I love Smf, it works great and our forum which is just over 6 months old now is running smooth aside from a minor permission error (http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=204311.0), Originally we were using a phpBB powered board, and i can honestly say i do not miss it and prefer SMF 100% more.
Yet there is one feature that i do miss greatly, the ability to restore a DB backup quickly and easily from the forums admin panel.
I mean, backing up SMF is very fast and easy, its just the restoring process that gets me thinking, Is it really that difficult to create a restore feature in SMF similar to that in phpBB?
Now dont get me wrong, im not criticizing SMF or the production staff in any way, i honestly have no idea what goes into the backbone of a great forum software and i understand that everyone is working completely volunteer, and i respect that greatly.
But really, im asking and honest question and i would appreciate an honest answer,
Is the SMF software really that different from phpBB that the restoration feature from inside the forum itself is impossible? Or is it possible but for the man hours and coding its just not worth implementing?
I mean i can do simple mods to my forum but once we lose our third admin who is practically a php/coding/SMF/html and all around computer guru, im going to be scared to touch my board because of fear of not being able to restore it if i mess up a script or a mod installs incorrectly.
To date i have never once been able to successfully restore a backup using phpmyadmin or any other recommended restore tool (aside from [unknown]'s awesome little tool).
Basically im just asking if it is possible to have this feature, im not asking if it will be a feature or why its not a feature, etc..
BTW, pls do not ask me or tell me to "do a search", every question is unique in some way and therefore a search will not completely answer my original meaning and blah blah.... lol
It is possible.
The main reason it likely isn't fully practical to force a new install just to restore an existing forum. It isn't all that hard to do a clean backup and restore. I highly suggest having someone show you how to do it, and practice so that you can be ready if you should ever need to.
For unfamiliar things, it is always a good idea to practice and get familiar if you think you will ever need to do it in the future.
One core issue also being that -- with an out of order Database --- theres no real way you can access the admin CP to do a restore anyways :).
I do agree with the ideals of the suggestion but it can be impractical if you can't use it when you need it. There are a couple of tools available though. Be wary of them if you are using UTF8 though.
create_backup.php/restore_backup.php (http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=18350.msg168327#msg168327)
Lainaus käyttäjältä: Motoko-chan - marraskuu 14, 2007, 01:28:01 AP
I highly suggest having someone show you how to do it, and practice so that you can be ready if you should ever need to.
For unfamiliar things, it is always a good idea to practice and get familiar if you think you will ever need to do it in the future.
This is the best way.
If I were you Private_Ale, I would install a fresh smf at a test url or create a subdomain for just this purpose and then export the database from your live forum and import it at the test forum. The tools posted by BlackMage above are very handy. Give them a try. If you get any errors, post them here so we can help you further