Following on from some conversation in this thread (https://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=560879.0;topicseen)...
When I was brand new at all of this SMF business, I actually installed SMF via 'softaculous' the tool on my host.
I subsequently learned (some time later) that this is definitely NOT the preferred method.
Fortunately softaculous hasn't automatically done anything to the system automatically, and I maintain it (updates etc) as usual - manually.
So for the benefit of those who may have used an auto-installer, is there any way to 'disconnect' the installer from the now installed program? i.e. so it doesn't have any way of changing things.
And when the time comes to upgrade to 2.1 I'm hoping I'll be able to do a 'proper' fresh install and then import the files and database etc (so that any auto-installer matters are gotten rid of).
I installed SMF using softolicious 8 years ago. It doesn't add any extra code.
That's a really good question. I know Softaculous can also be configured to automatically update scripts, but I do not know how an end user might be able to cut that connection - apart from possibly removing the installation completely and manually installing it again in a different folder perhaps.
Edit: Typos
Thanks Study Force
Alex - isn't it though! It occurred to me as I have seen a number of these type of queries over the few years I've been on this forum, where people have installed using a variety of different host-provided installers.
They get plenty of "you shouldn't have done that" responses, but rarely anything actually positive or guidance on what/how/whether they need to address it.
Maybe it's something can could ultimately be discussed in the documentation?
Quote from: landyvlad on June 25, 2018, 01:12:43 AM
Maybe it's something can could ultimately be discussed in the documentation?
Perhaps, though that might require more activily keeping an eye on the installers.
The reason some may say not to use auto installers is because they have been known to not get all files loaded properly/or in the right directory- as well as the auto update which can overwrite mods, custom edits etc.
If the auto installer initially worked properly, and you set it to never automatically update, I don't think there is really any more connection your site really has with it (other than the possible email notification that a new update has been released).
Is there any mention of not using host installers in the documentation? I mean something like a warning, not a full blown "do not use your host's installer", since in some cases, the host's actually don't temper with the files or updates (like in the case of softolicious). Just a friendly warning, like "since we don't have control over what the host might or might not add in the installation files of our software, we do not recommend using the auto installer that your host might offer"... something along those lines.
I moved a GoDaddy forum several years ago that had been installed with their installer (fantastico?). It had added a home.html file to forum root that prevented the forum from running when moved to different host. Took a while to find it. So, yes, there are various reasons for not using host installers, but many users are first introduced to SMF in host cpanel, and have already installed their forum via most obvious method, so it's done by the time they get here.
Well, a clean install is always an option... unless there are too many manual edits, in which case, if you've marked which files are edited (I usually do this, I leave the original, make a copy and leave it in the same directory with a descriptive ending like "before.this.and.that.edit", maybe even add a date at the end), you could copy only those files in the fresh install.
This is a lot of work in some cases, I know. Some of the forums I've seen are heavily modified, but for those that aren't, this completely doable. Just uninstall all of the mods you have installed (make a list of them before you uninstall them and uninstall them in the opposite order you've installed them), delete everything (except the attachments directory and maybe custom htaccess files), do a fresh install (from the large upgrade pack), use repair_settings.php? (https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Repair_settings.php) to check if everything is OK (repair anything that's not), install the mods again (in the order you've installed them before) and everything should be OK :).