client denied by server configuration

If you are getting this message either on the page or in the apache error logs, it is likely caused by the default apache configuration.  The default configuration does not allow the .htaccess to override settings.  You can fix this by editing either the httpd.conf or a conf-specific to a directory that is included in the httpd.conf:

Default:


    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all


Changed:


    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride All
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all