Upgrade script infinite loop

[CyberShadow]

Another day, another question....

I am upgrading from v1.1.10 (with Shoutbox) to v2.0.9 using the 'large download'.
I ran the 'upgrade.php' but it hung when making a backup of the Ajax_Shoutbox table (or similar, I cant remember the exact name), at 4%/3%. When I then attempt to go back to the upgrade.php page, I get a connection error and the database user has been deleted from the host.

So I went out and had dinner.

When I tried it again, upgrade.php told me that it had been running for four hours, and then the exact same thing happened again.

I assume that the host removed the database user because of an excessive load on the database, but I still cant get past this step for upgrading. Am I able to do a fresh install of v2.0.9 and connect to the current database, or just reinstall a database backup? And, will Shoutbox also work with v2.0.9 in this way?

Thanks.

[Kindred]

the shoutbox table is probably HUGE...


I would skip the backup of tables...
take a manual backup of your database and store it offline.
then do the update but don't bother with the "create backup of tables"

that trable isn't part of the smf core product anyway...   when means that you will have to deal with that as a mod question, after you upgrade.

[CyberShadow]

Since its a dry run for a host move, I was going to just drop the Shoutbox table (is it really necessary to store an archive of Shoutbox discussion?)... But, of course, the database user had been removed.... I tried to run this without the backup part, but it had an error due to the aborted previous attempt, so I am wiped the lot and reuploaded the server files and database, and I will give it another upgrade attempt later without ticking the backup box.

Thanks.

[CyberShadow]

So, yes, not backing up prior to an upgrade sidesteps the problems of the backup never actually ending... and opens up a new problem....

I get the following.

Removing all guest deny permissions...done
Removing guest admin permissions (if any)...done
Creating search cache tables...done
Rebuilding fulltext index...done
Indexing topic subjects...done
Converting settings...done
Creating log table indexes (this might take some time!)...done
Preparing log table upgrade...done
Converting log tables (this might take some time!)...done
Updating last message IDs for boards...done
Cleaning up old log indexes...done
Preparing messages table for strict upgrade......
!!
Error!
Server has not responded for 30 seconds. It may be worth waiting a little longer or otherwise please click here to try this step again

And then..... nothing. And, I have waited.....

The SQL backup runs at 116Mb when imported (but only 24Mb when then exported..... which is a little worrying!).

Any suggestions?
Many thanks.

[Kindred]

the messages table is almost always the biggest "slowdown" point... (which makes, sense - it is typically the largest table because it has the most content)

did you click there?

It sounds like your server is timing out during the process   ---   one of my sites (with a 2.6 GB db - pretty much all in the messages) took 3 days to upgrade (mind you, it was an ancient server)

[CyberShadow]

Three days!!! OK..... I did click 'there' and it repeated the issue. The message table is only 28MiB in phpMyAdmin and I only waited 15-20 minutes, so maybe I should wait longer. There is just no sign whether it is actually doing anything or has simply stopped working. Even the clock stops moving forwards.

[Kindred]

yeah.... it's been a while since I did the big upgrade, but I recall coming back to the computer and hitting the "continue" button every hour or so...

then again, some suggestions have been to try the upgrade on a WAMP local server and then import the database to your live server

[CyberShadow]

Its been more than three hours now.... although the 'time elapsed' only says 1m 9secs..... 

[CyberShadow]

After hanging for 5 hours, I decided to just rerun upgrade.php to continue where it stopped, and get this...

Time Elapsed: 316 mins, 40 seconds.
Database Changes
Executing database changes
Please be patient - this may take some time on large forums. The time elapsed increments from the server to show progress is being made!
Executing upgrade script 1 of 2.
Executing: "Upgrading log system..." (15 of 19 - of this script)

!!
Error!
Server has not responded for 30 seconds. It may be worth waiting a little longer or otherwise please click here to try this step again

I will abort, run the old version of the boards and create a test install to play with, I think.

[margarett]

That's usually the server "dying" on the operation. Who is your host?

With such a small database, it should finish in minutes.

[CyberShadow]

That was my assumption too. I am with fasthost.co.uk, who have a dedicated SQL server.

[margarett]

Your best bet is probably to export your forum to your local computer (with XAMPP, WAMP, etc), run the upgrade locally and then import the upgraded content back online...