Database Migration Help

[nancygraz]

Hi,

I have an older SMF forum (currently at v2.0.9) on which KeyCAPTCHA for SMF v.2.5 is installed. Everything worked beautifully until I did an SMF update (cannot remember the specific point release number) in which the CAPTCHA functionality was apparently integrated into native SMF and after that the registration process broke. I have tried to remove the KeyCAPTCHA Mod with absolutely no luck - it will not uninstall/be removed. I have been forced to turn off registration since that time.

I now are taking the time to try to rectify this while at the same time updating SMF to 2.0.15 as well as creating a new, updated theme without overwriting our current forum or taking it offline for any length of time.

To this end, I have created a new 2.0.15 install in the same parent directory but within a new subdirectory. It is here that I will be doing the redesign at my own pace without having to take down the original forum. Once complete, I will simply update the link on our landing webpage to point to the new forum and the transition will be, for all intents and purposes, seamless from the user viewpoint.

Before starting this, I created a database backup of the "2.0.9" content and had hoped to then simply import the content into my "2.0.15" database. Easier said than done. None of the 2.0.9 content shows up in my 2.0.15 install. I suspect this is due to the SQL database table prefixes being different between the two databases.

Not being a database whiz at all, I have a couple ideas of how I might achieve this.

First idea: Within Admin ► Configuration ► Server Settings ► Databases and Paths on my 2.0.15 install, change the Database Tables Prefix field to be that of my 2.0.9 install, and then import the existing 2.0.9 database backup into the 2.0.15 database;

Second idea: Manually edit (using Notepad++) my 2.0.9 backup file to do a global replacement of the 2.0.9 prefix with that of the 2.0.15 prefix, and then import the modified backup file into the 2.0.15 database.


Does anyone have any ideas about this? I hope I am not the only one who has ever tried this.


Of course, I could apply a LARGE UPDATE install to my 2.0.9 forum, but as I said, I was hoping to do my design work on my "sandbox 2.0.15" installation and then do a clean cutover.


Any and all help is appreciated!


Nancy

[Arantor]

There have been no integrations of CAPTCHA in any patch in 2.0. If your setup broke it was for another reason.

You can do what you need by way of switching the prefixes, I don't recall any database changes between 2.0.9 and 2.0.15 that would need to be applied.

[Kindred]

honestly, putting a clean set of files (not an install, just overwrite all your existing files with the clean files from the upgrade archive (NOT the install archive... Use the LARGE UPGRADE archive) and clearing your hooks would solve all of your problems without dealing with the database at all