You may need to use an FTP program (not Frontpage FTP) to change file
permissions with the CHMOD (contraction of CH[aracter] MOD[ify]).
The '500 Internal Server Error' could be any numer of things, contact your
host to access the error logs. Generally though, a couple of things to try
1) it depends on the script you're using - if using Perl/CGI scripts, you
need to check a few things like what the file permissions should be - common
settings are 666 and 755. Use an FTP program like CuteFTP to change the
file permissions (look up help in that application to find out how).
2) Also your "path to perl" needs to be correct in the cgi script file (this
should be the top most line of the file). Open the file only in Notepad,
else you risk corrupting it.
3) It could be that the file was uploaded in binary rather than ascii, as
your host has already told you, in which case you need to reupload via an
FTP program such as CuteFTP and choose the correct file mode i.e. Ascii Text
not binary.
The path-to-perl can be gained from your host, or they may have already
supplied that info. it may also be available through your host control
panel or in the help files etc.