activesupport-1.3.1 and one for actionpack-1.12.5. Otherwise the installation completed and it returned me to the prompt: Bulk updating Gem source index for: [http://gems.rubyforge.org](http://gems.rubyforge.org) Successfully installed activesupport-1.3.1 Successfully installed activerecord-1.14.4 Successfully installed actionpack-1.12.5 Successfully installed actionmailer-1.2.5 Successfully installed actionwebservice-1.1.6 Successfully installed rails-1.1.6 6 gems installed Installing ri documentation for activesupport-1.3.1… ERROR: While generating documentation for activesupport-1.3.1 … MESSAGE: Unhandled special: Special: type=17, text=“” … RDOC args: --ri --op C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/doc/ activesupport-1.3.1/ ri --quiet lib (continuing with the rest of the installation) Installing ri documentation for activerecord-1.14.4… Installing ri documentation for actionpack-1.12.5… ERROR: While generating documentation for actionpack-1.12.5 … MESSAGE: Unhandled special: Special: type=17, text=“” … RDOC args: --ri --op C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/doc/ actionpack-1.12.5/ri –quiet lib (continuing with the rest of the installation) Installing ri documentation for actionmailer-1.2.5… Installing ri documentation for actionwebservice-1.1.6… Installing RDoc documentation for activesupport-1.3.1… Installing RDoc documentation for activerecord-1.14.4… Installing RDoc documentation for actionpack-1.12.5… Installing RDoc documentation for actionmailer-1.2.5… Installing RDoc documentation for actionwebservice-1.1.6… (Then the prompt returned. I assume that meant the install finished). So I changed back to /ruby/rails\_apps/alpha and tried mongrel\_rails start. Here is what I got: C:/ruby/rails\_apps/alpha/config/boot.rb:28: undefined method `require_gem' for m ain:Object (NoMethodError) from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/ custom_require.rb:27:i n `gem\_original\_require’ from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.8/rubygems/ custom\_require.rb:27:i n `require' from C:/ruby/rails_apps/alpha/config/environment.rb:11 from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/ custom_require.rb:27:i n `gem\_original\_require’ from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.8/rubygems/ custom\_require.rb:27:i n `require' from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.2-x86- mswin32/bin/. ./lib/mongrel/rails.rb:147:in `rails’ from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.2-x86- mswin32/bin/m ongrel\_rails:113:in `cloaker_' from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.2-x86- mswin32/bin/. ./lib/mongrel/configurator.rb:149:in `call’ … 6 levels… from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.2-x86- mswin32/bin/. ./lib/mongrel/command.rb:212:in `run' from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.2-x86- mswin32/bin/m ongrel_rails:281 from C:/ruby/ruby/bin/mongrel_rails:19:in `load’ from C:/ruby/ruby/bin/mongrel\_rails:19 Next I tried ruby script/server instead, and got something similar, though not as menacing in length: ./script/…/config/boot.rb:28: undefined method `require_gem' for main:Object (N oMethodError) from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/ custom_require.rb:27:i n `gem\_original\_require’ from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/site\_ruby/1.8/rubygems/ custom\_require.rb:27:i n `require’ from script/server:2 I tried reinstalling ruby, Instant\_Rails, and installed the Ruby Gems version that was bundled with the app (rubygems-0.9.0). I retrieved the app via FTP, Filezilla. My job is to make changed to the website. I was hoping I could get the app up and running locally, unchanged, before I made any changes. However these errors have shut me down. Any help on how I can get this up and running locally (or how I screwed up) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/McLobster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-with-mongrel-rails-start/141428/2 "2008-06-25T19:42:46Z")
> ``` > from C:/ruby/ruby/lib/ruby/site_ruby/1.8/rubygems/ > > ``` > > up) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. > require\_gem is a rubygems method that was obsoleted and later removed. > However your rails 1.1.6 app (or more correctly, the boot.rb script it > contains) is old enough that it still uses require\_gem, which was fair > play at the time. require\_gem was renamed to just gem, if you make > those replacements in boot.rb that would probably be a start. Fred ---
**Author:** ![McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/McLobster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-with-mongrel-rails-start/141428/3 "2008-06-25T20:03:16Z")
Thanks a lot. That fixed Mongrel. It runs through and starts now. However I still don’t have much of a clue about how to run the website locally. While I have mongrel up I enter: "[http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/) " but I don’t know what to put afterwards. The tutorials I’ve looked at say to put the name of a table from the database. Though I doubted that would work, I tried it, and of course it didn’t work. I just get a routing error. ---
**Author:** ![McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/McLobster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-with-mongrel-rails-start/141428/4 "2008-06-25T20:36:41Z")
On Jun 25, 7:03 pm, McLobster [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thanks a lot. That fixed Mongrel. It runs through and starts now. > However I still don’t have much of a clue about how to run the website > locally. While I have mongrel up I enter: “[http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/)” > but I don’t know what to put afterwards. The tutorials I’ve looked at > say to put the name of a table from the database. Though I doubted > that would work, I tried it, and of course it didn’t work. I just get > a routing error Just a name of one of the controllers should do it (or any routes defined in routes.rb) (often enough this will correspond to a model and therefore a table). Fred ---
**Author:** ![McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McLobster](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/McLobster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/error-with-mongrel-rails-start/141428/5 "2008-06-25T20:51:59Z")
Thank you so much. Much \<3