News:

Join the Facebook Fan Page.

Main Menu

New phpBB converter success

Started by packman, October 10, 2004, 05:18:28 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

packman

To help build some confidence in the phpBB2 converter...I used it earlier this evening to migrate 950 users and 25000 posts from a phpBB2 v2.0.10 system across to SMF.  :) I'd been planning the migration for some time and had tested the migration a number of times, so the actual conversion only took a few minutes and the users were only without a forum for around 10 minutes.

My users haven't found anything wrong...yet...and they're usually quick to spot problems!
Chris

Ben_S

Liverpool FC Forum with 14 million+ posts.

Oldiesmann

Glad it went well. If you don't find any problems, we can probably release it when RC2 goes public. This will be even more reason for people to go from phpBB to SMF. Now if I can only find out why people tend to ignore me when I suggest that they switch to SMF...
Michael Eshom
Christian Metal Fans

packman

I think you'll find that [Unknown] released the new version of the converter a few days ago!

My users have been very complimentary about SMF so far and no-one has commented about moving away from phpBB.

I think you'll find that people will start rushing to SMF once v1.0 Final is released. I'd always intended waiting for that version, but RC1/RC2 were so stable and problem free on my test domain that I decided to jump ship sooner than I planned. Other people who haven't been tracking the project to the same extent will probably wait.
Chris

Oldiesmann

Yeah, I noticed that it had been released after I posted that. As for converting, it converted my test board on Lycos UK quite nicely - http://members.lycos.co.uk/theoldiesdude/smf/index.php ;)

I know people will start rushing to SMF. I'm doing my part by mentioning it in my signature on most of the messageboards I'm a member of (I lost track a long time ago), and telling others about it. My host has already said that once their forum gets busier, they'll switch. They have a couple "bulk" packages that should draw in a ton of people once word gets out: 5GB of space and 50GB of bandwidth for $15/month or 10GB of space and 100GB of bandwidth for $25/month (http://www.eniki.net if you're interested).
Michael Eshom
Christian Metal Fans

packman

Quote from: Oldiesmann on October 13, 2004, 09:33:21 PM
They have a couple "bulk" packages that should draw in a ton of people once word gets out: 5GB of space and 50GB of bandwidth for $15/month or 10GB of space and 100GB of bandwidth for $25/month (http://www.eniki.net if you're interested).

Thanks for the suggestion, but I already run my own dedicated server in a secure hosting centre in the South of England.

I've put a SMF banner on my main web site and my users definitely know it exists now and I think a few of them may be thinking about what to do with their own forums.
Chris

SamoanOnion

plz excuse the noobishness, but where can we get the converter???



SamoanOnion

is there anything that you have to do before the conversion is made???

I tried the conversion and it didn't bring over all of the forums and/or categories, any ideas???
I am trying to convert from phpbb extreme, but it is phpbb 2.0.1.0.

packman

Quote from: SamoanOnion on October 15, 2004, 07:33:30 PM
is there anything that you have to do before the conversion is made???

I tried the conversion and it didn't bring over all of the forums and/or categories, any ideas???
I am trying to convert from phpbb extreme, but it is phpbb 2.0.1.0.

The only thing you need before running the converter is a working SMF installation using the same database as phpBB uses. There are no mods required to phpBB or SMF.

I don't know phpBB extreme. Is it based on phpBB 2.0.1.0 or 2.0.10? The converter runs OK on my 2.0.10 installation. Does the extreme version change any table names or significantly modify any of the tables? Did the conversion process throw out any errors that might give a clue about what went wrong? When you say it didn't bring over all of the forums and/or categories, did it bring any of them across?
Chris

SamoanOnion

ooohhhhh, I C

I was using it with two different dbases, lemme give it a shot using the same dbase
thanx

diva

How in heck do I use the converter? There are no instructions and Im afraid Im not good at guessing..

What on earth do I do with it when Ive downloaded it?

packman

1) You need to have a working SMF installation using the same database as your phpBB2 system. The converter will wipe out most SMF data as it runs, so don't use it on a busy SMF forum! The phpBB2 database isn't changed by the converter, so you can re-run it as many times as you like without affecting your phpBB2 forum.

2) Put the converter in your top level SMF directory (the one that contains Settings.php)

3) Run it with http://www.mysmfsite.com/smf/phpBB2_to_smf.php (adjust the italics bit for your site and SMF directory name)

4) Answer the questions and click on buttons as prompted

5) On successful completion delete the converter from your top level SMF directory

You'll need to know the database name, username/password to log into the database with (the user needs to have access to both the SMF and phpBB2 data) and the location of the phpBB2 system. Hopefully everything else is explained as the converter runs.
Chris

Spaceman-Spiff


packman

It's not clear from the description and haven't had time to try them yet...do your tools update the underlying database records or just fix each link in the HTML code as the page is created for display. I was hoping it was the former, e.g. it's a permanent fix.
Chris

Spaceman-Spiff

It doesn't search your database and update all of your old links. It only acts as a redirector. For example, if someone clicks on an old link to your forum such as http://www.site.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4 it will get redirected to http://www.site.com/forum/index.php?board=4
It's quite handy if your forum contains many links to other parts of your own forum, or if some of your boards/topics are being linked by other sites.

webhigh

I tried running the converter but got this error :

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/wgn/public_html/newbb/phpbb2_to_smf.php on line 2739


Any thoughts

[Unknown]

Quote from: webhigh on January 22, 2005, 07:04:38 AM
I tried running the converter but got this error :

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/wgn/public_html/newbb/phpbb2_to_smf.php on line 2739

Sorry, I made a mistake in the upload.  Please try again.

-[Unknown]

vfloyd

Hi All...
Is this still a relevant tool or is there an upgrade of some sort?  Also...and this is a very lame question, but in this step -
Quote2) Put the converter in your top level SMF directory (the one that contains Settings.php)
- I download to a Windows machine and then I have to FTP up to my host server.  The download appears as a notpad document.  Is that what it should look like?

Advertisement: