Has anyone encountered this problem?

I'd really like to post the whole situation, but I keep getting a message that I should remove the URLs, despite there not being any URLs in the message, and having re-written the message 4 times to (even) substitute "(slash)" for "/" in the directory that I was quoting.

TIA

1) Is mod_rewrite being activated in httpd.conf
2) Do you have RewriteEngine On in there too?

Also, your post will probably come through if you enclose it in a [ code ] block, but it may be a post limitation thing

I've tried "RewriteEngine On" in httpd.conf, in my vhosts.conf file, and (of course) in the .htaccess file. I was doing fine with Suse 9.1 Pro and Mambo/phpBB, etc., until I thought I would tighten up access and reduce spambot pillaging, after reading the security thread at the Mambo forums (security section).

Without the .htacess file in /srv/www/mambo (the install dir for v4.5.1a Mambo that I used), everything is hunky-dory.

The problem comes when I create a .htaccess file in that directory ... Apache 2 throws a 500 error of "Invalid command 'RewriteEngine' "(in the /srv/www/.htaccess file). It's a dedicated, "under-my-control" server sitting beside me in my home, and I'm using http://localhost to access Mambo and phpBB (in the .../mambo/forum directory), BTW, quite successfully without the .htaccess file present in .../mambo.

I checked through Yast and it says Apache 2 provides mod_rewrite and, sure enough, mod_rewrite.so is in the /usr/lib/apache2-prefork library along with all the other .so modules that are loaded in the /etc/Apache2/sysconfigd/loadmodule.conf file.

But there's not an explicit loadmodule line for mod_rewrite.so in that .conf file. So I inserted:
LoadModule rewrite_module /usr/lib/apache2-prefork/mod_rewrite.so

both ahead of, and behind, the:
LoadModule php4_module /usr/lib/apache2-prefork/libphp4.so line

(obviously not at the same time, but on different tests).

Neither works. Apache 2, in both instances, comes up nicely but discards the inserted LoadModule line for mod_rewrite.so, since the .conf file doesn't contain it after Apache is stopped and restarted.

So if SUSE's Apache 2 is providing mod_rewrite, and it won't stay in the LoadModule.conf file, my conclusion (probably false) is that it's already loaded as a module. But if I use the old standby utility ab_info.php, mod_rewrite doesn't show up as loaded (nor in SysInfo in the Mambo Admin Panel).

At any rate, I'm unable to use mod_rewrite and .htaccess files, and I'd really like to.

Anyone encountered this, or have an insight into what's wrong? The only other conclusion I can draw is that Yast/SUSE are telling falsehoods! So if I regen, there's probably no chance that I'll end up with anything different than I have now.