PDO error: " SQLSTATE[HY000]: General error " When updating database
Solution 1:
You do not use fetchAll(),as in
$result = $stmt->fetchAll();
with update or insert queries. Removing this statement should rectify the problem.
Solution 2:
Just to note, another possible reason for this error is if you make a second database call with the variable $stmt inside of an existing parent $stmt loop.
$stmt = $conn->query($sql);
while ($row = $stmt->fetch()) { //second use of $stmt here inside loop