title: how load wordpress in a subdirectory without wordpress in root directory taking over
body: <p>I have my production Wordpress website at <code>example.com.au</code> running from <code>/public_html</code></p>
  
  <p>I also have a standalone Wordpress site in a <code>/public_html/mainwp</code> subdirectory running <a href="http://www.mainwp.com" rel="nofollow">Main WP</a>.</p>
  
  <p>The <code>.htaccess</code> in <code>/public_html</code> is:</p>
  
  <pre><code># Begin Wordpress
  &lt;IfModule mod_rewrite.c&gt;
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteBase /
  RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
  
  # add a trailing slash to /wp-admin
  RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?wp-admin$ $1wp-admin/ [R=301,L]
  
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
  RewriteRule ^ - [L]
  RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?(wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $2 [L]
  RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?(.*\.php)$ $2 [L]
  RewriteRule . index.php [L]
  &lt;/IfModule&gt;
  # End Wordpress
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>If I try to load <code>example.com.au/mainwp/wp-admin</code>, I receive a 404 served by Wordpress at <code>example.com.au</code></p>
  
  <p>If I rename <code>/public_html/.htaccess</code> to <code>.htaccess.temp</code>, <code>example.com.au/mainwp/wp-admin</code> loads fine.</p>
  
  <p>Something changed over the weekend and I can't work out what. I'm quite sure this <code>.htaccess</code> was working before the weekend.</p>
  
  <p>Help appreciated.</p>
  
  <p><strong><em>Update</em></strong>: From Sagar's answer, I've confirmed <code>/public_html/mainwp/.htaccess</code> contains the following code:</p>
  
  <pre><code># BEGIN WordPress
  &lt;IfModule mod_rewrite.c&gt;
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteBase /mainwp/
  RewriteRule ^index\.php$ – [L]
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
  RewriteRule . /mainwp/index.php [L]
  &lt;/IfModule&gt;
  # END WordPress
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and previously that situation was working, but now it is not: <code>example.com.au/mainwp/wp-admin</code> delivers a 404 served by Wordpress at <code>example.com.au</code></p>