Moving to a new server - no avatars showing?

[pyromancer]

Hi!

I'm in the process of moving a forum from a Windows / Apache / PHP / MySQL server to a SuSE Linux / Apache / PHP / MySQL one.

I used the admin tools to do a full DB dump from the old server, copied the SQL file across, loaded it into the newly created MySQL DB and then ran the upgrade scripts to perfom the necessary tweaks.

Meanwhile I copied the contents of the /images/avatars directory to the new server.

Everything worked fine, the new version of the forum is operational and works as expected, except that all the users who had set up avatars have lost them. Looking at the original version, there appear to be two styles of avatar img links:

/forum/image.php?u=128&dateline=1112995267

/forum/images/avatars/webmistress.jpg

Neither type worked. The file /forum/images/avatars/webmistress.jpg definetly exists, and if that path is placed in a browser, the image displays. Looking at the source-code of the forum page, the actual image path is missing - on the original it's "/forum/images/avatars/webmistress.jpg", on the new version, just "".

Fixes already tried: I've installed Imagemagick and recompiled PHP, and switched the "Image Options" to use Imagemagick, which works (sample image displayed correctly). But still no avatars.

Can anyone suggest what else may be wrong?

Thanks!

- P.

[Steve Machol]

You probably need to reset the avatar directory for the new server.. Add this to config.php to enter into debug mode:

Under:
<?php

Add this line:
$config['Misc']['debug'] = 1;

Then to change the avatar directory:

Admin CP -> vBulletin Options -> Version Info and Other Untouchables

Remove or comment out the debug line when you are done.

[pyromancer]

I tried that, it was set to "./customavatars", I changed it to "./images/avatars", but no change on the pages (done Ctrl-F5) I'm afraid.

[Steve Machol]

Then my guess is that is not the correct directory. Try using the full and complete path instead.

[pyromancer]

I put the full path from / (double checked by pwd from the avatar direcotory) in, still no joy.

If it makes any difference, the old forum is V3.01, new is current version.

Also, the attachment path at the top of the "Untouchables" screen is set to "/path/to/your/attachment/directory", which is presumably completely bogus. I've looked through the settings on the old forum but the options are very different and as yet I've not found any avatar settings.

[Steve Machol]

Yes, this is not the real path:

/path/to/your/attachment/directory

You need to use the real path.

[pyromancer]

Well, obviously it's bogus, but is it anything to do with avatars? I don't particularly want users filling disk space with enormous attachments. I remember one forum (different system) where all the users took to posting huge .bmp images of their desktops one summer.

What are the settings which need to be in place to enable the avatars to operate, and what should the other settings be set to? As I said I've tried looking in the old one we're moving from, but as I've never used this system before and all the settings have different names between the versions, I don't particularly want to start breaking things.

[Steve Machol]

I'm sorry then I have no idea what you are asking. As I said you need to use the full and complete path. If that isn't the answer you are looking for then I don't understand the question.

[pyromancer]

In the "Untouchables" settings area, there are the following settings:

vBulletin Version Number 3.6.4
Active Payment APIs No (radio button)
Save Attachments As Files No (radip button)
File Attachment Path /path/to/your/attachment/directory
Save Avatars As Files Yes (radio button - have tried this as "No" too)
Avatar File Path /srv/forum.companyname/forum/images/avatars
Avatar URL /images/avatars
Profile Pic Fule Path ./customprofilepics
Profile Pic URL customprofilepics
Signature Picture Path ./signaturepics
Signature Pic URL signaturepics
Fulltext Search No (radio button)

The thing that's not working is avatar display.

Looking at the page source for the old (v3.01) forum, avatars come in two styles:

/forum/image.php?u=128&dateline=1112995267

/forum/images/avatars/webmistress.jpg


I was expecting that at least the .jpg versions would work once the avatar directory was set correctly. Is the "attachment" setting anything to do with avatars?

[Steve Machol]

You need to set the File Attachments and Avatars paths to the full and complete paths to these correct directory on this server.

On Unix/Linux systems you can find the complete path name by telnetting or sshing into your server, going to that directory and typing:

pwd

[SSSlippy]

Maybe I can say this a different way so u understand. You need to put the directory of it on the server not the web address. This is normally /username/public_html/forums/avatardirectory

[pyromancer]

Ok, I've set the File Attachment Path to exactly the same as the Avatar Path, "/srv/forum.companyname/forum/images/avatars, but it made no difference.

"companyname" is a single lowercase word, no invalid characters.

Out of curiosity, what is the connection between Atachment Path and Avatar Path?

[Steve Machol]

You should not set the attachment and avatar paths to the same directory. And if this is set correctly then it will work.

[pyromancer]

I set the attachment path to "/srv/forum.companyname/forum/images/attach". Made no difference, avatars still don't work, source comes up as src="" where the image URL should be.

It no longer matters however as we've decided to move to an all-new phpBB installation instead.

Thanks for responding, I guess there's something incompattable between the old forum and the current release.

Cheers!