Apache 500 error for .htaccess: "<Files not allowed here"

Solution 1:

If AllowOverrideList and AllowOverride are both set to None, then .htaccess won't be loaded at all. However, it turns out that there is some kind of Apache bug in which .htaccess is loaded but not processed properly -- causing errors -- if just AllowOverrideList but not AllowOverride is used in the main Apache config.

To fix the problem and get <Files> or one of the other sections to work in .htaccess, add this in addition to your AllowOverrideList statement in the main Apache config:

AllowOverride Limit

Your needs may vary and it's up to you to evaluate the security implications of the above.