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I've been asked to migrate a 6.4.1 UBB forum that is currently running on a server internal to my client's business. Although I have no access to the server itself, I have been provided a zipped copy of the public_html directory + a MySQL dump. In addition to this I also have admin credentials to the live site which will remain active until I complete the migration.
Although I'm not familiar with UBB, I've read enough of the documentation to know that this is a pretty old site and, so far, the migration hasn't gone easy. I can't get the site to work at all on my production server so I've setup a dev account running PHP 5.4.45. Using this configuration I was able to get the site working on some level, but for some reason I can't log in using the same admin credentials from the live site — even though the MSQL dump was made from the live site. So, without being able to log in, I can't really verify what's actually working.
In addition to that install, I also setup a local MAMP installation of 6.5.5 and then manually tried merging the 6.4.1 data, table by table. It looks like many of the columns match up but it's a very slow process and, so far, the 6.5.5 site isn't working either. So I appear to be stuck. If I can't get the original site working, I can't even begin the upgrade process to a more recent version.
While I have no issue paying for a migration from UBB directly, I sent them a support ticket around 5 days ago and never heard back. So I wasn't really sure how active they were anymore. With that in mind, I thought I'd reach out to the forums to see if anyone had any advice or could point me in the right direction.
Last edited by digisquid; 07/20/2020 11:24 PM.
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Whoa slow down. First is v6.4.1 is very old and may not support modern server software versions. For example you will need php 5.3 up to possibly php5.6 max Newer versions will work on php7.x Try this test script. https://www.ubbwiki.com/archive/view/58/ubb-threads-system-requirements-test-20200304.htmlSecond for your site what you need to do is start over , You can't just merge different versions.. Copy your backup files to a blank folder. Then import the backup database to a blank clean mysql database set the coalition to latin 1 swedish.(iso 8859) The newer versions support utf8 Give the database user global rights. Also on a local host it is best to have a password for the db user, some have root with no password by default. Then goto your ubbfolder and under includes edit config.inc.php and edit all the paths , passwords and users to match your current setup. That is the quick version. Read the wiki at: https://www.ubbwiki.com/article/view/6/migration-guide.html
Last edited by Ruben; 07/21/2020 11:56 AM. Reason: corrected typo
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Had a brain lock. Still follow the migration guide But you probably have wwwthreads at that version. which is a predecessor to UBBthreads. It is structured entirely different. So the test script is really written for the UBB 7.x versions After 6.4.1 is working If you have access to 6.5.5. Then follow the upgrade guide.as much as you can. Copying over the specified 6.4.1 files with 6.5.5 and run install/upgrade.php not install.php.
When and if you decide to upgrade to the 7.x versions you will need to run a importer. ubbthreads_6_5_import Which current versions and importers are in the members area. So if it is in fact wwwthreads I would suggest that you do not go above php5.3 It is so old I can't recall what version it supported.
But I do know with early 7.x versions they all ran on php5.4-6 but they would not install properly on above php5.3
Good luck
Last edited by Ruben; 07/21/2020 1:40 PM. Reason: Added Comment
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Sorry if I wasn't clear (or maybe gave way too much information). I don't believe I have access to a 6.4.1 installer, so my initial approach was to try moving the public_html directory & the MySQL dump to a server and deploying it that way. I actually did this both on my production server as well as a local MAMP server running php 5.4.45. Nothing was merged on either site. They're all the original files and data and, since no installers were used, everything was configured by hand.
Although both of these sites seem to work on the frontend, I can't actually login to either one using the credentials from the live site. The strange thing is, the mysql dump is from the live site so I'm not sure what the issue is there. Regardless, I created yet another account with a fresh install of 6.5.5 and then I attempted to merge the data on that site — which obviously, was a bad idea.
As for the 6.5.5 approach you suggested, I can definitely try that. I do have a 6.5.5 installer, but didn't realize there was an upgrade script. So I will give that a shot. Thank you so much.
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digisquid, i am sending you a PM with a download link now.
php 4.4.9 - ubbthreads-6-4-1-english.zip [will be in my PM to you] php 4.4.9 - ubbthreads-6-5-5.zip [can be downloaded from Member Area] php 5.2 to 5.6 - ubbthreads-7.0.0 to ubbthreads-7.6.2 [can be downloaded from Member Area] php 5.4 to 7.4 - ubbthreads-7.7.0 to ubbthreads-7.7.4 [can be downloaded from Member Area]
Ruben or Gizmo can assist with the upgrade process, if you want to fully upgrade to 7.7.4, the current UBB.threads version.
edit: pm has been sent.
Last edited by isaac; 07/21/2020 2:01 PM.
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Sorry if I wasn't clear (or maybe gave way too much information). I don't believe I have access to a 6.4.1 installer, so my initial approach was to try moving the public_html directory & the MySQL dump to a server and deploying it that way. I actually did this both on my production server as well as a local MAMP server running php 5.4.45. Nothing was merged on either site. They're all the original files and data and, since no installers were used, everything was configured by hand.
Although both of these sites seem to work on the frontend, I can't actually login to either one using the credentials from the live site. The strange thing is, the mysql dump is from the live site so I'm not sure what the issue is there. Regardless, I created yet another account with a fresh install of 6.5.5 and then I attempted to merge the data on that site — which obviously, was a bad idea.
As for the 6.5.5 approach you suggested, I can definitely try that. I do have a 6.5.5 installer, but didn't realize there was an upgrade script. So I will give that a shot. Thank you so much. You still need to get 6.4.1 working correctly before you run the upgrade to 6.5.5 You can thank isaac for giving you some very important info on php versions versus UBB versions. I had a similar problem a few years ago with a very old site, older than yours because it was classic. Where I had to run it on my local machine to upgrade. I was using wamp but could not find a downgrade that was old enough to work. I ended up with a old archived download from xampp to get the server software old enough to run the forum. Not sure what the os is on your local machine but if it is windows another issue is the tables get named in the wrong case. So if you upload it to a linux server then you have to edit every table name in the proper case. BTW The install folder has always been recommended to delete the contents after the forum is running. For security. So it may be missing from your backup. But it should not be needed at this point to just get 6.4.1 running. Just the proper server software versions. to make the forum run properly I feel your pain.
Last edited by Ruben; 07/21/2020 2:28 PM. Reason: Added Comment
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Also if isaac sent you the 6.4.1 full zip you can install that first to see if it runs. If not suspect that your server versions are to high. Once it runs then you can overwrite it with your backup and probably you do not want to overwrite includes/config,inc.php for now. Since we do not know what features are enabled or not in the existing forum.. Plus all the db info and paths are correct on the new server.
Last edited by Ruben; 07/21/2020 2:51 PM.
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You still need to get 6.4.1 working correctly before you run the upgrade to 6.5.5 I was going to attempt to use one of my partially working 6.4.1 installs unless the upgrade has to be done from within the control panel. Regardless, it looks like thanks to Isaac I've got some additional options as well. One of which is installing a fresh copy of 6.4.1 to see what happens. Thanks again for all the help.
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The test script is designed for v7+, I'm not sure that the warnings/errors that it detects will even be useful under PHP4 or UBB.threads6. If he was on something more recent like v6.5.x I don't think that he'll need to even have a running forum as the UBB.threads7 importer I believe just accesses the database vs the active forum like in UBB.Classic... I'm wondering if he could go through the v6.5 upgrade files and run the database queries manually then import that database to UBB.threads7... Otherwise I'd generally run a local install of a WAMP that has PHP4 to upgrade the current forum to v6.5 so that it can be migrated.
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Yep a fresh copy will at least tell you if the server setup supports it. One thing to remember back in those days everybody modified the code to their liking. So it just may have a quirk on your particular forum that is barking at the server. If you do the proper steps and the server versions are correct. Then your login should work.
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I just wanted to add that I attempted to clean install 6.4.1 on a dev server running PHP 4.4 using PHP-FPM, but it fails at step 3:
Fatal error: Call to undefined function: mysql_connect() in install.php on line 409
I double-checked the credentials and they do appear to work so I'm not sure why it's tossing up this error.
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That is telling you that the mysql_connect extension doesn't exist in your PHP install.
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I'm a front-end designer, and I'm not well-versed in PHP, so this question might appear dumb, but could I just change every mysql_connect to mysqli_connect?
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UBB.threads6 will not function on a modern system, nor will it function with MySQLi or newer versions of PHP; your build was released on January 7th, 2004 and has been officially unsupported since UBB.threads7 was released on June 5th, 2002. It is a relic, it can only run on PHP4.
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If you have the proper server software. I do not think mysqli should be involved since it really did not exist when your ubb version was around. AFAIK
As I said before you probably need to revert to a really old xampp wamp version for it to run. You need to do a lot of research to find the old versions. Meaning you need to downgrade where you are on say php 4 That is why I said I feel you pain. Trying to find a package that works. It is not the software it is the version of software and what it supports. If you have access to the live site check what flavor it runs for php, apache and mysql That will give you a clue on what you need for your test server
Last edited by Ruben; 07/21/2020 5:33 PM.
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If you have the proper server software. I do not think mysqli should be involved since it really did not exist when your ubb version was around. AFAIK You are correct; the MySQLi implementation in v7.7 took a significant rewrite of the software database handler to be fully supported, which doesn't exist in UBB.threads6
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You need to realize that the version you have was written for the server versions at the time. Over 15 years ago and during that time the UBB software was changed to accommodate the newer server platforms. So now you need to find a platform from 15 years ago that it will run on. Only then can you contemplate upgrading. And it will take several steps. Also I do not think even if you get it to run , it will not run on a current hosting plan. Unless you upgrade it to 7.x. probably UBB 7.7.4 At least unless the host has some very very old server software they use. Which I doubt. A lot of people got bitten by the host that updated the server to MySQLi and php7. Prior to UBB 7.7.4
Had this been done over the last several years it would not be a issue today.
This is a big project regardless of how big or small the forum is if you want to preserve postings.
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download: xampp-win32-1.6.8-installer.exe from: https://sourceforge.net/projects/xampp/files/XAMPP%20Windows/1.6.8/This will get you php 4.4 with MySQL version 5.0 and correct settings to do an easy install of ubbt 6.4 1 Then you can use xampp's built in "php switch" tool to jump between php 4.4 and php 5.2 as you need. note: you probably will need at least MySQL 5.5 for ubbt 7.7.0 or newer. but you can run the ubbt 7.7.4 upgrade script to get you there from a prior ubbt 7 version. followup with gizmo and ruben on that sequence.
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