vBulletin 3.0.1 to SMF

[th3subtl3on3]

Where to start. I have just been given web administration of our boards, since the last two users have just disappeared. I am new to everything and slowing learning how everything works. We no longer want to use vBulletin, and would like to switch over to SMF, but I am hesitant to do so because of my inexperience.

I have read through most of the documents for converting and installing, but would still like some help. My biggest fear is losing all current information in our database. I tried installing and converting earlier, but it did not work. I got a blank page. Do I remove the old folder that has the vBulletin information?

I hate posting threads where I need a walk through from someone to make sure I am doing everything correctly, but I'd rather do it right than having a problem I can't fix.

Many thanks,
Brian

[JayBachatero]

I suggest you take a look at.  Converting to SMF

[th3subtl3on3]

I have read that two or three times now. The part I don't understand is this:

For best results, you should install SMF on the same database as the forum you're converting from. If this is not possible, you will need to make sure that the MySQL user account being used for SMF has access to the other forum's database. If you are not sure how to do this, please ask on the forum and someone should be able to assist you.

This is what's throwing me for a loop.

[JayBachatero]

Did you install SMF?  If not what is recommended is that you install it in the same database that vBulletin is installed.

[babjusi]

The conversion shouldn''t touch anything at your original forum that you are converting from (your vb forum) so no need to worry about that. For the rest read the link provided above as everything is explained in detail there and you should be all set. If you still don''t understand things, post your questions here again

[th3subtl3on3]

Did you install SMF?  If not what is recommended is that you install it in the same database that vBulletin is installed.

There is a folder "forums" currently that holds the vBulletin information. Is this what it's referring too? And no, I haven't installed it yet. I gave the members a notice today that I will be trying it this weekend.

[babjusi]

You must install smf in a different folder at your server, but on the same database that you have installed the vb forum. Or if you install it at another database, then you must grant its user full access&permission to the vb database. Hope it helps

[th3subtl3on3]

Alright, so far so good. I did the update and converted over to SMF. Only problem is that none of the information was copied over from the original forums. No member, posts, or threads. What can be done about this?

[th3subtl3on3]

Somebody? I have tried reinstalling, and it's still not copying over the information.

[depablo]

Have you tried the maintenance settings in the smf admin panel?

[th3subtl3on3]

I am still looking around. Under server settings for the directories of SMF and the Sources, I don't know where it got those directories from. I don't even see them anywhere under the ftp. This is what it has for SMF: /hermes/web04/b1892/pow.tstacc/htdocs/forum

[depablo]

looks like paths to your forum on powweb.com?

[th3subtl3on3]

I guess so, but wouldn't I be able to see those paths under ftp?

[JayBachatero]

You need to edit your php.ini file and point the session.save_path to the right path.

Common conversion errors.

[th3subtl3on3]

I did see that page with the conversion errors, but couldn't find the php.ini file.And which path would be the correct one to have it point too? I will have to search for that file again.

[th3subtl3on3]

Alright, found that and how to edit it, just need to where I have to it too so that it does work. Here is what it currently reads:

session.save_path = /var/php_sessions

I found this on powweb site, is this where I want it to point too?

Path to your Web document root: /home/users/web/b1892/pow.tstacc/htdocs

[JayBachatero]

Create a dir in the pow.tstacc dir called sesc and then use /home/users/web/b1892/pow.tstacc/sesc for the save_path.  Make sure that the dir is writeable.

[th3subtl3on3]

Alright! I got that to work, thanks for all the help so far. Now, when I go to the new forums, it doesn't list the forums. It says that there are threads and posts, just can't see anything. Any ideas? Maybe I just need to mess around in maintenance.

here is the site: www.tstacc.com/forum [nofollow]

[th3subtl3on3]

Ok, looks like everything is there, just not setup right. I should be able to fix that.

[th3subtl3on3]

Now my only other question is, how do I update the new SMF with the posts on the old forums that have been made after the installation?

[SleePy]

We have documentation on upgrading SMF.
http://docs.simplemachines.org/index.php?board=3.0

I would not suggest using 2.0 yet. It is still in Beta and may contain bugs and other issues (see Bug Reports board for publicly known bugs as just a snippet). If you are ok with bugs, problems and having to update manually lots (there are no package manager updates until 2.0 is stable) then you could give it a go.
But make a backup of your forum first please Both files and the database, just incase.

[th3subtl3on3]

Switched over the the SMF tonight and just trying to finish things up now. I noticed that it's telling me I have 85 messages in my PM box, but there are none present in both the inbox and outbox. Where is it getting this number from?

[JayBachatero]

Run this query in phpMyAdmin.

Code Select Expand


UPDATE smf_members SET unreadMessages = 0;


[th3subtl3on3]

I tried doing that, but it didn't change. Would it be unreadMessages though? Sorry to question you, you know what your talking about.

[butchs]

You need to open the query window in phpMyAdmin to run a command.  Check the phpMyAdmin online documentation.

[th3subtl3on3]

Yes, I know that. This is what comes up when I submit it.

Affected rows: 0 (Query took 0.0170 sec)
SQL query: UPDATE smf_members SET unreadMessages =0;

[th3subtl3on3]

Anything else I should try to reset it?

[JayBachatero]

Try

Code Select Expand


UPDATE smf_members SET instantMessages = 0;


That will set the count for all PMs to 0.

[th3subtl3on3]

Thank you Jay, that did work. I had wondered when trying the original update if that would work, but since I am new with everything, I wanted a second opinion before I went changing things.

[JayBachatero]

So is everything good now?

[th3subtl3on3]

Well, so far so good. Some have told me that their inbox reads empty, but there are still messages present. I told them just to empty everything out. I haven't received anymore problems yet, just those who have to get used to the change. If I do run into anymore problem, I will post again. Thank you for all your help through this process, we all greatly appreciate it.

[JayBachatero]

Just let us know if anything else .

[th3subtl3on3]

Alright, back with a question, not a problem this time. On our previous forums, we had a navigation bar, or header, that was displayed at the top of the forums. This would allow access to tech articles, pictures, and other pages. I see that we have the ability to add a picture to the top of the SMF forums, but what if I wanted one similar to the last forums? Would that be possible?

[butchs]

You can put a logo in admin/ Configuration/ Current Theme/ Theme Options and Preferences

[th3subtl3on3]

Yes, that I already know that. We need to have our links to the other pages present at the top of the boards as well.

[JayBachatero]

How do you add custom tabs to the Core (default) theme menu?