Need Help moving forums from home server to a new new webhost

[nob4uask]

Morn All,

I know that this subject has been asked but every case is a little different.  Here are the specifics.

I am running Apache server along with smf 1.1.13
I have the following mods installed

   Advanced Contact Form
   Ad Management
   AjaxChat
   Stop Forum Spam
   SimplePortal

I have subscribed to Ipower (WebHost) Pro Plan which should give me everything I need and am using the filemanager to upload my files.  The current default directories provided are:

root
root/public_html
root/public_html/cgi-bin
root/stats

I need to know exactly what files I need to upload.  I noticed that since I have php installed on the home server there are files that relate to that to.  Awhile back I dedicated a pc for my server and had to move the files and do have repair_settings.php installed to.  Ipower actually has SMF as a package that you can install so I assume (but probably shouldn't) that everything should work properly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated but please make it kinda simple because the old brain isn't what it used to be.

Thank you for your time,

nob4uask

[IchBin™]

root/public_html is where all your website files should go. You copy your forum files and put them into that folder. If they have a file manager that can handle zip files, it might be easier to zip all the files up and upload the single zip, and then unzip it on your server with the file manager. After that you'll need to upload a copy of your database. Export it from your localhost and import it into your new server database. Once you get everything squared away, you'll probably have to edit the Settings.php file to change the database server information. If you don't know that info, you should talk to your host. Once that is working, you should be able to use the repair_settings.php file you talked about to update all the paths and URL's to the new ones.

Migration should be complete at this point.

http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/How_do_I_move_my_SMF_board_to_a_different_host

[nob4uask]

Thank you Ich for the quick response.

After reading your post in regards to zipping the file I done some checking and when I copied the files over earlier it had only copied the files, not sub folders so I was already setting myself up for failure..lol

I will work on it over the next day and if there aren't anymore issues I will mark this as solved.  If you could please keep an eye out just in case I have anymore problems it would be appreciated.

[IchBin™]

No problem. Just post back if you run into problems. I always check replies to topics I participate in. So once you post this topic will appear in my list.

[nob4uask]

Morn again Ich,

Ok, this is what I have done so far.  I zipped, uploaded and extracted the SMF folder to the root/public_html folder so I now have root/public_html/SMF with all the files.

They have an MySQL database management tool which I created a new db, backed up then imported the one on the home server and checked the structure which appears to be ok.  I couldn't check the data because I am new to this and am trying to get it up and going.

I went into the settings.php file under database and see the servername as localhost with other details.  The new servername is blahblahblahblah.ipowermysql.com  the question is do I only have to replace the local host with the new servername or do I have to also put new info into the other fields like db_name, db_user, db_passwd, db_prefix and so on.

Once again, thank you for your help.

nob

[IchBin™]

You'll also need to change the DB name, user, and password if those are different from your localhost setup. Looks like you're doing great so far!

[nob4uask]

Ich, I new it was time to hit a brick wall..lol

I changed the db names and all then uploaded the repair_settings into the SMF root directory and tried to run it but I get a 500 Internal Server error.  I remembered awhile back that there was some cmod setting (I think that is what it was) but since it was a home server I didn't have to worry about it.  I checked the default html file that was provided and is showed permissions of read, write & execute totalling 750. But the index.php, settings.php & repair_settings.php that I have uploaded don't even have execute marked.  Could these settings be causing a problem ?

My hat goes off to you and the rest of the support team whether with SMF or any other software.  I would go crazy trying to figure out what someone has or hasn't done.  I can tell you that the computer is plugged in... rlmao

[IchBin™]

As long as the file is read and write it should be ok. Typically that works unless there's some weird security in place. If that doesn't work, try temporarily setting the files to 777 and see if that works. At least you'll then know whether it's a permission issue.

[nob4uask]

Arvo All,

As I move along with my problem of moving from home server to a new webhost I have some info that might just help some in the future.  Not sure if I am doing it right, but at least I got the repair tool up..lol

I removed the defualt home.html that the host provided and moved the repair_settings.php to the root directory public_html.  I had installed SMF in its own sub-directory under public_html.  Once I moved the did the above at least I was actually able to access the settings repair tool.  I am not quite sure if I have to remove the SMF sub-folder and let everything default to the public_html or not, but will play with it.  I can't change anything do to the settings that I thought would be mentioned in my previous post.

I will continue to work on this for the next several hours or until I just get to many more grey hairs to count... lol  I used to freak out about adding a mod but at least you can back up everything and easily fix it.  Hope this helps in the future.

Once again Ich, thank you and still could use your help if your still awake.

Regards,

nob4uask

[nob4uask]

As long as the file is read and write it should be ok. Typically that works unless there's some weird security in place. If that doesn't work, try temporarily setting the files to 777 and see if that works. At least you'll then know whether it's a permission issue.

Ich, we where responding at the same time..lol

I can see there is a problem with the permission thing but am wondering if there is a problem with where I installed SMF at.  SMF is installed via the following tree public_html/SMF

I uploaded the repair_settings.php to the same folder and tried to run it but kept getting an 500 error.  Once I moved the repair_settings.php down to public_html and removed the home.html I was able to run it.  Should I remove the SMF folder and just copy it to the publc_html or will I be able to make the corrections with the repair_settings ?

[nob4uask]

Arvo All,

First, let me thank Ich once again for all their help.  The issues with the transfering of the forums is complete and below is a breakdown of what was done with trial, error and Ich.

Zipped SMF directory and uploaded it to the public_html where it was extracted.  Make sure you zip everything inside of the SMF folder and not the SMF folder itself.   The reason for this is because when extracting it it will create a new SMF folder and get lost.

I created a new db on the host site, backed up & imported my current db (structure included).

Upload repair_settings.php to the directory with your SMF files and run it.  I just chose all the recommended settings and

bing, bing I was up.  I still have tests to run with the mods and it looks like the ajaxchat is giving me a problem but hopefully my experience will help others.

I wont mark this as solved just yet until I have ran further tests.

Regards,

nob4uask

www.thedallascowboysgang.com

[IchBin™]

Well done so far nob4uask. You figured it out just fine on your own.

[nob4uask]

Morn Ich,

I know this doesn't belong here, but not getting any help from the mod faqs so if you or someone else could maybe point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

Everything on the forums work except for ajaxchat.  When it is clicked on a windows log in screen comes up asking for username & password but nothing on it works.  I have narrowed it down to the .htaccess file located in the chat directory but don't know what to do with it.  I don't have one in the root directory of the forums and can't quite remember why I didn't need it.  If I move the .htaccess file to the root directory of the forums then it asks me for a password to get into that.

The way it worked before was once you are logged into the forums then you just choose the chat menu option and are automatically logged on.  I figured I would try to un-install it then do a re-install but it failed at the index.template.php file which I did find something out about but don't want the whole thing to crash again.  I've already had to re-install everything again because of the issue.  Yes, I did back it up but accidentally deleted my backup file that was stored on the webhost server, next time I will download it to my pc...lol

Thank you for your time

nob4uask

www.thedallascowboysgang.com

[IchBin™]

Sorry I have no clue about that mod. Did you ask for support in the mods topic?

[nob4uask]

Sorry I have no clue about that mod. Did you ask for support in the mods topic?

Sure did but no response.  Going by the dates of the posts it appears the support members haven't been around for awhile.  Someone even posted after me asking if this mod still has support.  Appreciate everything, I will keep working on it.

[tumbleweed]

If you really cannot get it fixed and you need it really bad.
You could head to.
http://smfservices.org/index.php

Its a paid support site. Like I said if you really need it....

[nob4uask]

If you really cannot get it fixed and you need it really bad.
You could head to.
http://smfservices.org/index.php

Its a paid support site. Like I said if you really need it....

Arvo tumble,

Appreciate the info, will keep it in mind.  The site is still running on the home server, and will until everything is fixed, and since were not sure about the football season yet, we might have a lot of time...

I prefer trying to figure out things myself but if the mod doesn't have support anymore it might be time to move on.

[nob4uask]

Morn All,

I would like to thank Ich for all the help getting my forums moved to the new webhost.  All issues have been resolved and it is up in running, although I need to update it with the current database still.

Be safe,

nob4uask

www.thedallascowboysgang.com