[2.4.x] Systemic 'Red X' for all Extensions & Missing Menu Li

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Hello FrontAccounting Community,

I am seeking assistance with a systemic failure where all extensions show a Red X on the "Install/Activate Extensions" page, and more critically, active extensions (like Import Transactions) are completely missing from the main menu.

This is occurring on both a fresh XAMPP installation and a HostGator installation, pointing toward a core compatibility issue rather than a permissions failure.

Environment Details

Component    Version/Status
FrontAccounting Version    2.4.x (Likely a standard release)
PHP Version (XAMPP)    7.1.1 (from the installer name)
Problem Status    All active extensions fail to load/display.

Diagnostic Steps Completed (Problem is NOT one of these)
We have systematically ruled out the most common causes:

File Permissions: The required folders (modules, _cache, company/0/attachments) have been confirmed to be writable and have sufficient permissions.

Extension Activation: The file installed_extensions.php confirms the extensions are correctly marked as active ('active' => 1).

Core Compatibility Patch #1 (Magic Quotes): The file includes\db\connect_db.inc does NOT contain the deprecated get_magic_quotes_gpc() function, meaning this common PHP 7.x patch is not needed.

PHP Config: session.save_path is working, and resource limits (max_execution_time, memory_limit) have been significantly increased.

Short Tags: short_open_tag = On has been confirmed.

The Remaining Mystery: Fatal PHP Error
Since the extensions are correctly configured to load but are failing to execute (missing menu links), the script is hitting a Fatal Error during the menu-building process. Given the PHP 7.1 version, the next most probable cause is the use of the reference operator (&) in a function declaration.

Could an experienced user please confirm the location of the core database wrapper file(s) that must be patched for PHP 7.1 compatibility, specifically by removing the & from function definitions like function &db_query(...)?

I have searched for database.inc and sql_funcs.inc and they do not exist in the expected locations in this specific FA version. If I knew the correct file name, I could apply the patch and resolve this systemic issue on both my installations.

Thank you in advance for any guidance!