This happens when a domain was removed improperly on plesk. Syntomps are
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- 503 Error On websites
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- Stopped php-fpm service
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- Unable to restart php-fpm
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- Following error in journalctl:
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```ERROR: [pool example.com] the prefix '/var/www/vhosts/system/example.com' does not exist or is not a directory```
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To solve this issue, we can take the following steps:
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Confirm if the website still exists on plesk
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1. Check the vhosts: `ls -al /var/www/vhosts/system/example.com`
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2. See if httpd has the website in its cache: `httpd -D DUMP_VHOSTS | grep example.com`
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3. See if the site still exists on pleskdb: `plesk db "select * from domains where name like '%example%'"`
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::: warning
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_Note: All these commands should return a negative or incomplete value else do needful removal from whatever throws a positive output_
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:::
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Remove the ghost file from php-fpm:
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1. Change the X.X to the php version and set the right conf file in the path to remove the config: `rm /opt/plesk/php/X.X/etc/php-fpm.d/example.com.conf`
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2. Restart php-fpm from Plesk GUI under System Services or via cli using systemctl.
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Done. This issue should be solved now. [Refrence](https://www.plesk.com/kb/support/various-actions-fail-in-plesk-the-prefix-var-www-vhosts-system-example-com-does-not-exist-or-is-not-a-directory-fpm-initialization-failed/)
