It seems I need to upgrad from 7.3 to 7.5.

I want to give it a go myself.

If I follow these instructions carefully, should it all go smoothly without any hickups? Trying to save myself $99.
http://www.ubbcentral.com/doc_upgrade7.php

and is this still valid?
http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthre...html#Post178758

Thanks

They both are fine.
It is a painless process.

The only thing missing from the instructions is:

Make a backup of the database and forum files first.

Just in care you happen to be lucky enough to be one of the few that have a hickup.

Thank you Ruben.

I have one or two modifications..... Can I still do this process?

(I realise that those mods will likely be wiped out, but that doesn't matter....)

Then it does not matter because the file the mod is in will be overwritten with the upgrade file.

Okey dokey, so I can do this with confidence...... wish me luck!

Thank you.

Good luck

Should be painless

Never had a problem, especially when I use Gizmo's 7.x for dummies... because let's face it ... m and n are very close together and well I think there was a reason for that

Dunny-Dummy very similar...

Dunny

I always run the upgrade on my test site before I do my live site. I copy the current db over to the test, run the backup, re apply my mods than bundle it up and do it to my live site.

I've rarely had a problem that wasn't quickly fixed with a permission fix or two. Good luck!

I beyond compare my current copy to stock files, then I copy my modifications to the new copy, upload the new files, run the upgrade, and go...

In fact, that's what I do on every client upgrade that I'm paid to do ...

Well, at last I am going to go ahead with this upgrade.

Two more questions before I do though if I may....

--- when I make the upgrade, will my Forums still "look" the same (ie. the top header graphic I have now etc, will they be unaffected?)

--- if I encounter a problem, is fast Support still around to help me in my time of need.



Thank you.

yup, they will look the same

OK good.

Thanks Sirdude, appreciate it.

Whats the situation with "Support" right now? If I get in a mess will official support be around or perhaps some kind fellows on here as a backup?

I'm usually up till ~midnight PDT (~3am EDT)

Thank you Gizmo, that is good to hear!

Hopefully I will not be sent into a state of wild panic during or just after the process!

Upgrades are generally straight forward; I've only hit a couple of bumps that've made me have to run upgrade steps manually, and even then I get through it pretty easily (it's why I tell people they should hire out to do upgrades as troubleshooting is generally included lol).

I want to reiterate what has said before. Make sure you do an upgrade on your test site or on a local install. Do this to gain confidence in your process and ability to rollback the changes. And as had been said before, really the best way to do this is on your test site, close your production board, backup and mysqldump, import db into test env, upgrade, TEST, mysqldump, import db into production, import new files into production, go live.

Problem with that is... I don't have a 'test site' and I don't know what a 'local install' is.

You can always install it on the same site using a different directory and database.

Locally you would need to install apache/php/mysql than you can run it locally on your comp.

Sorry, that's just going over the top of my head......

Willing,
Do this for peace of mind. Then at least if you get hosed up then you have something to fall back on.

Close you board via the control panel.
Make a backup of your database.
Use a ftp program and make a backup of your site.

Then proceed with the upgrade.
After the upgrade is complete.
Login to the forum as a admin because you can still see it as such.
If it looks okay then goto your ubb control panel and open the board.
If something appears to be hosed then upload your database and file backups and restore it to what it was before.
It really is simple and should not take that long.

Thanks Ruben.
Hopefully will do this next week or the week after (got lots to coordinate!)

If you are on Windows install WAMP. On a mac install MAMP. It's a great way to play around with your board with upgrades and modifications.

Thanks. But what is WAMP?

WAMP Server or WAMP @ Wikipedia

OK as I find the language used on the guide to be slightly non-specific, I just want to be very very specific about what needs to be done. Is my understanding correct?

-----

UPLOAD THESE FOLDERS AND ALL OF THE FILES IN THEM:

admin
cache
all of the php files within cache_builders (**** but do not upload the cache_builders/custom folder and its contents ****)
gallery
images
importers
install
languages
libs
scripts
sessions
templates
tmp
ubb_js

DO NOT UPLOAD THE FOLLOWING FOLDERS/FILES:

includes
styles
cache_builders/custom

CHECK THE PERMISSIONS AS BELOW:

includes/ directory: set permissions to 0777
files within the includes/ directory: set permissions to 0666
sessions/ directory: set permissions to 0777
templates/compile directory: set permissions to 0777
templates/ directory: set permissions to 0777
cache/ directory: set permissions to 0777
cache_builders/ directory: set permissions to 0777
cache_builders/custom/ directory: set permissions to 0777
files within the cache_builders/custom/ directory: set permissions to 0666
styles/ directory: set permissions to 0777
files within the styles/ directory: set permissions to 0666
tmp/ directory: set permissions to 0777
gallery/ directory: set permissions to 0777
directories within the gallery/default directory: set permissions to 0777

GO AHEAD WITH THE UPGRADE!

Is all of the above correct?

Thank you.

Do we NEED to removed unneeded files?



This has me slightly confused because we were instructed to upload that directory in the earlier step. (In what case would we NOT be doing that?)

Thank you!

if directories are chmodded 777 and files 666 the upgrade script can and will offer to purge files as needed.

Gizmo....... thaks, but....what does that mean?

(Is my process outlined above correct?)

Thank you.

Umm, when you installed your forum, you had to update the permissions on the files. Full Read/Write/Execute for each directory and full Read/Write for each file is suggested so that you can edit files from the forum itself...

Really, if you don't understand the lingo and you don't have faith in your ability to do things perfectly without a hitch, you should really consider hiring out a developer to do the job for you as things can go wrong (especially with v7.3 as a hurtle, I've had several issues in the past with upgrading through that version which have required me manually having to run through the upgrade steps).

That is close enough.
From the manual.
Upload all files and directories from the unzipped UBB™ directory to the UBB™ installation directory, except for the includes, styles, and cache_builders/custom directories. You will want to upload all of the .php files within the cache_builders directory, just make sure not to upload the custom directory or files within it.

The reason behind this is that you don't overwrite a file that has been changed by you.

Usually with a existing board you will not need to change file/folder permissions unless it is a net new item.
But with your case it should be okay.But it does not hurt to check anyway.

Also there are no files to delete other than the install folder when complete. This is so some bad person that knows the software structure will not run the install or upgrade scripts and hose your board.

GO FOR IT!!
DON"T FORGET TO MAKE A BACKUP FIRST.

and really, the script and ubbthreads in general should check to see if it can get by on 755 and 644

ie: if running suphp or fcgi, the perms for 777 and 666 aren't required..

:2c:

Hi willing, if you are in doubt you should have us do it for you.... if something goes wrong it would be more expensive to troubleshoot, recover and fix....

thanks!

I don't want to spend more money on an upgrade that might take me literally 15 minutes. It's just difficult apparently to get simple Yes/No answers! (Not a moan as such!)

So how much do you charge for that 15 minutes, UBBSystems?

It's actually based on upgrade costs, according to the pricing page it's $99 for UBBSystems. Myself I charge $120 for an upgrade and I include porting up mods that you have installed (within reason, as long as they're compatible)

Thanks, but I think I'd rather give it a go myself.

Well you've spent more then 15 minutes asking questions. Why don't you just go take all our advice and try it in test environment.

Am I not allowed to spend 15 minutes of my time asking questions?

Asking questions on my own time is different from paying someone $120 to do what we are (sort of) being told is a simple job.

You can ask all the questions you'd like. Knock yourself out.

Let me point out a few things.

You have asked a lot of questions here. We have given you a lot of knowledgable actionable advice so you could do your upgrade. On our own time and dime.

Simple job is in relative terms. You don't seem to understand simple file permissions. For someone who has to ask what WAMP is, let alone not capable of googling it (let me give you tip it's the first result!), it seem pretty clear you lack the skills to do this.

Which is all fine. Where I take issue is when you start insulting us because you are finding it "difficult to get a yes/no answer". We've given you lots of answers which are all authoritative. You have the current developer and several long time users giving you answers and advice.

I thank them for the advice. Advice that they chose to give (which I might add, in two instances came with offers of help that costs $99-$120).

[And thank you very much Ruben for your message].

I do generally understand permissions. But the instructions are not clear and the wording is open to interpretation - it could certainly be more laid out more clearly.

And I have not insulted anyone - show me where you think I have done such a thing. The tone of your comments are more 'insulting' than anything I wrote. Luckily I'm not a 7 year old kid in the school playground, and so I can take it.

I fail to see your point. What might it be?

Ah, have to remember that Saves me a few hours

Within reason, as long as the mod works with the new version then I will port it up (generally using beyond compare), I don't take the time to sit and test every mod you've ever installed that I have to move over however ...

Also, if it will take significantly more time to port them over an additional fee may be requested (mainly if it's going to take longer than an additional half hour or so to compare the contents and move changes over). Most sites that are modded have minor modifications installed which actually don't take as long to move over as you'd think lol..

Oh well, I'll keep doing it myself then

As long as you make a proper backup of your database and script files there is nothing that can't be undone in case of a failure.
But I don't think you will have much to worry about upgrading within the 7.x series.

It is a nerve racking experience the first time you do it.

Thank you Ruben.

Done!

Got a few scary "language files" related messages, but with a cool head we are able to get it sorted.

Took about 30 minutes all told, taking it nice and slow.

Thanks for the help.

Actually, I seem to have one problem.

My main "admin" account - seems to be able to login, but when I click on any forums it "logs me out".... ie goes back to the page as if I am not logged in. And I can't get into control panel.

Luckily other admins seem to be ok and can get into CP.

Any idea what is going on there?

Thanks

Curious.... seems to be working now!
All ok.