ExpressionEngine on MediaTemple - removing index.php results in "no input file specified" - expressionengine

Question

I have an MT site with the standard ExpressionEngine htaccess code to remove index.php and the home page works, and all other pages work if I put index.php in the URL. Without it, I get "no output file specified". It works on my local and non-MT server, so I know its an environment thing. What in the htaccess needs to be changed to make it work on MT?
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
# Enable Rewrite Engine
# ------------------------------
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
# Use Dynamic robots.txt file
# ------------------------------
RewriteRule robots\.txt /robots.php [L]
# Redirect index.php Requests
# ------------------------------
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET.*index\.php [NC]
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} !/admin/.*
RewriteRule (.*?)index\.php/*(.*) /$1$2 [R=301,L]
# Standard ExpressionEngine Rewrite
# ------------------------------
RewriteCond $1 !\.(css|js|gif|jpe?g|png) [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php?/$1 [L]
</IfModule>

Answer 1

Thanks to #danielcgold for the answer via twitter:
Try using this line RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php?/$1 [L] and note the ? after index.php

Answer 2

I posted a Gist last night with my standard rewrite rules for all my ExpressionEngine sites on (mt).
## BEGIN Expression Engine Rewrite
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond $1 !\.(gif|jpe?g|png)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php?/$1 [L]
## END Expression Engine Rewrite

Answer 3

Using EE 2.7.0 and Mediatemple's Grid service (formerly "GS"), I've had luck using the standard .htaccess:
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
# Removes index.php from ExpressionEngine URLs
RewriteCond $1 !\.(gif|jpe?g|png)$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php/$1 [L]
</IfModule>
but then going into the AccountCenter > [mydomain.com] > PHP Settings, and changing the PHP version from 5.5.1 CGI (latest) to 5.3.7 CGI (stable).

Answer 4

I posted this solution on the ExpressionEngine Stack Exchange site, but in a nutshell the shared hosting environment we had to use was forced to use FastCGI, and we couldn't modify any CGI or PHP configurations.
In an attempt to create the $_SERVER['PATH_INFO'] variable myself, what worked for me was this 3 step 'custom' approach:
First, in ExpressionEngine > CP Home > Admin > System Administration > Output And Debugging, I set Force URL query strings to No.
Next, as mentioned in previous answers, I changed the .htaccess directive from RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php/$1 [L,QSA] to RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php?/$1 [L,QSA] (extra ? after index.php).
Finally, I added this piece of custom PHP code to the top of site root's index.php file to "force" the $_SERVER['PATH_INFO'] variable into accurate existence:
<?php
$path = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
$pos = strpos($path, '?');
if ($pos !== false)
$path = substr($path, 0, $pos);
$_SERVER['PATH_INFO'] = $path;
/**
* ExpressionEngine - by EllisLab
...
...
I hope this helps someone! I really pulled my hair out trying to find somewhat more elegant solutions!