how do i upgrade to vb 3

[sambo01]

guys just wanted to know how to do this as im a vb n00b.

also if i upgrade will i lose the 2 hacks i have installed as well as the whole forum template colours buttons etc

thanks sam

[Stryker]

It's as easy as upgrading between versions of vB 2.x.x.

Backup your database (very very important)
Upgrade forum to final version of vB 2 (2.3.0)
Delete all vB 2.3.0 files and upload the vB 3.0 ones
Run upgrade.php and it will automatically detect which version you're upgrading from and redirect you to the right upgrade script.
Click on the next step button quite a few times and you're done

You'll lose your hacks, the colours will be imported, but not any changes you've made to the templates. Your customized buttons can be used to overwrite the new default ones, but some of them will have to be renamed first since the file names have changed. There's a batch file around here somewhere which will do this for you in a matter of seconds.

Hope that helps.

[sambo01]

It's as easy as upgrading between versions of vB 2.x.x.

Backup your database (very very important)
Upgrade forum to final version of vB 2 (2.3.0)
Delete all vB 2.3.0 files and upload the vB 3.0 ones
Run upgrade.php and it will automatically detect which version you're upgrading from and redirect you to the right upgrade script.
Click on the next step button quite a few times and you're done

You'll lose your hacks, the colours will be imported, but not any changes you've made to the templates. Your customized buttons can be used to overwrite the new default ones, but some of them will have to be renamed first since the file names have changed. There's a batch file around here somewhere which will do this for you in a matter of seconds.

Hope that helps.

thanks m8

much appreicated

[Floris]

Because vBulletin 3 is a total rewrite, the 2.x hacks are not working in 3.x no more.

Better yet; some are now a default feature. So you might want to check up on that.

The same goes for the template system, your style will only be stored into the vb3 style manager as much as they do it possible. It is there for reference, you can quickly modify the vb3 templates to look like the vb2 ones (or get pretty close).

To upgrade to version 3, you should remove all the files from the web server from version 2 and upload the files from version 3.

This means you will also loose any custom image, tip: you can upload & overwrite them later again to restore those.

Good luck with the upgrade!

I have upgraded more then 50 times now (also for testing) and I have done 15 live- upgrades and at least 10 live- installations (only run into a problem twice, due to heavy hacked board with mysql changes, but those were easily fixed).

[KUEI]

It's as easy as upgrading between versions of vB 2.x.x.

Backup your database (very very important)
Upgrade forum to final version of vB 2 (2.3.0)
Delete all vB 2.3.0 files and upload the vB 3.0 ones
Run upgrade.php and it will automatically detect which version you're upgrading from and redirect you to the right upgrade script.
Click on the next step button quite a few times and you're done

Hope that helps.

can you explain each step here?
how to back up database, etc, etc.

[Floris]

* Backup

Login to your web server with an ftp program and create a directory called backup outside of the public html area. This way you can write to it, but others can't enter it to download your backup.

Chmod this directory 777 so you can write to it.

Now goto the admin control panel (if you don't have ssh/telnet to your shell) and from the backup section, use the second option (to write to the web server) - give the right path and save the tables to a .sql file (default filename provided by vbulletin already though). Save it. If you have a small database, it will be done soon, otherwise, give it time to process. If you run into an error, contact [email protected] - otherwise enjoy your backup.

* Login to your web server with an ftp client and download all the vbulletin version 2 files to your hard drive, as a backup (or - rename the directory backup2 and move it back in the tree, outside of the public html directory - so nobody can enter it and use the files)

* Create a new dir called forum or whatever you want to call it, and upload the vbulletin 3 files in here.

* Goto yoursite.com/forum/install/upgrade.php and run it, follow the on-screen instructions

* You are upgraded, unless you run into an error, in that case, you are happy to start over by using your backup.


For more details, about using an ftp, setting file rights or upgrading and backing up - see the help file from your ftp client, inform in google how to chmod stuff, and read the upgrade instructions from vbulletin 3.

If you do have shell access, use the shell to make a proper backup of the .sql database. Must saver then doing it through a browser.

And make sure the backup is 100% - no errors at the end of the file.

You can also download the .sql to your hard drive, if you don't have the space on the web server.

[KUEI]

thank you for the reply.
i am currently experiencing tech problems with my site but was able to dowload the files to my hard drive. all 12mb worth
the rest is beyond my skill level

[Floris]

Hire someone to do it for you.

[KUEI]

Hire someone to do it for you.

WOW!!! wish i had read comments like that before i decided to purchase vbulletin.

[Stryker]

You're giving up too easily. It's not as complicated as it sounds, you just need to give it a go - these things tend to make more sense when you take a hands on approach and take it one step at a time. You can read advice and instructions here a hundred times, but it doesn't always click into place until you put it into action yourself. I've used YABB, PHPBB, UBB and various other forum scripts and vB is no more difficult to setup than any of them.

If you wanted to backup via SSH what you'd do is download PuTTY from here: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ and double click on the exe to run it (it's totally self contained so no installation is required). Now click on the SSH radio button and type your domain name into the host name/IP address box and press open. You can ignore all the other complicated looking options. Now click on the open button and wait while a DOS-like window is opened. You will be asked to type in your username and password before being able to run any commands. These are the same details you'd use to enter your Myacen CP or access your site via FTP.

The command you need to run to backup your database is...

mysqldump --opt -udatabaseusername -pdatabasepassword nameofdatabase > privatefolder/vb.sql

Keep in mind that you don't need to know all the possible commands you could possibly use with SSH - you just need to know what it is you want to do and then come here and search the forums. If the best way to achieve x is to use SSH then the command you need will have been posted here along with an explanation of what it does. You just have to insert the details which are relevant to your server and database.

Just read the advice relevant to your current problem and take it slowly. No-one expects you to know everything right away. Keep plugging away and you'll get there in the end.

By the way, I think you missed an 'h' out of the domain name in your profile.

[Kahmoon]

wheni have a license from 2.3.0...is the upgrade free?

[Stryker]

Yes, you don't buy a license for any particular version. You buy the right to use vB and pay for access to the member's area where you can download both 2.3.0 and the latest beta of vB 3.0.

[Kahmoon]

Yes, you don't buy a license for any particular version. You buy the right to use vB and pay for access to the member's area where you can download both 2.3.0 and the latest beta of vB 3.0.

any date when retail 3.0 goes online?

[Stryker]

No, not even the developers know that because it all depends on how many bugs are found in the betas. Unforeseen circumstances and all that jazz.

[Kahmoon]

Styles, Templates, Seetings etc won´t be touched when i do the upgrade?

Edit: and what about attachements which are already posted?