Since you have a a very old version, It could have been some bug that was resolved with a newer version.
First item to check in the UBB control panel is:
Control Panel » Permission Checks
they all should show okay.
Second item to check and run is:
Control Panel » Clear Cache
Third item is:
in your browser clear cache and delete the cookies set by the board.
This will force you to login again.
And since you are a new admin and don't know of any prior changes to the settings.
You may opt for:
Control Panel » Content Rebuilder
This can take an extremely long time depending on the size of the database.
This is a last resort.
FYI,
Don't ever muck with the database unless you are very familiar with the table structure.
