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#264631 02/18/2021 12:31 PM
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“Place the phpbb_import.php script into the importers directory and bring it up in your browser. Follow the instructions to import your phpBB forum.”

Where is the importers directory? If I'm creating it in the root directory, I get a blank screen...

DaveZ #264632 02/18/2021 1:36 PM
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Never mind, I tried creating an importers directory. This is the issue:

require ("/home/stella/public_html/forums/libs/mysql.inc.php");

should be

require ("/home/stella/public_html/forums/libs/mysqli.inc.php");

Which is a bit scary. I've started running, it asked for info, right now I think it's stuck on "Checking..."

DaveZ #264633 02/18/2021 1:54 PM
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Is there a newer version of this script?

DaveZ #264634 02/18/2021 2:30 PM
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None of the importer scripts have a newer version.
First question
What forum version and type are you importing from and to?
Second is what importer are you using?


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DaveZ #264635 02/18/2021 3:07 PM
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Moving from phpBB 3.3.3. Using the php3 importer for the current UBB 7. The problem is the mysql command has been replaced over time with mysqli. The importer itself references a file within UBB -

require ("../libs/mysql.inc.php");

Which doesn't exist. mysqli does exist.

When I run it, I get this error ->

Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function mysql_connect() in importers/phpbb_import.php:223
Stack trace:
#0 /importers/phpbb_import.php(70): doconfig()
#1 {main}
thrown in /importers/phpbb_import.php on line 223
[18-Feb-2021 17:56:00 UTC] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function mysql_connect() in /importers/phpbb_import.php:223
Stack trace:
#0 /importers/phpbb_import.php(70): doconfig()
#1 {main}
thrown in /importers/phpbb_import.php on line 223

Last edited by DaveZ; 02/18/2021 3:07 PM.
DaveZ #264636 02/18/2021 3:11 PM
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UBB.threads Developer
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The importers are old, like really old; you'll need to import to something like UBB.threads v7.2 then proceed to upgrade that to the latest version (installing new styles included with the v7.7.x download when you get to that step).

You are entirely correct that the mysql file has been replaced with a mysqli one, this was part of the v7.6.0 transition (but in any case, importers should be run on v7.2).


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DaveZ #264637 02/18/2021 3:14 PM
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So I need to trash my install of 7.6 and start over again? That's unexpected, not in the instructions, and a real PITA. I'd already started to move forward in setup and such. I assume those settings are lost.

Can't the importers be marked with a warning or something? Or brought up to date? There are very few lines of code in there to be updated, I'm just not good at the mysql stuff.

Last edited by DaveZ; 02/18/2021 3:15 PM.
DaveZ #264638 02/18/2021 3:19 PM
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Joined: Dec 2003
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I have never imported from phpbb.
But what I can say is I have had success importing other forums to a older UBB forum then upgrading to a newer UBB.
The importers are quite old.They were developed prior to mysqli and the 7.7x ubb series.

Try this:
You will need to downgrade your php to no higher than php 5.6
Install say UBB 7.5.7 or 7.6

It has a importers folder in the forum folder.

Place the phpbb importer in that folder and run it.
It will ask for login info to your phpbb forum.
If successful then upgrade UBB in one step to ubb7.7.5
Then you can change php to php 7.x

Last edited by Ruben; 02/18/2021 3:24 PM. Reason: Corrected typo

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DaveZ #264639 02/18/2021 3:20 PM
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[sigh] You're making me wish I'd reactivated my old IPB license instead, but okay...

DaveZ #264640 02/18/2021 3:21 PM
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UBB.threads Developer
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This is a user to user support forum (forum owners), you can bring feature suggestions and even purchase migration support from the vendor through the support system


As matters stand now, the proper import route from any product (as the importers were written prior to the Global Moderator permission matrix, and MySQLi/PHP7 support) would be to install UBB.threads v7.2 and import to that, then upgrade to the latest version.


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DaveZ #264641 02/18/2021 3:22 PM
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Hey in the older days going from classic you had to do some times three upgrade steps on occasion 4.

The final upgrade to UBB is very painless now compared to years ago.


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DaveZ #264642 02/18/2021 3:39 PM
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I'm trying that route. What I'm finding is I'm spending gobs of time and getting nowhere.

DaveZ #264643 02/18/2021 3:46 PM
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Thank you for your help. Wish it could have worked out, but I just don't have the time to pursue an open-ended project. UBB looks terrific these days but this raises concerns of what future land mines I'll run into.

DaveZ #264644 02/18/2021 3:54 PM
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Oh don't forget to wipe the tables from the database before you downgrade the UBB version.
And make sure you delete the forum/includes folder files at the very least before you upload the files for the older ubb version.
Probably should delete the language folder files also.
Then just overwrite it all with the upload ,that should save the step of setting file and folder permissions again.

And you need to make sure you have a working UBB forum before you run the importer.
Don't bother with customizing until after the import .

Last edited by Ruben; 02/18/2021 3:56 PM.

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DaveZ #264645 02/18/2021 4:00 PM
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I started fresh... reinstalling an old version of php may not work as well as one would hope. If I had lots and lots of time, I'd try again./

DaveZ #264646 02/18/2021 4:08 PM
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UBB.threads Developer
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Isaac and I (the developers of UBB.threads) utilize XAMPP for backdating/changing PHP builds without having to modify a hosting environment; which results in more dedicated resources for imports and some upgrades. They have a great version comparison page which outputs what Apache/PHP/MySQL versions each one of their builds supports, so one could say download one which supports PHP5 and another which supports PHP7 and copy files/databases around.

Upgrading the importers isn't a simple install and go task, and we developers are working on the future of the product; the importer scripts are ancient and are not something we have even attempted to tackle as we're swamped with PHP7/PHP8 and rewriting the codebase for supporting modern servers.


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DaveZ #264647 02/18/2021 5:25 PM
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Now that the commercial is over.

The biggest issue is getting success from the importer.
It can take a lot of resources slugging the data over.
Depending on how big the phpbb site is I have had some really big sites take days to import.
And multiple attempts.

Yes running xamp or wamp on your local machine can make it import better but then transferring it to the live site does not come without issues of it's own
One other item of contention is the importer does not import passwords. Meaning a returning user will need to use the lost password feature to reset their password. This has to do with how the passwords are encrypted in the database.

I hate to see you give up so quickly on a great product.
But you would still have the same issues importing phpbb to most any other platform.

Btw,
Where is your phpbb forum located now?
I don't see it on your listed website.

Last edited by Ruben; 02/18/2021 5:29 PM. Reason: Added Comment

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DaveZ #264648 02/18/2021 5:26 PM
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https://www.stellpower.com/forum/

It's absurdly small - just starting out.

DaveZ #264649 02/18/2021 5:37 PM
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Wow that is really a small number of posts and members.
If I were you just install ubb 7.7.5 and then tell the couple of users to go to the new forum.
You can do this a couple ways.
Make a announcement on both forums.
Set a redirect on the old forum to goto the new forum.
Many ways to do this.
Than to fool with the importers.

With the limited number of users and content I do not see the value in a import in your case.

With the limited number of users you could even create each user manually and send them a password via email from the ubb control panel.
You could install ubb at https://www.stellpower.com/forums/ so it is very similar


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DaveZ #264650 02/18/2021 5:39 PM
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That's a whole lot of time to sort through the importer and upgrade steps for a tiny amount of content; I agree with Ruben that you should just start fresh and send an email to users to register at the new forum install.


I am a Web Development Contractor, I do not work for UBBCentral. I have provided free User to User Support since the beginning of these support forums.
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DaveZ #264651 02/18/2021 5:47 PM
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It is a small group. The problem with that approach is nobody likes re-registering and what little we have, well, it's gone. It's hard to start up from nothing. Maybe I'll try that on Monday... or as you say create each user manually.

DaveZ #264652 02/18/2021 5:58 PM
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What you can do is create each user in the control panel.
There is a tab in the members section called add new member
Then there is a button to email the password you entered for them and then they can change the password after the first login.

If you wish to go farther you can in member search select the user you added and use the become member and copy posts from the old forum to the new forum as them.
Then just logout.

Now you will need to build the forums so they match your old one

Last edited by Ruben; 02/18/2021 6:00 PM.

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DaveZ #264653 02/19/2021 11:40 AM
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Okay. I get what you're saying. Here's what I'm saying:
1) I appreciate the work you put into this very fast and good looking system.
2) I've lost confidence in it since you promise a working phpbb 3 converter and there is none. I followed your instructions and went back to php 5.6 and version 7.57. It's error after error.
3) I've wasted multiple hours on this and your suggestion is I waste more hours on it.

I think at this point I deserve a refund. You're promising what you don't have - working converters. My plan now is to use SMF for a while and wait for you to finish the code, and then sign up again when you're ready.

DaveZ #264654 02/19/2021 2:20 PM
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You will need to contact the vendor.
As Gizmo stated these forums are for user to user support.
So the vendor will never know of your request for a refund unless they happen to visit this post.

To open a support ticket goto:
https://www.ubbcentral.com/tickets/members.php


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DaveZ #264688 03/01/2021 5:06 PM
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For the importer in question.
phpbb_3_import
Requires somewhere around:
Apache/2.2.14 (Win32) DAV/2 mod_ssl/2.2.14 OpenSSL/0.9.8l mod_autoindex_color PHP/5.3.1 mod_apreq2-20090110/2.7.1 mod_perl/2.0.4 Perl/v5.10.1
MySQL client version: 5.1.41

Which is xampp-win32-1.7.3 for what I used.

IT IS NOT JUST THE PHP VERSION.
.

I had success with importing first to ubb 7.5.7.
However I found that phpbb allows forums to display without a designated category..
For those forums they did not import correctly..
I would suggest to edit the cp in phpbb and add categories for all the existing forums missing a category prior to running the import.
Also existing admin in phpbb was not created as admin on the member import.
Had to manually toggle to admin in the users table

There were other issues but they were minor in nature.

Last edited by Ruben; 03/02/2021 12:58 PM. Reason: Updated Comment

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DaveZ #264689 03/01/2021 5:27 PM
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Ruben got my forum moved over. Two additional things I did that resolved outstanding issues:

I reassigned any topics with a forum of 0 to have a forum of 1 - recovered them very quickly (Ruben noted this; the ideal is as he said to fix it before the transfer).

Then I used MySQL to switch every old post from markup to html, and rebuilt posts. This fixed all other outstanding issues from the conversion. (Well, except for <t> showing up in the private messages.)

Without Ruben, I would not have moved over to UBB. I still think the presence of translators should not be in the marketing (or should be clarified!) if they don't work without moving everything to an old system, converting, upgrading, and moving back... but UBB is pretty uniquely easy to modify, which saves a lot of time; and works a LOT better than phpbb did! While being faster than IPB and Xenforo, IMHO - certainly the code is less absurdly complex than IPB's.

Last edited by DaveZ; 03/01/2021 5:28 PM.

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