Upgrade dilemma

[Starbuck501]

I recently took over smokey-services.eu  ( just before the former owner passed away )
We currently run: SMF 2.0 RC1.2 which is very out of date now and I'd like to upgrade to SMF 2.0.15
I've read the following...

If you use older versions of SMF, you can upgrade directly to 2.0.15 from whichever version you are currently using by using the "full upgrade" archive from the downloads page.
Be aware that using this upgrade method will require you to reinstall any customizations that you have added to your forum, so if you are running a version of the 2.0.x series, it is recommended that you apply the successive patches instead of using the full upgrade.

But am concerned because the former owner told me that because of the mods installed.... the board software couldn't be updated as the mods installed are not compatible and would cause a site crash.
So basically what would be my best option to upgrade...
Upgrading
Patching
Fresh Install

Have added a list of the installed Mods.

Thanks

[Kindred]

Please list mods In text instead of attachment.
Also, yes...  the only way you can upgrade is using the upgrade archive. There is no patch path for RC versions...    however, you absolutely must upgrade, regardsless of losing mods, because you are about 20 versions behind, including some very serious security patches.

[Steve]

Okay, I'm going to list the mods for you since I feel like being a nice guy ( ) but in future do as Kindred said because most of the support staff are here on their mobile devices and reading plain text is much easier ...

OP's mods:

1.    Prevent Adding Signature Images And Links 2.0    
2.    HTTP Only Cookie Flag 1.0    
3.    BK-SMF Sub-Board 1.5    
4.    Admin color in topic view 0.1    
5.    Login Security    1.0.2    
6.    Forum Firewall    1.0.10    
7.    Last Post On MemberList 1    
8.    Aeva ~ Auto-Embed Video & Audio 6.0.71    
9.    Avatar Optimization 1.0.1    
10.    SMF 1.0.18 / 1.1.10 / 2.0 RC1-2 Update 1.1    
11.    Personal Messages to Membergroups 1.3    
12.    eFloating Bar for Guest & Members 0.1    
13.    View Signatures Permission 1.2    
14.    PM Attachments    1.2    
15.    Annoy User    1.1    
16.    SMF Topic Prefix Mod 1.1    
17.    Recent Post Settings 1.0    
18.    Google Talk Profile Field 1.1    
19.    PM Readed 1.0    
20.    Mark Personal Messages as Read 1.0    
21.    DisableTemplateEval 1.2    
22.    NoFollow All Links 1.0    
23.    Prettier_Quotes 1.12    
24.    Bots VS Browsers 1.1    
25.    Bad Behavior mod 1.5.18    
26.    Copy Topics 1.5.1    
27.    SMF Staff Page    1.6    
28.    Pm_Informer 2.0.0.1    
29.    Watermark.light 1.2    
30.    MCLegendII RC1 3.0    
31.    Show Local Url Titles 1.1    
32.    Login Logger 1.0    
33.    AJAX Instant Quick Reply 1.0.2    
34.    Category View 2.1    
35.    Sitemap 2.0.0    
36.    Captcha on Reminder 1.0    
37.    Internal_Links_Use_Same_Window    1.2    
38.    PM to New Members 1.0    
39.    nCode Image Resizer 1.2    
40.    MetaTags Modification 1.5    
41.    [BBCode] Dotted Underline 1.0    
42.    Permissions Info 1.5    
43.    AutoKeywords 1.1    
44.    Board Sort Methods 2.0.1    
45.    Bot Buster 1.1    
46.    PaypalDonations 2.0    
47.    Message for your guests 0.1    
48.    Disable Subject Change    1.3    
49.    Profil Moderator Managment 1.0.0    
50.    Disable Right Click 3.1    
51.    Boilerplates for posts    1.2.1    
52.    Google Search Your Site 1.0.0    
53.    vB Style Topic Author Name 1.0    
54.    Double Check your Email in Registration by SmfSimple.com 1.0    
55.    Move Old Topics 1.0    
56.    Display Location on posts 1.0    
57.    Board Notes 1.0.7.1    
58.    Auto Complete Search    1.0    
59.    eNinja - Admin Notes 0.9.2    
60.    Save PM as HTML 1.0.7    
61.    Bakers Dozen Pages 1.1    
62.    clickableImagebbcode 1.0    
63.    Define BBC 1.0    
64.    Order Stickied Topics    1.01    
65.    Add Honey Pot to Track IP 1.1    
66.    Attachment Icon File 1.0    
67.    Admin member list registration date 1.0    
68.    Topic Count in Profile 1.2    
69.    Redirect_Moved_Topics 1.0    
70.    Last Active On MemberList 1.01    
71.    Prevent Attachment Hotlinking 1.0    
72.    Profile Fields & Icons Mod 1.0    
73.    Topic Note 0.4.1    
74.    Reply Button in All Posts 1.0    
75.    New In Topic View 1.1    
76.    Advanced Contact Form 1.1    
77.    Fake Online Time | S-Ace 1.1    
78.    Box BBCode 1.2    
79.    Activity_Bar 1.0.1.1    
80.    PM Attachments 1.1    
81.    Latest Post Redesign 1.0    
82.    Redirect Banned Users 1.1    
83.    Search Focus Dropdown 1.3    
84.    EmailValidator 1.0    
85.    Hide ip stuff for users 1.0    
86.    SimpleSEF 1.0.3    
87.    Custom Page With Tab Button 1.2    
88.    Redirect Info Icon 1.0    
89.    SMF Canonical Tag 1.2    
90.    AllCaps Notifier 1.0    
91.    Bot Buster 1.1    
92.    Post_and_Change_as_Alternate_User 2.0    
93.    Active Members In Topic    1.8    
94.    Add Domaintools to TrackIP 1.1    
95.    Favicon 1.2    
96.    Post Unapproval 1.0    
97.    Add GooglePlus to Posts 1.0    
98.    H1 Tags in link tree 1.0    
99.    Page_Reload_Mod 1.1    
100.    RSS Feeder 1.1.1    
101.    Discourage IE6    2.1.1    
102.    reCAPTCHA for SMF 0.9.5.4a    
103.    Remove Reply Prefix 1.0    
104.    Quote Clear Line 1.0    
105.    Pm Number in All Pages 1.0    
106.    Hide Info Center From Guests 1.0    
107.    Discourage IE6    2.1    
108.    phpBB3_Login_Fix 1.0    
109.    Previous and Next Topic Enhancement 1.0    
110.    View Email Permission For SMF 2.0 Beta 4 2.0    
111.    No BBC 1    
112.    Anti Bot: Unrecognizable Form 1.0    
113.    Global Topics 1.0    
114.    SMF 1.0.17 / 1.1.9 / 2.0 RC1 Update 1.0    
115.    Mod Hide Post    1.4    
116.    Member Color Link 3.0.7    
117.    Buddy Page 1.1    
118.    Track IP on ip-adress.com 1.0    
119.    Ban List 2.0    
120.    Apache Error Handler 1.1    
121.    BBC In Custom Title Beta 1.0    
122.    TopicStarter Mod 1.3    
123.    Post History 0.1    
124.    Skype Profile Field 1.1    
125.    Restrict Email Providers on Registration 1.2    
126.    Share This Topic 1.1    
127.    More Spiders    1.2    
128.    Topic View Log    1.1    
129.    Clickable Avatars 1.1.0    
130.    Ban Link in Post 1.1    
131.    Stop Forum Spam 1.0    
132.    Separate Sticky and Normal Topic 1.0    
133.    New Topic Button 1.0    
134.    Global Headers Footers 2.0    
135.    MessagePreviewOnHover 1.7    
136.    Choose Ignorable Boards 1.1    
137.    Auto Purge Old Topics 1.1    
138.    No Reply Emails 1.3

[aegersz]

i run a lot of mods also and at some point, i will hit the wall like you have - but i know what i would have to do:

1. take a week off !

2. install a fresh (test box) system but keep my old DB, converting the DB if i have to.

3. reinstall (attempt the latest versions) most/all the mods in the same order that i did originally, excluding those now redundant. Back up the DB+files between major changes. Test each mod and be prepared to drop any mods that are not worth the trouble.

4. test it all for a while, trying to break it.

5. devise a migration strategy.

6. give up if it all gets too hard OR go with vanilla to get started.

NB - life is too short to never forget point "6." 

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

With a mod list that long, I'd add a step in there somewhere "2.5 Abandon all mods that are not really necessary, before starting to install them again." There are many mods in that list that many wouldn't notice missing at all, or have already been made part of the core functions in some shape or form.

[Starbuck501]

Thanks for the replies.

Please list mods In text instead of attachment.

Sorry about that.... my bad.

1. take a week off !

Yes, I had a feeling this would take some time to get right.

There are many mods in that list that many wouldn't notice missing at all, or have already been made part of the core functions in some shape or form.

When I went through the list, I did wonder why some of those had been added.

Now that I have an idea of the  strategy that I need to take I will make a start.

Thanks again.

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

Good luck.

[Starbuck501]

Thanks Alexsi

If I get stuck I know where to come for advice.

[Starbuck501]

Now I know why the previous owner didn't bother upgrading.

Ran the upgrade and immediately received this message:

Your MySQL version does not meet the minimum requirements of SMF.

So checked to see what I was running...
MySQL 4.1.20
PHP 2.8.2.4

Server does say they can supply; PHP 5.5 / 5.6 / 7.0 / 7.1 / 7.2, MySQL5.7, Apache2.4, Perl5.16, Python2.7.5, CGI scripts

If I upgraded to PHP 7, how would this effect my present live site.... as I've read that older versions of SMF don't run on newer versions of PHP.

[Illori]

i really doubt your server is running php 2.8.* as SMF does not support that. do a good backup and upgrade to php 5.6, you also need to upgrade mysql while you are at it. so do a good database backup.

[Kindred]

use php 5.6 for now...

but get the hell off of that ancient version of php and mySQL...  those are outdated, insecure and just asking for trouble

[Starbuck501]

i really doubt your server is running php 2.8.* as SMF does not support that.

this is what I see when going into the server....

use php 5.6 for now...

Just thought if I went for 7, I'm not going to get this problem again.
But if 5.6 is going to serve for some time then I'll get on to it.

But will my present live site still work if I change to 5.6?

[Illori]

phpmyadmin is not the same as php version. you should still upgrade the mysql version.

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

That's not the version of PHP, that is the version of your phpMyAdmin -tool.

See: What is a phpinfo() file?

[Starbuck501]

phpmyadmin is not the same as php version.

Ar right, sorry about that.

This is what I'm concerned about...

Versions of SMF below 2.0.7 will not work on PHP 5.5. If you use PHP 5.5 it is required to use SMF 2.0.7 or greater.

As the site is presently running SMF 2.0 RC1.2 is it going to run if I upgrade to 5.6,?... obviously the upgrade to SMF 2.0.15 is not going to be an overnight thing.

[Illori]

it should but you may get some errors. you should upgrade soon as you can as you are many security fixes behind.

[Starbuck501]

you should upgrade soon as you can as you are many security fixes behind.

Yes i appreciate that.
This is the reason I want to get on with the upgrade.

it should but you may get some errors.

Ok thanks.
Obviously I'm new to all this and am learning as I go along.

Thanks for the advice.

[Starbuck501]

Just to clear up my earlier confusion on the PHP version.
Have now found out it's PHP Version 5.2.3

Will get updated to;  PHP5.6 and MySQL5.7 and then try the upgrade again.

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

Now that sounds more understandable.

And PHP 5.6 is probably the best option for the time being,
higher versions would likely cause compatibility issues with some of your mods.

[Starbuck501]

Sorry I'm back again.

Sorted everything out with my webhoster.
So now I have.......

Server type: MySQL
Server version: 5.7.20 - MySQL Community Server (GPL)

Apache/2.4.6 (CentOS) OpenSSL/1.0.2k-fips mod_fcgid/2.3.9 PHP/5.5.35 mod_python/3.5.0- Python/2.7.5
Database client version: libmysql - 5.6.37
PHP version: 5.5.35

phpMyAdmin
Version information: 4.4.15.10,

But when I try to run the upgrade, I get:

Updating Your SMF Install!
Your MySQL version does not meet the minimum requirements of SMF.

Please ask your host to upgrade.

Why do I get this message now?