PHP configuration values

I'm having some problems with the way my service provider is implementing FastCGI. My tests show that local configuration values are no longer used, even though those are the values reported by php when the script queries a setting (e.g. register_globals). In fact all settings done by script or in .htaccess are ignored, though reported to be in effect by php. I seem to remember seeing somewhere that local values are supposed to override master values but I can't find the reference right now. Can anyone please tell me how local vs. master values are supposed to work, or point me to a definitive reference. Cheers Arno