So I got a 1.1.6 forums and want to update it.

[Basinator]

The files should be there from a previous/old installation.

What should I do in which order?

http://www.imperiumclan.bplaced.net/forum/

I also get the message Deprecated: preg_replace() [function.preg-replace]: The /e modifier is deprecated, use preg_replace_callback instead in /users/imperiumclan/www/forum/Sources/Load.php(225) : runtime-created function on line 3, not sure if it will vanish after an update.

[kat]

This help? (Assuming you want to upgrade to the latest version)

http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/A_friendly_guide_to_Upgrading

[Illori]

looks like your host upgraded to php 5.5 [given the error]. at this point you have no choice but to upgrade to 2.0.8 as 1.1 has no support for php 5.5 where smf 2.0.8 does.

[Matthew K.]

I thought that SMF 1.1.x would be supported until EOL (2.1) for security? And I would think that PHP compatibility issues would fall under important enough for a 1.1.x patch?

[Arantor]

Security is one thing, but PHP compatibility is another thing entirely. Given the trouble this caused in 2.0.x, repeating this for 1.1.x is seriously not advisable.

[Basinator]

So I should upgrade to 2.X? Damn, this prob will break a lot of plugins, uh?

Do I need to keep attention for something special?

[Illori]

all your mods and themes will need to be updated. dont forget to do a backup first.

[Matthew K.]

Most of the bigger modifications that are popular, if they work on 1.1.x are either part of 2.0.x or compatible.

[kat]

all your mods and themes will need to be updated. dont forget to do a backup first.

Can I stress that you need to backup EVERYTHING? Both the forum software AND the database.

Click my sig for the "How?".

[Basinator]

What about my two custom themes? What shall I need to do with those?

Also, I am missing my avatars after hosting my old forums again. Any clue?

[Justyne]

Depending on how custom they are you might be in for a bit of work here.

When I remake themes for a new version/ different forum software I follow this process.

1 | I make a copy of the default theme.

2 | I compare this copy to the theme I want and identify if I need to make structural/ layout changes. I mean stuff like... are posts displayed left to right rather than vertically in thread. That kind of big change. If I find I have big changes I check the template file responsible for this change in an editor and compare it with the clean file from the new install. Usually something like ExamDiff is wonderful for that. I look at the code to work out what was changed there, apply it to the new theme.

3 | Once the structure looks right I deal with the graphics. Are there rounded edges... little gradients... stuff like that. I then compare the CSS files and edit those changes in. Grab the webdeveloper plugin for chrome or FF to make this easier. It will show you what all the CSS classes on your forum are called by hovering over them.

4 | Once the graphics look right I deal with fonts and colours in the CSS.

[Matthew K.]

What Justyne said is awesome. Do you maybe have a link to your forum to show us what it looks like? We could tell you pretty quickly whether it'd be worth porting or not.