preparing to upgrade to smf 2.6 on test site from smf 1.1.19 with TP 1.107

[stog]

hi
i am preparing to upgrade to smf 2.6 on test site from a heavily modded (nearly 50) smf 1.1.19  with tp1.107
i am using the search on the TP site and this site but am starting to get dizzy

can someone who has recently done this, point me to a few helpful threads -- many thx

i was thinking of putting up a test site, fresh 2.6smf and TP, then import the old site database (without mods)

further complication is that i have pretty urls installed -- which got messy a few years ago

i won't be sorry to leave it behind, but then i may need to be careful if i don't want to loose links

any pointers gratefully received

cheers

[margarett]

You should use the large update to migrate your database schema to 2.0.x
After that you should get a fresh forum, no mods at all. Then you reinstall them, if they have 2.0 versions.
I cannot tell if the ones that have database interaction will keep their values or not, I think it depends on the mod.
If you have a test forum available, go ahead and try it. This way, when you're doing it on your live forum, you'll be an expert

[mashby]

Upgrading SMF
That's likely the best article to read. You will lose (possibly temporarily) all mods after you upgrade. Depending on the mod though, there might be a 2.0 version or might even be in the core. I went from over 100 mods on my 1.1.x site to just 7 on the upgraded 2.x site. And it seemed like a big task at the time, but it didn't turn out that bad. I think there are database changes from 1.1.x to 2.x, so I don't think you can simply just import it into a test site. It would be easier to just upgrade it. And it's just a test site? Give it a go then. If it's your real site, you might want to backup before proceeding just in case things go awry.

[stog]

many many thx very encouraging .. will report back

cheers

[kat]

How'd it go?

[stog]

i have a trial fresh install--> installed with tp  and bloc theme thx

now do i have to name all the boards and categories or will they miraculously appear when i connect up the huge 1.1.19 database?

also i have been reading up the pretty url thread http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=146969.6960

where the consensus seems to be to just keep to boards and topics not actions

thx for everyone's  help and great software (i inherited a vbul forum for an organisation i help with, and upgrading is fraught and horrible -- no package rewrites, and i take near on 3 hours to do an upgrade and no test first before install --

(i want to migrate them to smf eventually -- vbul 4.2.2 to smf 2)

here is my to do list for the upgrade

to do—>


put original forum into maintenance mode

download  mirror b'up of forum files to existing b'up—

download database — mark as version 1 with date

upload above copy of forum and database to test area and db server

(use repair settings to adjust if necessary)

then run full upgrade to upgrade the database

clear packages and start to install major smf 2 mods eg TP

[Oldiesmann]

i have the trial fresh install--> installed with tp  and bloc theme thx

now do i have to name all the boards and categories or will they miraculously appear when i connect up the huge 1.1.19 database?

also i have been reading up the pretty url thread http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=146969.6960

where the consensus seems to be to just keep to boards and topics not actions

thx for everyone's  help and great software (i inherited a vbul forum for an organisation i help with, and upgrading is fraught and horrible -- no package rewrites, and i take near on 3 hours to do an upgrade and no test first before install --

(i want to migrate them to smf eventually -- vbul 4.2.2 to smf 2)

here is my to do list for the upgrade

to do—>


put original forum into maintenance mode

download  mirror b'up of forum files to existing b'up—

download database — mark as version 1 with date

upload above copy of forum and database to test area and db server

(use repair settings to adjust if necessary)

then run full upgrade to upgrade the database

clear packages and start to install major smf 2 mods eg TP

You don't need to install a new copy of the forum - you delete all the old SMF files (except Settings.php, Settings_bak.php, the attachments/avatars directories and any custom images/other things you want to keep), then upload everything from the 2.0.6 upgrade package and run upgrade.php. After you've upgraded the forum, you can go about installing new mods and such.

See Upgrading SMF for more details.

[stog]

thx Oldiesmann,

i think i get what you say, but for further testing (it's an inherited >10 year old forum with a 200mb db and very grumpy members!) won't i  need to establish an exact copy of my orig forum, and have it attached to a copy of the orig db (imported into a new fresh db) then upgrade... just to see how everything works before doing it for real, as the database also gets upgraded..

also i am a little unsure which are the original smf1 files and folders to delete, but comparing the 2 directories smf1 and 2 alongside each other, i think i can see the path!

i can i think upload  folder by folder --just folder contents from large upgrade-- and hopefully then keep for example the attachments, images , avatars etc

but overwrite the sources, packages etc

[kat]

Nope. What you NEED to do, above all else, is backup EVERYTHING, first. Especially the database.

When you delete things, make sure, as has already been noted, that you don't delete Settings.php or Settings_bak.php.

Keep your "Smileys" directory, if you have custom ones. Keep the "Avatars" and "Attachments" directories, too. Apart from those, everything else can go.

Get the large upgrade archive and dearchive it. Upload all of the files, making sure that you don't overwrite the files/directories that you want to keep, as I just described.

Then, go to your usual forum URL, except, instead of "index.php", you'll need to go to "upgrade.php". Follow the on-screen instructions and away you go.

PrettyURLs... Personally, I wouldn't bother, with that. It often causes problems and SEO, for a forum, is quite useless, really, as you can see, if you read this:

http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=427913.msg3002288#msg3002288

[stog]

excellent thx ( like the seo/pretty link too)

i suppose the only thing i was wanting to do was to trial a test forum (which i have but with a fresh database), and then test with my original database-- but of course that has to be upgraded when going from vers 1.1.19 to 2.6 so it would get changed..

so the only way to really test is to backup files to new folder/server and put a copy of the original database in a new database, connect up, and test the upgrade there, doing just as you have suggested

cheers again

will report back (am just solving some issues with the new version and TP first)

[kat]

No need to put them on the server, unless you particularly want to. Click my sig, to read how to backup.

After all, you'll only want them in an emergency, won't you?

The upgrade doesn't take very long. If you choose the right time, your members might not even notice you've gone, until they turn up and see that everything's changed.

The thing is, computers being computers and the internet being the internet, you could get everything perfected, on a test site. Then, you go to the live site and you can almost guarantee something'll bloody croak.

In your place, I'd back everything up, ask my host if they can backup, too, as a kinda "Belt'n'braces" thing (My host'll do that, without any worries. Of course, others might not), then go for it, in-situ.

Whatever way you do it, good luck with it!